County of Monterey, Youth Detention Center
Additional Info
Award Winner : Pacific Mobile Structures, Inc.
Architectural Excellence : The Youth Detention Center classroom building provided for Monterey County had very specific architectural needs. As opposed to being designed to provide as much visual interest as possible, this building was designed along utilitarian lines to ensure the safety and security of the inmates and staff. The student-accessible area is divided into four spacious classrooms along two hallways creating a central axis for the building. The control room for the building, housing a guard booth equipped with numerous safety devices and alarm controls, sits at the intersection of the axial corridors. The lines of sight from the booth are such that the entire student space can be monitored by one guard if necessary. The classrooms themselves are equipped with large interior windows on the hallways for the safety of the occupants; guards monitor the students at all times. Each classroom is provided with a door to the exterior in addition to a door to the interior hallway, in case of emergency.
Cost Energy Effectiveness : The customer was able to obtain a fairly large classroom building cost-effectively by careful analysis of where upgrades were truly required. As previously mentioned, there were many upgrades that were required to meet the needs of the residents of the Monterey County Youth Detention Center. In order to stay within the County budget we spent considerable time analyzing the needs of the staff versus the needs of the students to determine whether various upgrades would be needed throughout the building or only in certain sections. One section of the building is accessible only to staff, housing offices, a break room, and counselor’s quarters. This design separation allowed the owner to save on costly security upgrades that were required in the other areas of the building. We were also able to partner with our customer, the County of Monterey, to have various permitting fees waived and to have a nearby secure staging area provided at no cost.
Occupied Date : 1/5/2009
Production Start Date : 9/8/2008
Project Location City : Salinas
Project Location State Name : CA
Technical Innovation : Most of the technical difficulties with this building revolved around making it inmate-proof. Although the facility is not, a jail, it is only one step below. The juvenile offenders who reside at the Detention Center are mostly incarcerated for violent offenses. Building a tamper proof building was of paramount importance. Not only did various fixtures need to resist being meddled with, but the customer required upgrades on all wearable surfaces. The carpets and sheet vinyl are super-duty to stand up to as heavy abuse. The building and its various parts received extra coats of paint. All cover plates are stainless steel. Many of the walls in the boys’ area are of steel stud construction.
Total Square Feet : 6480