Crossing the “square-park” provides the prisoners present with the possibility of exchanges, and even of calling out to the persons that they encounter. Persons are therefore no longer excluded in a space enclosed for the purposes of security. Prison officers thus regain their rightful place, their role not being limited to positioning themselves at points of access, but also consisting of moving around. There is no longer any need for video surveillance, with the exception of any blind spots that may exist. In institutions that have a “square-park” of this kind – such as the long-stay prison of Poissy for example – no increase in the number of incidents has been noted, whereas the level of presence of prisoners is much higher. According to the information collected by staff at the time of inspections of these institutions, incidents in “square-parks” are rarer and less frequent than in “isolated yards”. In addition, this type of arrangement is likely to bring users closer to the persons in charge, who thus have additional and direct information at their disposal with regard to the overall atmosphere in the prison. When exercise areas are designed with the objective of promoting personal autonomy and socialisation, persons deprived of liberty show greater respect for them. They make these places their own, in particular by arranging them to their satisfaction in order to extend their living space. Respect for these plots, when they are cultivated, therefore contributes to an environment which is both calmer and healthier, thanks to the absence of rubbish thrown from windows and maintenance carried out on their own initiative by persons who want to maintain their living space in good condition. It would be appropriate to make provision for sufficiently large areas to enable prisoners to engage in any vegetable gardening, horticultural or sports activity of their choice. 2.3 Architecture Promoting Social Rehabilitation Under the current system of management of confinement, persons deprived of liberty spend a large amount of time in cells or rooms due, in particular, to insufficient availability of activities. In addition, they are de facto deprived of relations that they might have with the outside: relations with persons of the opposite sex, integration within large groups of people and regular exchanges with professionals, rather than only with other captives. The architecture of these places thus supports this management and organises places of deprivation of liberty into social spaces of such a special kind that the nature of the social relations established there renders reintegration into the community difficult. 2.3.1 Areas for Collective Meetings Unless they are to suffer from lack of privacy in the place in which they are to live in the longterm, persons subject to collective life need time for, conviviality and spaces promoting exchanges and encounters. In view of the specificity of each type of place of deprivation of liberty, these concerns take different forms which presuppose special arrangements of premises. a) Thus, in most mental health institutions, a “cafeteria” or “therapeutic bar” has been set up which has proven to be one of the essential places for patients, enabling them to leave their unit, have coffee or a drink, bump into other people and meet friends and family, make a few purchases etc. It is essential to arrange these premises to make them attractive: the cafeteria needs to be established in a sufficiently large room with glass surfaces overlooking green areas of the hospital park; the furniture needs to make it possible to comfortably welcome families; insofar as possible, priority should be given to the possibility of sitting on an open terrace. 148