Mapping Carceral Environments is a research project on prison architecture. Through field notes, photographs, video, and workshop artefacts, it examines how carceral spaces shape punishment, inequality, and everyday life inside the penal system.

Index

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A Culture of Control: Introduction

Challenges in Prison Research

Material Traces of State Power

Being in—Coping With Space

Perspectives on Prison Architecture

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Field Observations

Pre-Trial Detention 1

Pre-Trial Detention 2

Correctional Facility

Workshop Report PD3

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Interview: Uncertainty Detention

Mapping Carceral Environments

An Investigation of the Prison as a Spatial and Institutional Phenomenon
Imprint

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Master of Arts in Design

Visual Communication

Zurich University of the Arts
2026

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Images by the author unless otherwise statet

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Concept, Layout and Execution: 
Paula Meyer-Clason

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Texts: Paula Meyer-Clason

Proofreading: Gregory Sims

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Typefaces:
SangBleu Republic, Swiss Typefaces
Suisse Int’l, Swiss Typefaces

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© Paula Meyer-Clason 2026

Acknowledgements

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First and foremost, I would like to thank the seven workshop participants for their willingness to take part in this project and for sharing their perspectives on their carceral experience. Their openness, trust, and contributions form the foundation of this work.
Many thanks to Marilou Veuve for introducing me to ST, whose support made this project possible.

I would like to warmly thank ST for the many honest conversations, and for recognizing the potential and value of my work. I am especially grateful for the time he devoted to connecting me with his contacts in three prisons.

I’m grateful to RS for his openness toward me and my project and for the deep and honest conversations about the penal system.

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Special thanks to: Samuel Weidmann, Massimo Bordogna, Rebecca De Bautista, Katharina Shahrzad Shafiei-Nasab and Jonas Huber.

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Contact

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For inqueries please contact: meyerclason@gmail.com