time. The building should be physically isolated, such as onnan island or a peninsula, yet it should be close enough tonthe homes of most prisoners to allow visitors to travel to itneasily. Finally, the prison should be as comfortable asnpossible, and provide inmates with surroundings that arensecure yet do not exacerbate tendencies toward despair andnviolence.nLake Point Tower fulfihs all of these criteria better thannany other building to date. For one thing. Lake Point Towernis on the proper scale. At the time of its construction, it wasnthe world’s tallest apartment building. Each of its floorsnencompasses approximately 17,200 square feet of livingnspace. If converted into two-man cells of 100 square feetn(which is, by present standards, generous), each floor couldntherefore house 344 inmates. Multiply that by even 40nstories and you have the world’s largest prison.nThe location is also ideal. Courts have increasinglyninsisted that inmates not be relocated in areas excessivelynremoved from their families’ homes, and Lake Point Towernis certainly located near to the homes of most of itsninmates-to-be; yet, it is physically isolated on its peninsula.nFencing off the area presently encompassing the swimmingnpool and the putting green would provide excellent security,nyet would still allow easy access to family members,nattorneys, and other visitors.nThird, and most important. Lake Point Tower is wellsuitednto serve as a prison by reason of its design. Thenbuilding is a three-winged cloverleaf, with the elevators andnstairwells located at the central core. With the interior wallsnremoved, an observer standing by the elevator banks couldnkeep close watch on the inhabitants without needing tonpatrol the corridors. This bears an astonishingly closenresemblance to Jeremy Bentham’s “panopticon” design fornprisons, with the exception that the interior of Lake PointnTower is handled more eiheientiy and that the texture of itsnexterior, it must be admitted, is considerably more aestheticnthan those of, say, Alcatraz or Attica.nWith the present design, guards stationed around thencentral area could control access to the cell area, yet easilynpatrol each wing of tiers or monitor the prisoners usingnremote television cameras, as demonstrated by the prototypensystem currentiy installed in the building’s lobby. Thenbuilding’s vertical structure makes it impossible for anninmate to tunnel his way out—digging through the floor ofna cell, after all, would lead only to another cell. Likewise,nthe fact that the building’s exterior is a featureless skinnmeans that any prisoner who attempted to scale down thenoutside of the building would have nothing to hold ontonand would be exposed to observers on the ground. Thenconclusion is inescapable: By design, Lake Point Tower isnalmost perfectiy suited to serve as a prison.nPhysically converting Lake Point Tower to a prison wouldnentail minimal difficulties. The interior walls of the buildingnare not load-bearing, and their construction is such thatnthey present no serious obstacle to removal. Replacing themnwith bars would mean that air ducts would be needed onlynin the corridors; removing any suspended ceilings in thenhabitation areas themselves would increase both securitynand the amount of cubic footage available to each inmate.nGuard stations would then be installed around each elevatornarea, supplemented by automated monitoring devices inneach corridor. The elevators themselves would have to benmodified so that they could be key operated only by a guardnlocated on the ground floor of the building.nThe elevators point out the main problem with the designnof a vertical prison: that in such a design, it is difficult tonmove large numbers of inmates easily. Administration willnneed to plan each day carefully, to ensure that inmatesnmove smoothly from floor to floor within the building.nEvacuation in case of fire might prove to be a problem;nhowever, it will be no greater a problem in the future than itnis now.nThe main cost in this project would be acquiring thenbuilding: The building would have to be condemned andnpurchased for fair market value. However, if the acquisitionnis handled in the manner usual for Chicago, the pricenshould not present an insurmountable obstacle; the costnshould prove less than that of building an entirely newnfacility, yet would provide an excellent facflity located in anmost suitable area of the state. Inmates would be wellhousednin a sunny, pleasant facility and might well haventheir rehabilitation eased thanks to the advantage of livingnin the aesthetic surroundings of one of the world’s master­npieces of architecture. Moreover,’ this transformation couldnwell serve to improve the living quarters of both new andnold tenants alike.nIn conclusion, it should be noted that a key to contemporarynarchitecture lies in the phrase “Form follows function”;nthe truth of that assertion is undeniable, if one adds thencaveat that sometimes the function is not apparent until thenform has been completed. Covernor Thompson and thenstate of Illinois should give this proposal serious consideration,nfor it not only will provide the state with a usefulnprison facility but will also finally give to Lake Point Towernthe function to which it is—by scale, by location, and byndesign—best suited.nnnFEBRUARY 1987 /13n