STUDY  
5th Year Thesis - Metropolitan Women’s  Prison
Pyrmont, Sydney


2002
University of Newcastle
School of Architecture + Built Environment
We shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us.
- Winston Churchill

The Anzac Bridge, with its distinctive combination of elegance, dignity, and strength, serves as an exemplary infrastructure for shaping the identity and development of the new Metropolitan Women’s Prison. The design process thoughtfully engages with symbolism, fostering an architectural dialogue that mirrors the hierarchical structure of classifications within the facility. 

The design, typically complex, is distilled into two dominant and contrasting linear forms. One component, a curved element, suggests freedom and movement as it gracefully follows the contours of the site. The opposing linear form, featuring pod-like accommodation wings, serves to anchor the design, with its focal point directed toward the horizon, symbolising stability and order.

This juxtaposition of elements introduces a distinctive character to a project type traditionally devoid of personality, identity, or meaning. Drawing inspiration from the Alhambra in Spain, the design incorporates a garden industries program. Research into the typology of hortus conclusus (the enclosed garden) informed the planning, revealing three traditional garden design models that correspond to the varying levels of prisoner classification and associated privileges.

hortus ludi (public garden)  > garden of spectacle and pleasure                          > low need          >  public foreshore
hortus conclusus                   > garden of order and plane                                       > medium need  >  produce garden for food
hortus contemplationis        > garden of self-examination and introspection    > high need         >  seed + propagation

With women currently representing 6% of the Australian prison population, the opportunity is realised for the project to provide alternatives to female correctional facility design and an insight into this fascinating cultural aspect of Western Society. 




















Paula Birch

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About

Paula’s creative experience is cross-channel. She has immersed herself in creative arts and architecture for two decades. Her practice, teaching, learning, research and exhibiting across these fields equip her for critical thinking.
 

Current

In recent years, Paula’s interest has focused on researching emerging radical pedagogical methodologies and the convergence of architecture with blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and sampling.