Scandi beige: two crisis-hit prisons to convert wings into calming Nordic units

In Little Scandinavia, dogs and cats wander past a fish tank surrounded by pot plants.

- Rachel Sylvester

There is a zen garden, a therapy room, a cappuccino machine, pastel sofas and a well-stocked kitchen including an air fryer.

This bright and airy facility near Philadelphia, in the US, could be a spa retreat or a luxury hotel but in fact it is an innovative wing at a medium security jail which is testing a new approach to incarceration.

The inmates are known as “residents” and the prison guards are called “contact officers”. They are encouraged to play ping pong or pool with the prisoners to build trust.