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Not doing your series of questions justice, but briefly, the prison cells are awful because they are made so carelessly and cheaply and not looked after. The gymnasium is made with immense care and thought and resources so I find the idea of spending time in it kind of special, even though I don't love it and think it would be better if it used more natural materials and didn't feel so impersonal.
I think a building like the gymnasium has to be well maintained to even recognisably be itself, whereas one could almost say the opposite for the prison images: they're designed to be unloved. For that reason, yeah, it would be good if the gymnasium design principles were used for prison design.
It's an ugly concrete box. Worse, it's probably not even cost-efficient
All these things can be true! And no, it's definitely not cost efficient.
It's deeply perverse to invest immense care and thought into making something ugly.
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Suppose #2 were brand-new, and what you saw was exactly as the designer intended it, to the point of intentionally and carefully corroding the steel where the toilet meets the sink with meticulously-collected and -applied urine. Would that make it better?
It seems to me that the series displays cleanliness, simplicity, and order on one end, and filth, complexity and chaos on the other. What's notable to me is how the design of the gym intentionally recapitulates similar impressions of filth, complexity and chaos, particularly in the cement castings, and particularly in the classroom, hallway and stairwell shots. If I had to slot the gymnasium shots into the cell sequence, it would be somewhere around #5.
I'm an artist. Intentionally designed filth, complexity and chaos are a basic part of my day-to-day job, because I need to use these things to induce particular emotions in my audience. What I'm perplexed by is why someone would use these techniques in a public space that people are, to a considerable degree, compelled to interact with.
...Out of curiosity, which of the gymnasium shots do you find most pleasing, and which least? For me, the kendo room and the gymnasium itself are head and shoulders better than the rest of the shots, spaces designed for competition and struggle. Does it seem that way to you also?
It might be interesting as art or as a theatre set but very cruel as a prison. Deliberately unpleasant instead of carelessly so.
Agree with your preferences re the gymnasium rooms. Those ones seem most in harmony with their purpose. The classroom is a downer.
Regards your choice of vocabulary – filth, complexity and chaos – I must say I am surprised. This style of architecture strikes me as favouring very simple lines rather than complex ones (which I'd associate more with e.g. gothic architecture). I also don't find them to be especially filthy – in fact, I think they have to be kept in good nick to be palatable. The Barbican Centre would be dystopian for example if not carefully looked after but it's actually really nice to wander around because they mop a lot!
I do admit there is something Lovecraftian about looking on large expanses of concrete, when they are inhuman in their scale. But it's possible to design with this element of 'disharmony' or 'discomfort' while spending a lot of effort on making the building functional and comfortable when it comes to using it on a day to day basis (seating, bathrooms, walking lines etc).
In fact this combo is especially pleasing.
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