Can pastel shades make for better prisons?

Colour bar: Janine McDowell shows off Bronzefield's bright hues

A new women's prison which opens next week is state of the art in every sense - it uses bright and warm colours to create an aura of peace and calm. How does this work?

HMP Bronzefield is not a typical jail. Purpose-built for 450 inmates, it shuns the customary drab colours and gloomy corridors in favour of a "less oppressive" environment.

Natural light and indoor trees play a big part, while sails, rather than the traditional netting, are suspended from the upper railings of the central "mall" to catch anyone who jumps off the first-floor landing.

Innovative colour schemes, which draw heavily on bright and pastel shades, have also been used to make it as "least oppressive as possible", says director Janine McDowell.

The belief that colour can influence mood is well recognised in interior design circles and has credibility among some psychologists as well. The theory has already had an impact on design in hospitals and schools.

Seasoned viewers of Big Brother will doubtless have noticed in the latest series the infamous house where the contestants live has been redesigned with a less cosy feel.

There needs to be a variety if you want to get away from that oppressive institutional feel Hilary Dalke Bronzefield prison opens

Keen to provoke some tension between housemates, Channel 4 says it has chosen a palette of textures and colours designed to "wear people down".

At the other end of the scale, the Prison Service started investigating the possible impact of calming colour schemes after the riots at Strangeways, Manchester, in 1990.

Colour specialist Angela Wright, who has worked as a consultant for the Prison Service in the past, says colour has the power to influence behaviour because of its "psycho-physical" effect.

"Colour is not just a visual phenomenon, it produces a physical reaction. Blind people can distinguish between colours with their fingertips because of the energy different colours emit."

Her "prison palette" includes purple for a chapel "to help contemplation", blues with a touch of yellow for study areas, and orange for the canteen.

Pink clink: Doors at Bronzefield are painted pastel pink

"Orange is a mix of red, a physically stimulating colour, and yellow, which lifts the spirits and stimulates self-confidence. Orange focuses the mind on physical comfort, for which food is vital."

For the cells she opted for a warm "apricotty, peachy terracotta" to promote the idea of home - a welcoming place to return to.

Pastel shades, which are being used in Bronzefield, are low intensity and so don't tend to elicit strong reactions, she says. They can be soothing though.

Hilary Dalke, who has supervised makeovers in 12 prisons, says feedback from inmates has been positive.

Bright colours alone will not transform a prison environment, she cautions. "There needs to be a variety if you want to get away from that oppressive institutional feel - simple things sometimes, like a different colour outside a cell than inside.

"Lighting is every bit as important as colour in bringing the shades to life and giving a soft or stimulating quality to the environment."