Alcatraz prison Essay

The history of Alcatraz

The history of the hierarchy of ergonomics in the planning process can be seen in the historical significance of the Alcatraz prison. Native Americans lived there at first, then it was converted into a military fort, and now it is a government maximum security prison. Alcatraz is a significant historical figure because it shows the evolution of design principles over time. This essay includes a description of Alcatraz in terms of the four levels of the hierarchy of ergonomics (safety, function, comfort, and aesthetics) in the eyes of its previous occupants: Native Americans, prisoners, and the guards, in order to show how the hierarchy of ergonomics in the design process has been changing over time. Each of these groups that ever occupied the historical island would possibly place it at a different level in the hierarchy. Other than discussing Alcatraz, the 1999 film The 1900 House also reveals a rich history of ergonomics. There are some differences that emerge with Alcatraz through the psychological and physical experiences of the Bowlers while living in house in a Victorian setting. A comparison of Alcatraz and the 1900 House is the basis of placing the designed structures such as prison rooms and house rooms respectively at different levels on the hierarchy of ergonomics.

The 1900 House

The 1900 House is about a family that lived a life of people in the 1900s. It has a lot of historical cues that places the house they lived in a particular level of the hierarchy of ergonomics. The family changes an ordinary house in the street of London so that it looks like a house from the year 1900. One of things they do is to get off electricity cables and replace them with gas for lights and the kitchen (Ross-Pine, 1999). The kitchen is outside the garden and the furniture in the house is from 1900 or before. The Bowlers live in the house for three months. It is a family of six people: Paul and Joyce Bowler, their daughters, Hilary, Ruth, and Kathryn, and their son, Joe. For the three months they live in the house, they wear Victorian clothes and live like people during the Victorian era. For example, they have to wash their hair using lemon and egg, and not shampoo. They wash their clothes by hand because there is no washing machine. The do not have to go shopping because everything is available. They all have to work hard to cook their food and clean their food. The girls share a bed. There is no television or computer. The children do not have to go to school every day.

Alcatraz

The hierarchy of ergonomics, (safety, function, comfort, and aesthetics) is one of ideal ways to understand the historical significance Alcatraz. To the occupants of Alcatraz, each space they occupied was at different levels of the hierarchy. It is thus vital to note its brief historical in order to describe the space occupied by different groups of people who were part of Alcatraz place in the history of San Francisco and the United States (Alcatraz History, (2017). Alcatraz has a long history of over one thousand years when it was just a solitary island in San Francisco. It was later occupied by Native Americans. It was until the 1850s, when United States government decided to convert the island into a military fort. The decision by the government to make it a military fort followed a survey that indicated that found the island a perfect viewpoint for American troops to protect the Golden Gate (the place where the Golden Gate Bridge is currently located). Later in the early 1900s, Alcatraz became a military prison for the federal government. In 1934, the federal government turned it into a maximum security prison after the military could no longer use it as a military prison.

Safety

As a prison, it was home to prisoners (the most notorious prisoners from all over the country were transferred to Alcatraz when it became a maximum prison), prison guards, and their families. The guards used stories of intimidation to prevent them from escaping by swimming away. An example of an intimidation story they told inmates was that of a non-existent solitary confinement area, which they said was on the far side of the prison. As such, they used to take new prisoners down the stairs to cell block A, walk with them through the basement, and brought them up to cell block C. As such, the inmates in cell block A only saw people being taken down, but they would never see them coming out of the basement. The solitary confinement was so frightening to the inmates that they would not attempt to escape or misbehave because they thought they would be taken down to the basement where they would never come back. It is worth mentioning that some Native American activists attempted to repossess Alcatraz in 1964 and 1969, but it was thwarted by federal authorities in both cases. In 1969, however, the activists occupied the island for a short time and left after nineteen months because they could not sustain the high cost of food and necessities. During their occupation of Alcatraz, Native Americans destroyed some prison buildings by burning them. Interestingly, guards and their families did not reside far from the prison cells that housed the most dangerous criminals of the time. Families had a schoolhouse and other facilities, but they went shopping in San Francisco.

Differences between Alcatraz and the 1900 House

Safety

According to the prisoners of Alcatraz, the prison cells lie in the safety level of the hierarchy. It was a safe haven for them not to be attacked by the sharks in the water surrounding the island.

Function

Upon being interviewed, Hilary in the 1600 House remarks, “But I don’t want to do it again. I think I’d like to live in the future, not the past!” (Ross-Pine, 1999). Her remark means that the house serves the function level and not the comfort level.

Comfort

According to the guard, Alcatraz lies at the comfort level of the hierarchy of ergonomics. It was a comfortable place for them as much as it was a prison for the most notorious criminals of that time.

Aesthetics

When the Native Americans occupied the island, they considered it their heritage, serving an aesthetic purpose. They had a long history of occupying the island before the federal government turned it into a military prison and later a security prison. The difference between the aesthetic roles of Alcatraz to Native Americans and the aesthetic role of the house to the Bowlers in the 1600 House is that the latter is reminiscent of Victorian culture while the former represents a protest to reclaim a lost piece of heritage.

References

Alcatraz History. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/

Ross-Pine, С. (Director). (1999). The 1900 House [Motion picture]. United States,United Kingdom: Channel 4, PBS.