NOTES
ON PRISON
IT TAKES FEW SECONDS TO LOAD THE DIAGRAM
04–18–25
The carceral soundscape belongs primarily to the interior environment of prisons. Its conception is often binary: it is either completely silent (the Auburn system, often associating prisons with monastic life) or extremely noisy (this soundscape is most prominently portrayed by Hollywood productions such as Orange Is the New Black, Shot Caller, Oz, etc.). 2 Each prison has a unique soundscape (depending on its date of construction, renovation, etc.), yet in all cases it should ensure a level of quality that satisfies the right to a dignified life under prison sentence.
Prisons are primarily noisy 3 due to the materials used – they are employed in their raw form and do not absorb sound. These are materials selected to meet the primary requirement of security, which does not include sonority. “Safe” materials are hard, smooth, and non‑porous, which in spatial application means they are reverbing and they generate strong echoes (concrete, glass, metal, tile) – they have a low sound absorption coefficient. 4 In addition to using these materials for WALLS, floors, and ceilings, they are also chosen for complementary elements (doors, sluice gates, windows), which move, and the sounds of manipulation are amplified within the prison building. Other common noise sources include alarm systems, intercom, shouting, internal operations (kitchen), group movement, etc. Prolonged exposure to noise increases levels of stress hormones and has adverse physiological effects. 5
For this reason, continuous sound (noise) is also a well‑known method of torture, adopted by security, military, and other forces for example in the form of sonic (sound) weapons (LRAD: long-range acoustic device). 6 An example of the alleged use of a sonic weapon as an (illegal) strategy for restoring public order (i.e., as a crowd-control device) was its reported deployment during the Serbian anti-government protests in 2025. Police vehicles equipped with mounted LRADs were confirmed to be present at the scene, but video footage analysis does not confirm their use. However, the possible deployment of so-called sound cannons remains under consideration. 7 An extreme example is the Saydnaya torture facility in Syria, which combines partial sensory deprivation (prisoners are blindfolded throughout) with acoustic violence (sound without visual cause). 8
Within prisons exist two soundscapes – first, in which those representing the law, and second, in which those embodying punishment. The architecture of their respective spaces is entirely different, including the materials used. 9 Between them there is a strong power dynamic, for the control and mastery of sound (noise) signifies the control of power. The one who determines who can hear what holds dominance.
In the context of prisons, it is important to highlight the significance of sound, which has the potential to substitute for sight. Prisons are designed with limited sightlines, and walls define the spaces that an incarcerated person may observe. These walls, however, are permeable to sound, which travels through them and affords prisoners a degree of resistance—the disruption of auditory routines alerts them to arrivals, changes, or danger and enables them to gather information they cannot see. 10 Verbal and non‑verbal communication among prisoners represents a functional type of counter practice through which they extend the reach of their soundscape. Examples include communication through windows, sound‑based cipher languages transmitted by tapping or striking the bars (Morse code), or by emptying sanitary fixtures and communicating through the sewage pipes.
1 Murat Cetin – Konca Saher, The Sounds of Crime and Punishment; A Review of Different Prison Types in Regard to Their Binary Soundscapes, IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science XXI, 2016, no. 11, ver. 2, pp. 57–69.
2 Ibidem.
3 "Noise is any unwanted sound (regardless of its loudness) which is of a disturbing or annoying character or which has harmful effects on human health." Definition by the National Institutes of Health Czech Republic.
4 James Boland – Helen Farley, Beyond Standards: Reimagining Acoustic Design in Prisons, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics LII, 2023, no. 1, pp. 1–10.
5 Omar Hahad, et al. Environmental Noise-Induced Effects on Stress Hormones, Oxidative Stress, and Vascular Dysfunction: Key Factors in the Relationship between Cerebrocardiovascular and Psychological Disorders. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2019, no. 1, pp. 1–13.
6 Steve Goodman, Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of Fear, Cambridge 2010.
7 Ashifa Kassam, Calls Grow in Serbia for Investigation into Claims ‘Sound Cannon’ Targeted Protesters, The Guardian, 2025. Available at: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/21/calls-serbia-investigation-claims-sound-cannon-targeted-protesters, accessed on 15 Apr 2025.
8 Mariela Ristani, Sound Prisoners: The Case of the Saydnaya Prison in Syria, Violence I, 2020, no. 2, pp. 273–284.
9 Emily Thompson, The Soundscape of Modernity: Architectural Acoustics and the Culture of Listening in America, 1900–1933, Cambridge 2002.
10 Katie Hemsworth, Feeling the Range: Emotional Geographies of Sound in Prisons, Emotion, Space and Society XX, 2016, pp. 90–97.
The attached soundscape was recorded in the setting of the Academy of Arts Architecture and Design Technology Centre in Prague. The material character of the building closely parallels that of prisons constructed from the second half of the twentieth century. It is composed primarily of concrete, metal, and glass. It contains typologically similar spaces (e.g., storage cells, enclosed staircases, halls, and cultural rooms) and elements (e.g., metal gates).
The recording does not aim to reconstruct a prison soundscape within an academic building – it merely uses the ambivalent environment to attune to the sounds of everyday activities and operations (walking on stairs, handling trolleys, radio in a closed room, contact between concrete and steel, slamming of heavy steel doors, etc.) that occur in a prison, and together with the text it appeals to readers to cultivate sensitivity to soundscapes and observe who controls them and for what purpose.
ADÉLA VAVŘÍKOVÁ
THEORETICAL TEXT
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.