Meet the designers changing what abolition looks like

On a recent afternoon, Deanna Van Buren led me through a thought exercise over Zoom. “Close your eyes,” she said through the screen. “And think of a courthouse. What do you see? “You probably see security, hard, institutional surfaces; there’s not a lot of texture, almost no natural light.” She goes on to list what else is missing, from windows that look out at nature to food or private spaces. “There’s nothing that takes care of the mind,” she continues. “It’s very much designed for...