About this episode

Helena Pombares discusses the impact of thoughtful prison design on rehabilitation and society.

This week on Better Buildings for Humans, host Joe Menchefski sits down with Helena Pombares, a prison design architect whose work challenges how we think about justice, dignity, and the built environment. From her unexpected start rebuilding infrastructure in post-war Angola to pursuing criminology to better understand inmate needs, Helena shares a deeply human approach to one of architecture’s most misunderstood sectors. Together, they explore how thoughtful design—natural light, ventilation, intuitive layouts, and access to education—can reduce stress, support rehabilitation, and ultimately lower recidivism. Helena introduces the concept of salutogenic design and explains how creating safer, more humane environments benefits not just inmates, but society as a whole. This episode reframes prisons not as places of punishment alone, but as spaces with the potential to foster healthier futures. More About Helena Queiroz Pombares Helena Pombares is an architect and criminologist with 20 years’ experience in justice architecture, and a criminology (and paths) lecturer in the UK. Helena also possesses a masters’ degree in Prisons Architecture and is on the final steps of her journey…

People in this episode

Host: Joe Menchefski

Guest: Helena Pombares

Topics covered

• prison design
• salutogenic design
• rehabilitation
• justice architecture
• built environment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of West London

More episodes of Better Buildings For Humans

• Building Without Walls – Why Architecture’s Obsession with Control Is Killing Creativity (and How Nature Holds the Answer) - Episode 136 with Anne Romme · May 6, 2026 · 40 min
• Building Hope from Garbage – Why the Future of Sustainable Design Might Look Nothing Like You Expect - Episode 134 with Matthew Panaitz · April 22, 2026 · 33 min
• Cooling the Concrete Jungle – Rethinking Urban Heat and Human Comfort Through Radiant Design - Episode 133 with Dorit Aviv & Eric Teitelbaum · April 15, 2026 · 47 min
• Cooling the Concrete Jungle – Rethinking Urban Heat and Human Comfort Through Radiant Design - Episode 133 with Dorit Aviv & Eric Teitelbaum · April 15, 2026 · 47 min
• The Empty City Lie: Why We Keep Building Out While Our Best Land Sits Wasted – Episode 131 with Chelsey Jersak · April 1, 2026 · 29 min
• The Sustainability Illusion: Why “Green Design” Is Failing People—and What Actually Works – Ep 130 with Jenny Heim · March 25, 2026 · 31 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Better Buildings For Humans podcast page.