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The Searchlight Series: Questioning the Ethics of Prison Architecture | Michael Kimmelman (9/28)


Date/ Time

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM


Location

2027 Fairmount Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19130


Free. Advance reservations recommended. Or join via online livestream — link coming soon.


Should architects be discouraged from designing prisons? In 2015, an organization called Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility petitioned the American Institute of Architects. The petition requested a formal statement from A.I.A. censuring architects who designed death chambers and solitary confinement cells in prisons. This petition was rejected, but the conversation about the ethics of these buildings continues today.


Join us as we talk with Michael Kimmelman, the New York Times architecture critic who covered the story about the rejected petition, about the ethics of prison architecture. The discussion will focus on the moral boundaries of architecture, how these were applied historically at institutions like Eastern State Penitentiary, and how they are still impacting the prison system today.


Event Schedule

6:00 – 7:15 pm: Discussion and Q+A

7:15 – 8:00 pm: Reception. Complimentary drinks and light fare.

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