Letter from the Editor

Calendar of Events

Justice Architecture: Sustainability / Design / Delivery / Practice
November 5 - 8, 2008
San Francisco, CA

Join the AIA/AAJ in San Francisco where they will address a broad spectrum of issues that affect the planning, design and delivery of justice facilities. Through presentations that are related to the conference theme, conference participants will explore sustainability, design, delivery and practice.

International Corrections and Prisons Association
October 26 - 31
Prague, Czech Republic

The International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) will celebrate a ten year anniversary this October 26-31 in Prague. ICPA was formed in Canada in 1998 as an association of international correctional organizations. In less than a decade, the Association has grown from an idea to an international Association of influence, with a membership base that encompasses some 80 countries and some 650 members and a highly regarded annual conference that now attracts over 300 participants.

This year’s theme - “A Decade of Advancing Corrections: Lessons Learned - Future Challenges” – will explore a range of topics through presentations by representatives of more than 30 nations. One workshop will be lead by Mike Frawley, AIA of DMJM on sustainable design in prisons.

The ICPA attracts high level ministers and system directors from around the world to share experiences in the management, operation, financing, and design of correctional environments.

News

Courts

Courtroom Wheelchair Lifts
by Don Birdsall
This issue of the Journal is sponsored by the LIFT-U Division of Hogan Mfg., Inc.
There is a perception that courtroom wheelchair lifts are unreliable, noisy, and disruptive to the courtroom proceedings. This perception is based on past experience dealing with old lift technology.

Wheelchair lifts are not the enemy. A lift is a simple device that transports the user from one location vertically to another location. A ramp is often used to provide accessibility from one elevation to another, but the floor space required for the gradual slope of 1:12 is often not available in a courtroom. A lift is a space-efficient way to move people vertically.

What’s the problem with courtroom lifts? To answer this question, the GSA commissioned a Mechanical Lift Analysis of Courtroom Lifts in 2003. The study was updated in 2005. More


JFR '07 Citation: Davenport U.S. Courthouse Renovation
Davenport, Iowa

The restoration and renovation of a former 1930s U.S. Post Office and Courthouse presented a particular challenge that may well be presented with increased frequency: renovating and modernizing an older courthouse to meet current requirements for courthouses. The architect met this challenge with stunning success by maximizing limited space with respect for the preservation of beautiful interior materials and fixtures. It is particularly difficult to design successfully the three dedicated circulation systems critical to secure the federal court’s institutional mission. This “old” building was given new life with great dignity. More

JFR '07 Citation: Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse
Eugene, Oregon

This project breaks ground in the typology of courts planning. The building is formed of three pairs of juxtaposed courtrooms linked by ribbons of circulation which echo the adjacent freeway context. It is an exhilarating piece of sculpture resulting in unexpected encounters with evocative free-flowing spaces of abundant daylight. The sculpted forms carry into the courtrooms using a teardrop shape to focus on the judge’s bench and embrace the room’s occupants with the richness of elegant wood patterning. More

JFR 07: Circuit Court of Cook County
Chicago, Illinois

In 2005 this relocated county circuit courthouse opened the doors of its renovated, four-story, masonry and stone building exhibiting a new façade, lobby, and public interiors. Its goal was to provide a friendly environment and an appropriate civic image.  To maximize the site, the building rear was repositioned to become the front, requiring a design solution that integrated the existing rust-colored masonry of the building with the new façade. A moisture-resistant alternative to simple cladding—a wall featuring an aluminum and terra-cotta tile system using state-of-the-art “rain screen” technology—was secured with trusses 16 feet in front of the facility. The new wall creates a welcoming, 300-foot-long light-filled atrium and lobby soaring 60 feet high.  Abundant natural light is reflected from south-facing, clerestory windows onto resin-impregnated, wood paneled north walls which resist scratches and vandalism. Energy-efficient materials and systems were used to achieve the county’s first LEED silver accreditation project. More

JFR '07: The New Fall River Trial Court
Fall River, Massachusetts

The new courthouse design creates civic presence in the local community, knitting together program goals, permanence, and transparency, on a tight urban site in an open yet secure environment. Located in a main central business district, the building is envisioned as a solid masonry mass, carved open in one corner to reveal a five-story, light-filled public galleria that orients to a major entry court. The landscape develops a ring of plantings that arc across the site, creating universal access for all while allowing the neighboring buildings to engage with the new courthouse. This design maximizes natural light for all courtrooms, users, and visitors. It contains 153,000 square feet, with court support functions located in the entrance level; transaction offices are on levels 2 and 3, with eight of the courtrooms on the fourth and fifth floors. Exterior will be in granite, glass, and steel; interiors will be a combination of granite and wood. The building is contemporary yet built on tradition. Community and dignity are guiding design principles—community, respecting who views and uses the court; dignity, a building that reflects our rule of law. More

Law Enforcement

JFR '07:  Erie County Public Safety Campus
Buffalo, New York

The facility is the unified and consolidated center for forensics, evidence collection, emergency communications, a 911 call center, and disaster control. The key design challenge was to integrate necessary security precautions while maintaining an integrated relationship to the immediate post-September 11, 2001, environment. The facility lies within an open space corridor connecting the city core to the urban edge. The building employs a conceptual ribbon that folds to define spaces, allowing the building to extend, rather than obstruct, the corridor. The building is set back from the public way, creating a buffer zone that is visually integrated with the urban framework. Sloped surfaces mirror the building’s geometry, allowing natural light and views at the lower level. The façades reflect the nature of the city, changing scale and texture. The volumes of the south building façade are program driven; floor plates change size to accurately accommodate the program. Vertical core elements are offset to provide unobstructed and efficient planning. More

Detentions/Corrections

Psychosocially Supportive Design: a Health-Promoting Approach to Prison Design
by Alan Dilani, Ph.D., International Academy for Design and Health, Sweden

 Architecture and design have been influenced by industrial societies for decades. Therefore, public buildings, like airports hospitals and prisons, have often been designed to accommodate the functionality and look like factories.

Environmental qualities that are considered to be psychosocially supportive have been largely neglected. Psychosocially supportive design stimulates and engages people mentally and socially, and supports an individual’s sense of coherence. The aim of psychosocially supportive design is to stimulate the mind in order to create pleasure, satisfaction and enjoyment, enhance creativity and initiate a mental process that, by attracting a person’s attention, reduces anxiety and promotes positive psychological emotions.
More

JFR '07: Gwinnett County Detention Center Renovation and Expansion
Lawrenceville, Georgia

After one year of design and two years of construction, the client moved nearly 300 inmates from the existing facility and 500 inmates from neighboring counties into the new housing expansion. Located on a highly visible site, the four-story building is surrounded by established mixed-use businesses in a fully developed suburb northeast of Atlanta. The housing solution is the first phase of a two-phase expansion that explores a new detention center typology. The project’s limited site area created a need to condense and compress the building massing. This was achieved by designing natural light-filled living rooms, which provide daylight to inmate cells and staff. Omitting exterior cell windows created an opportunity to express the building as a commercial member of the community by focusing the building façades on material transparency and composition. These themes are also explored in greater detail in the public lobby where openness and accessibility are encouraged and in the staff dining pavilion where employees are encouraged to interact in the daylit environment.  More

Juvenile Facilities

JFR '07: Maricopa County Juvenile Detention Center, Durango Campus Expansion and Renovation
Phoenix, Arizona

The new addition to an existing juvenile detention facility consists of 220 single-bed sleeping rooms and support space. The residential wing is organized as three buildings: two consisting of four modules of 20 single beds each, one with three modules of 20 single beds, and one module of 20 single beds for special needs residents. Each module has two levels of sleeping rooms surrounding a secure dayroom space. Natural light enters each dayroom through clerestory windows and a small courtyard shared by each pair of housing units. One support wing for the new housing includes classrooms, dining room, and gymnasium. These functions line a monitored corridor connecting the new housing modules to the existing housing. Secure courtyards between the residential buildings and support components allow natural light into and views from the corridor. The gym and dining room overlook the large outdoor recreation yard. A second centrally located support wing houses the public lobby, family vising, administration, booking and holding, and medical intake. Open space is an integral part of the development, with interior courtyards that accommodate exercise and other outdoor activities. The high roof over the public entry creates a strong image for the new facility and an identifiable point of entry for visitors. The building connects to the new juvenile courthouse to provide secure movement of juvenile detainees.  More

JFR '07: San Mateo County Youth Center
San Mateo, California

The project team was retained by the county to provide full program verification, planning, design, and construction services for this 317,948-square-foot, full-service juvenile justice campus employing a construction manager “at-risk” project delivery methodology. Major components of the project include the Juvenile Hall composed of the assessment center, intake/release, housing (including a dual diagnosis unit), visiting, facility support, health services, mental health, food service, programs, education, girls camp and administration, and youth services (including Juvenile Court, Probation Department Administration, Juvenile Probation, Community School/Day Reporting), and two group receiving homes. The facilities for the campus were programmed and designed to facilitate sharing of services in an environment that is supportive of the clients (youth, families, and community) as well as service providers, which include juvenile courts, health service agency, mental health agency, human services agency, county Office of Education, Public Works, and Probation Department.  More

JFR '07: Valley of the Moon Children's Home
Santa Rosa, California

The children’s home provides temporary shelter care for youth who have suffered neglect or abuse or have been abandoned. This staff-secure facility is part of the community-based juvenile services plan designed for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. The mission is to reunite youth with parents, family, or foster care programs. The architectural challenge was to create a “homelike,” therapeutic environment for troubled children. Varied spaces, natural light, color, detail, and staff/child interaction have been emphasized. The architectural program required housing units for diverse populations (babies through teens), gender, and behavior. The residential units contain nine double-occupancy bedrooms, dayrooms, and program areas. Each unit has a different room arrangement and furnishing scheme. Consideration of staff was also incorporated into the design program. Interesting spaces, comfortable furnishings, and acoustically buffered areas all contribute to a successful workspace. The rural site provides distant views to wooded foothills and each unit has access to play yards. More

Multi-Use Facilities

JFR '07: Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute
Toronto, Ontario

The Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute was designed to take full advantage of the site, in terms of views, natural light, and solar and wind exposure. The clarity of the plan and the complexity of the section create volumetric experiences that are dynamic and varied. Careful consideration was given to the design of the massing; exterior finishes and lighting sources of the elements for day or night response, given the potential evening rental possiblities; LEED considerations; and the location of the project within an airport, adjacent to a runway and visible from the sky during takeoff and landing. Transparency, permiability, and solidity are explored for practical and aesthetic purposes. The integration of solar shading, a green roof, a solar wall construction, and natural ventilation features are identifiable architectural responses to the client's dedication to responsible building practices. More