apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Guess What Kind of Living Space This Is?

030210_scandi1.jpgLiving 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.

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The recording studio

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The rock climbing wall side of the gym

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.

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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.

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Perhaps my dear friend Carl put it best: "It's classy incarceration. Jail, Scandi style."

(Images: NRK.no)

Comments (34)

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!

posted by emel3srk on March 2nd 2010 at 9:37am
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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!

posted by MarianneT on March 2nd 2010 at 9:39am
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So being in prison in Norway is a lot like being at a medium-priced resort in the US?

posted by Sydney on March 2nd 2010 at 9:46am
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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?

posted by Terry in Silver Spring on March 2nd 2010 at 10:06am
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Note to self: Begin life of crime in Norway. ...just give me a minute to change that date in my planner, now.

posted by Bee T. on March 2nd 2010 at 10:08am
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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?

posted by Lady J on March 2nd 2010 at 10:40am
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Wow this seems like it would encourage crime.

posted by ladyearl0803 on March 2nd 2010 at 10:41am
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I think I'll chose Norway for my next bank robbery!

posted by laurabellk on March 2nd 2010 at 11:22am
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Almost makes one want to go to jail

posted by ChrisGal on March 2nd 2010 at 11:26am
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That prison is much nicer than my high school was.

posted by unabridged on March 2nd 2010 at 11:29am
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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.

posted by LBhirise on March 2nd 2010 at 11:34am
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Lock me up!

posted by jeffnyc on March 2nd 2010 at 11:41am
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My dormrooms in the USAF were nowhere as nice...

Tho if you've been to Norway - this really would be punishment.

posted by bepsf on March 2nd 2010 at 11:58am
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Seriously? Each cell has its own TV?

posted by Cassis on March 2nd 2010 at 12:08pm
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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 :)

posted by MarenB on March 2nd 2010 at 12:57pm
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It looks like a tiny hospital room to me.

posted by sxyskeksis on March 2nd 2010 at 12:57pm
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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.

posted by Kpaige13 on March 2nd 2010 at 1:15pm
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Yes, this is HAS to be a minimum security prison...

and my dorm room looked waaay worse

posted by abc123 on March 2nd 2010 at 1:23pm
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I agree that it looks like a hospital room, only much nicer than many of the hospital rooms I've seen.

posted by Syllogi on March 2nd 2010 at 1:25pm
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Ha! This looks like a guest room at Accenture's professional education center in St. Charles, IL.,

posted by Kathryn on March 2nd 2010 at 1:43pm
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If I were the victim of one of these prisoners, I would be PISSED OFF!

posted by rexrayfan on March 2nd 2010 at 1:59pm
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Seriously? I have to commit a crime to get access to a recording studio? Grrr.

posted by DodieGoldney on March 2nd 2010 at 2:06pm
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If I were one of the homeless in Norway, I'd be pissed.

posted by elankat on March 2nd 2010 at 3:33pm
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And they said nothing good would come of Martha Stewart's incarceration!

posted by patrick (the other one) on March 2nd 2010 at 3:35pm
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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.

posted by chicity1126 on March 2nd 2010 at 5:59pm
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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'.

posted by brocktontriangle on March 2nd 2010 at 6:05pm
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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.

posted by chicity1126 on March 2nd 2010 at 6:18pm
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guess it's okay to be bad, in Norway.

posted by treelovr on March 2nd 2010 at 8:30pm
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scandinavian countries approach dealing with criminals much differently than the US. socialism is such a menace, huh.

posted by charlenemcbride on March 2nd 2010 at 8:50pm
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I would have guessed it was the personal quarters of a monk or a nun.

posted by Tisha on March 2nd 2010 at 10:26pm
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It's only for 251 minimum security inmates, like the Norwegian Martha Stewarts.

http://www.elusivemoose.eu/2010/02/halden-prison/

posted by Palmetto on March 2nd 2010 at 10:37pm
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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 ;)

posted by Blandwagon on March 2nd 2010 at 10:50pm
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I can imagine people committing crimes to go there. :)

posted by Mona D on March 3rd 2010 at 9:16am
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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."

posted by diridi on March 19th 2010 at 4:13pm
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