A team of design and construction consultants was recently honored by the International Corrections and Prison Association (ICPA) with a President's Award in recognition of the team's assistance to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) on the development of a new "Rapid Deployment Prison" concept. ICPA President Tony Cameron presented the award to the team at the organization's annual conference in Singapore on September 14.
The concept calls for a facility that could be operational within 90 days, enabling the UN to assist nations in re-establishing the "rule of law" swiftly and economically in post-conflict and post-disaster situations.
Design experts from Dewberry, CGL, and AECOM and professionals from Hale-Mills Construction, Ltd. responded to the pro bono call for assistance from the ICPA, which is coordinating the concept development in response to the UN's request for assistance. In addition to the 90-day turn-around for delivering prison settings, the team was challenged with meeting several other UN objectives for the facility, including application to a diverse variety of climates and cultures, use of indigenous materials and labor, and development of a "kit of parts" that could be used to create a completely new prison or accommodate specific program needs such as housing or administration.
The team's solution, called the Rapid Deployment Prison (RDP), is now being presented for review to UN officials and various agencies around the world. The RDP concept involves the use of cargo containers as the fundamental building component. The containers can be stacked in a conventional arrangement with canvas tenting covering open areas. The concept also allows for as many as four containers to be placed end to end to form a central energy core. The energy tower enables the prison to be self-sustaining and can facilitate canvas coverage of open areas, improve security sight lines, and accommodate water harvesting and solar applications.
"The cargo containers present the best solution globally to meet critical, rapid response needs for incarceration facilities," says Ron Budzinski, FAIA, a principal with Dewberry and a leading expert in correctional facility design. Budzinski, who worked closely with law enforcement agencies and municipalities in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, understands the urgency in terms of addressing correctional facility needs in post-disaster and post-conflict situations. "When prison facilities are damaged or inoperable, or there is a surge in the need to house inmates, the RDP concept can help nations address this demand quickly and efficiently," he says. "It's a flexible solution that can accommodate a variety of program needs, including staff residences, inmate housing, food preparation, administration, training, visitor processing, and an energy center."
The UN's requirements included the provision of staff housing and an inmate capacity of 500 beds, with support facilities, for less than $15 million. According to Budzinski, the first location for implementation could be Haiti, which is still struggling with inadequate prison facilities following the 2010 earthquake. Along with CGL Chairman Steve Carter, AICP, Budzinski has recently traveled to Belgium and Mexico City to present the concept to various ICPA representatives and UN entities. Budzinski and Carter were also part of a team presenting the concept at the ICPA annual conference in Singapore.
"The Rapid Deployment Prison concept has created a unique fusion of architects, designers, and planners working in the corrections arena," says ICPA Executive Director Ed Wozniak. "It is one of the most innovative and exciting developments in corrections in recent years."