Academy of Architecture for Justice

I am new to Justice Center Design (my background is in Educational and Healthcare) and I have a question.  I work for the Federal Government and I am currently reviewing a new $42M Judicial Center.  I was surprised to see metal bars on all the windows in the Detention Center portion (1" square metal welded at 6" o.c.).  It seems very dehumanizing, and with all the high tech security glass we have now, it seemed unnecessary as well.  Can anyone comment on this for me so I know what standard practice is?  Thank you, MSH

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Marie Shaver Holloway Assoc. AIA
Project Manager
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Albuquerque NM
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Marie,

Well, I suppose that the technical answer would be to start with the ACA standards for adult detention facilities. But here in Chicago we have a wonderfully elegant alternative to the block-ish diagrams in the form of the (Federal) Metropolitan Correctional Center by Harry Weese - the same Chicago architect who brought you the Metro system in DC, among other masterpieces. It's a high rise downtown detention center, triangular in plan, part of the Chicago Federal Center that serves Mies van der Rohe's equally refined Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

Widely emulated, the MCC is entirely cast in place concrete - as an aside it's the most perfect finish in American CIP concrete you're likely to see - with vertical slit windows that have a taper to one side in section. While I've not compared them in the field to the current standard, I suspect that his approach gets a vision panel narrow enough to still meet the ACA or other applicable standard while providing a good amount of natural daylight for the interior. There are state, county and municipal detention and correctional centers all across the US that picked up on Harry's approach to cell windows.

If you want more specific information, contact Bob Theel who is the Chief Architect for GSA Region 5 (robert dot theel at gsa dot gov). Bob's a great guy, always willing to help - AIA plug; he's a colleague of mine on our board at AIA Chicago - and can give you all of the particulars, including the stuff you need a clearance for (which you probably already have).

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Eric Davis AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
President
Public Design Architects LLC
edavis@publicdesignarchitects.com
www.publicdesignarchitects.com
Oak Park IL
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Marie,

It's standard for security windows to allow no more than 5" of glazing between bars or mullions to prevent escape.  There is also general agreement among architects that this makes those windows look severe and dehumanizing.  As far as I know there is no glazing product available that would provide the same level of physical security.  However, there are security windows with mullions in lieu of bars that have, by a degree, a more normal appearance.

For the county jail facility that I'm currently designing, we are providing commercial windows with impact-resistant glazing for minimum security housing units for a "normal/normalized/normative" environment.  Medium and maximum security housing still will have divided security windows.

If it's important to make the facility blend into the neighborhood, then a plumbing chase with a separate exterior window wall can be provided all around outside the cells, with narrow or divided windows from the cells into the chase.  The sunlight needs to come into the cells through the exterior window, chase, and cell window.

Steve

Stephen B. Wagner, AIA, LEED AP
KMD Architects
Santa Monica CA
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