2021 Justice Facilities Review
The year's best in justice facility design, presented by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice
Entry to Nashville/Davidson Metro Criminal Justice Center and SPMI Unit
AIA's Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) has selected seven recipients of the Justice Facilities Review Awards program.
The Justice Facilities Review program offers examples of a broad range of design strategies and depicts the latest trends in the design and construction of justice facilities in the United States, including the implementation of sustainable justice principles. These projects demonstrate quality of form, functionality, and current architectural responses to complex justice design issues.
Dillwynia Correctional Centre Expansion
When the incarcerated population of New South Wales, Australia, swelled in 2017, Dillwynia Correctional Facility was identified as a possible facility for expansion to accommodate the growth. This project, guided by trauma-informed design principles, meets the specific needs of female offenders, a demographic in Australia that was trending toward higher security requirements and increased need for mental health treatment. By recognizing trauma over punishment as the driving design factor, the facility breaks the standard model of correctional architecture.
Hamilton County Coroner’s Office & Crime Lab
Despite its highly specific use, this 83,500-square-foot facility located in an inner-ring Cincinnati suburb connects visually and physically with its context. It replaces an overcrowded 40-year-old facility that regularly faced a loss of accreditation and forced staff into uncomfortable working conditions. Carefully integrated into its context, which includes tree-lined streets, pedestrian pathways, and public green spaces, the new Hamilton County Coroner’s Office and Crime Lab offers a much gentler experience for staff and visitors.
Howard County Circuit Courthouse
Built on a 30-acre brownfield site, Maryland's new Howard County Circuit Courthouse replaces a 175-year-old facility that could no longer accommodate increasing caseloads. In addressing the deficiencies of the aged facility, the team delivered an architectural expression of democracy and the rule of law. The new courthouse embraces the process of justice while outwardly projecting the image of impartiality and independence.
Johnson County Courthouse
Driven by biophilic design principles that connect it with nature through natural forms and materials, the 350,000-square-foot Johnson County Courthouse in Olathe, Kansas, is one of the final steps of a nearly 20-year master planning process. Its location in Olathe's downtown helps shape a dynamic new core that supports the surrounding community's needs while catalyzing growth and economic vitality.
Nashville/Davidson Metro Criminal Justice Center and SPMI Unit
This new 880-bed facility aims to profoundly change the way justice is delivered in central Tennessee while providing a dignified new addition to Nashville's main government campus. As the unique focal point of the campus, the center reflects the qualities of both the city's venerable city hall and the neighboring criminal courts built in the early 2000s. Nashville and Davidson County operate as a joint government unit, and its sheriff's department oversees pretrial detentions. Until this new center was built, the system operated as two discrete facilities: One focused on pre-trial and sentenced misdemeanant housing near the city's international airport, and one handled intake and housing for the downtown courts.
San Ysidro Land Port of Entry
Serving as the front door to the United States along the San Diego and Tijuana border, the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry (SYLPOE) is the western hemisphere's busiest land port. More than 10% of all people entering the U.S. do so through the SYLPOE. This new gateway serves as a welcoming and safe point of arrival that fosters an interconnection between the cultures of both cities and countries.
The City of Countryside Municipal Complex
As a LEED Gold–certified building, the new 34,638-square-foot municipal complex serving the city of Countryside, Illinois, is an anchor for further development and a place for the community it serves to learn about sustainability. The new building is a combined city administration and police headquarters located on the former historic Flame Restaurant site that welcomed travelers during Route 66's heyday.
Image credits
Tom Rossiter Photography