Living spaces come in all shapes and sizes, and since we celebrate the small, indulge us with this little visual quiz. No hints, except that the source came from my annoyingly superior Swede friend Carl who fervently believes in the powers of Ikea and bright, bright yellow.
If you guessed C. A Jail Cell, you would be correct! This room is one of the 252 cells in Norway's new Halden Prison opening April 1. Costing the good people of Norway the equivalent of around $1.8 billion, this state of the art prison has its own amenities that they hope will result in efficient inmate rehabilitation, including a recording studio, a gym with brand new equipment, a training room, a chapel, a library, workshops, school, and a soccer field.
Decor wise, this is one of the few prisons that not only introduces color, but it also features Banksy-esque graffiti art by Norwegian graffiti artist, Dolk.
But back the cells themselves: Each room comes equipped with a flat screen television and its own en-suite bathroom. Oh, and no iron bars over the windows either.
Perhaps my dear friend Carl put it best: "It's classy incarceration. Jail, Scandi style."
(Images: NRK.no)
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OH WOW!!! If I was ever going to go to jail (please perish the thought!!!) I'd pick here. It's nicer than some hotels I stayed in on my trip through Eastern Europe. ***** Travel Agents, take note!
Wow! It actually does look like studio apartments when I lived in Japan... The ones where the shower head was above the toilet... It sure made cleaning the bathroom easy, though!
So being in prison in Norway is a lot like being at a medium-priced resort in the US?
MUCH nicer than my dorm room in college. Or my first post-college apartment, for that matter.
Is it me, or does that mattress look rather short?
Note to self: Begin life of crime in Norway. ...just give me a minute to change that date in my planner, now.
it isn't short, it's forced perspective from the photo angle. that's the bedding folded at the head of the bed not a pillow.
where's the toilet?
Wow this seems like it would encourage crime.
I think I'll chose Norway for my next bank robbery!
Almost makes one want to go to jail
That prison is much nicer than my high school was.
In America the inmates would club each other to death with the chair parts, hang themselves with the window panels, and set fire to the bedding. Sigh. Gansta life indeed.
Lock me up!
My dormrooms in the USAF were nowhere as nice...
Tho if you've been to Norway - this really would be punishment.
Seriously? Each cell has its own TV?
There are some more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justisdepartementet/sets/72157623292256273/ (Our Department of Justice has its own flickr-account!)
And for all of you considering crime in Norway; a lifetime sentence in prison is 21 years, but normally lasts for just 17 years :)
It looks like a tiny hospital room to me.
agree with LBhirise. by american standards, this doesn't look too safe. this must be where they put the embezzlers, ponzi schemers and those involved in insider trading...not violent criminals.
Yes, this is HAS to be a minimum security prison...
and my dorm room looked waaay worse
I agree that it looks like a hospital room, only much nicer than many of the hospital rooms I've seen.
Ha! This looks like a guest room at Accenture's professional education center in St. Charles, IL.,
If I were the victim of one of these prisoners, I would be PISSED OFF!
Seriously? I have to commit a crime to get access to a recording studio? Grrr.
If I were one of the homeless in Norway, I'd be pissed.
And they said nothing good would come of Martha Stewart's incarceration!
Sound like a resort to me. If I were homeless or broke, I would do everything possible to end up in this place.
"Rehabilitation" of a criminal = no such thing.
Chicity 1126 - Its such a misnomer, a 'correctional' facility - the standard american prison is a private punishment facility - you may not believe a criminal can be rehabilitated but prisons as they are breed more violent criminals. I think this prison design speaks volumes as to how a little thought can positively affect people's lives, and this is a large part of what apartment therapy is about. Check out and idea called 'harm reduction'.
brocktontriangle - it might rehabilitate a peddy theif or even a young, small time gangbanger but rehab for a killer, pedophile or career criminal ... keep dreaming. Our jail system is not the problem in the U.S. - the problem is the court system. The judges who believe that a pedophile will not molest and rape again, a murderer is not capable of killing again or a career crimminal who is 40 and has been at it since he was 12. Those judges are the idiots that cause the problem, by handing out a short sentence. Sociology 101 will explain it all. A super liberal, Jewish teacher told me what I just told you, so go figure. Your community college should have that class. Trust me, you will want to take it.
guess it's okay to be bad, in Norway.
scandinavian countries approach dealing with criminals much differently than the US. socialism is such a menace, huh.
I would have guessed it was the personal quarters of a monk or a nun.
It's only for 251 minimum security inmates, like the Norwegian Martha Stewarts.
http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/02/halden-prison/
So being in prison in Norway is a lot like being at a medium-priced resort in the US?
Either that, or being at a medium-priced resort in the US is like going to prison in Norway ;)
I can imagine people committing crimes to go there. :)
Plametto, maybe you should read the article before posting it.
It reeds. "Indeed if it weren’t for the 1.3km-long and 6m-high wall surrounding the compound, and the locks on the doors, you may at times forget this is a high security penal institution."