(IN)VISIBILITY critical noticingPower operates through (in)visibility, shaping both the architecture and perception of carceral systems. From the historical shift of punishment into hidden spaces to the contemporary displacement of prisons to urban peripheries, visibility becomes a strategic tool of control and legitimization. This analysis explores how carceral practices rely on spatial, visual, and social forms of (in)visibility, reinforcing structural inequalities while obscuring the mechanisms of repression. roof / hearth public space, Panopticon,sound,slaughter house,narrative
THRESHOLDS noticingThresholds function as material and symbolic markers of transition, structuring the experience of space, control, and identity within carceral systems. In the prison context, they regulate movement and enforce institutional discipline, while beyond prison walls, similar mechanisms operate in welfare offices, schools, and border regimes. roof / base separation,movement, borders
VERTICALITY critical noticingVerticality has long symbolised power, from religious monuments to capitalist skyscrapers and contemporary surveillance technologies. Through the lens of watchtowers, drones, and architectural forms, the text explores how height functions as a means of control. Vertical space emerges as a key instrument in the production and maintenance of authority. roof / base / hearth concrete, metal,visibility,private property
ZONING noticingZoning, repetition, and the enclosing architectures of the prison do more than contain—they vibrate with a slow violence that organizes bodies, affects, and atmospheres. The built environment acts as both actor and witness, modulating intensities of power, vulnerability, and control. Carceral architecture thus emerges as a participant in the wider choreography of dispossession, shaping not just what can be done, but what can be felt. roof / hearth / base movement, electricity, separation, borders,slaughter house, zoo
The online archive NOTES ON PRISON forms part of a diploma project undertaken at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, within Studio Architecture I. The overarching aim of the archive is to present and describe the practices, strategies, and associated architectural matter through which power is exercised within the prison system. These practices and spatial elements are subsequently revealed within different contexts and typologies.
The project’s political dimension contributes to the discourse on prison abolition, while also serving as a professional appeal to the architectural community: to learn to recognise spaces designed for oppression and violence, and to refuse further participation in their production. Instead, it calls for the use of imagination as a design tool, encouraging the creation of a society grounded in care and social equality.
At the top of the webpage, readers will find (1) a list of frequently asked questions related to prison abolition, (2) a glossary of terms, and (3) a manual explaining the structure of the online archive, including its categories, tags, and entries.