Designing for Change: Four justice architects weigh in on trends, challenges and innovations shaping correctional facility design
By Kat Balster
As the justice system evolves, so must the environments in which it operates. Four justice architects joined Correctional News’ design roundtable to delve into the latest trends, challenges, and standout projects influencing the future of justice architecture. Bill Valdez, PE, DBIA, partner at KMB Architects of Seattle; Tony Vie, AIA, partner at Elevatus Architecture in Ft. Wayne, Ind.; Jim Beight, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, senior principal and justice lead at Dewberry; and Frank Greene, FAIA, OAA, IIDA, NOMA, vice president and justice lead for STV of New York, provided insights from their extensive knowledge working in corrections architecture.
What do you think the most significant design trend for 2025 will be?
GREENE: A key trend will be a continued focus on adding capacity to address the often co-occurring medical, mental health and behavioral health needs of people in custody. With the awareness that safely housing people is only part of the solution, these programs require thoughtfully designed spaces and appropriate technology to be effective.
IE: Human-centered design that prioritizes dignity, rehabilitation, and community reintegration. While justice facilities will always need to prioritize safety and security without compromise, this trend reflects a paradigm shift, emphasizing environments that support positive behavioral change while still maintaining robust security and operational efficiency.
VALDEZ: Continued design progression of normative design elements in correctional and justice environments. We are seeing the inclusion of color, biomimicry, wood and other natural materials into most of our correctional projects including juvenile, adult, special custody and mental health populations. The utilization of large-format graphics and resident-assisted artwork has been an increasingly utilized element in many of our correctional and justice projects.
BEIGHT: A continuation of building facilities with appropriate treatment environments. There has been a recent push for new Department of Health crossovers with the Department of Corrections for many states’ forensic populations for competency restoration services for individuals referred by courts. These facility designs are typically required to meet The Joint Commission (TJC) and Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) requirements, which create a more robust treatment environment and treatment-focused operations. We are seeing countywide master plans that include more thought on diversion for those with physical, behavioral, or mental health challenges which is hopeful as these master plans are funded and move toward reality.
What are some significant challenges facing justice architects today?
GREENE: One ongoing challenge is balancing the imperative to reduce
cost with the larger lifecycle and future- proofing needs of justice facilities. “Getting it right” requires collaboration between an experienced architect and a committed owner to deliver a project that stands the test of time.
For example, “rear-chase” or “borrowed-light” housing units, which allow for reduced square footage and easier maintenance (i.e., providing plumbing chase access from outside the secure zone), offer clear cost benefits. However, they come at the expense of the daily experience of people in custody, especially when combined with enclosed recreation spaces and multi-occupant cells. Instead, it’s vital to create spaces that come with privacy to support acts of contemplation and restoration.
Overcoming the institutional feel of correctional environments in pursuit
of a normalized experience is another important objective. Our buildings, even in dense urban environments, can be designed to prioritize access to natural daylight, enhancing the daily experience with changing light and views to the outside.
VIE: Justice architects are challenged to design facilities that align with modern values while meeting operational needs. There is a growing emphasis on rehabilitation over punitive measures, but the need for uncompromising safety and security remains non-negotiable. This requires innovative, human- centered design that incorporates dignity, supporting programming, education, and treatment under the central mission of security and maintaining operational efficiency.
A critical challenge is addressing the mental health and behavioral needs of justice-involved individuals. Therapeutic spaces for counseling, crisis intervention, and sensory modulation must seamlessly integrate into the broader facility design while adhering to budgetary and operational constraints, ensuring they do not compromise security.
Community integration and perception also remain critical considerations. To address this, we focus on designing buildings that harmonize with their surroundings and provide public-facing spaces like meeting rooms or shared-use areas that foster a positive relationship with the community. Stakeholder engagement plays a huge role in overcoming these hurdles. Facilitating open dialogue and finding common ground can be challenging but is essential for ensuring the facility meets everyone’s needs.
VALDEZ: In the Pacific Northwest, many of our correctional facilities at the municipal level are of a very similar age. Thus, they have all worn and aged at
the same rate, which means they are all failing at similar times. There is a large pent-up demand for expansion and/or replacement of these aging structures with new facilities that [provide] the current mental health and medical-focused services that [newer] correctional facilities are providing to their communities. Therefore, the major challenge is broad community support to fund these capital projects.
BEIGHT: The justice hiring market continues to be a challenge. At Dewberry, we aim to attract and grow talent by focusing on recovery and rehabilitation, creating designs focused on therapeutic, humane and transformational environments. Our justice architecture and engineering team members are active in AIA AAJ and ACA and participate in committees that review and develop new standards that point facility design toward the goal of rehabilitation. In addition, our nationwide team meets virtually every other week to discuss best practices, exciting projects and the practical application of our design — as well as bi-annually in-person. Attending the Corrections Summit is an annual highlight. It connects us more deeply to construction professionals, clients and the architecture, engineering and construction industry involved in the justice market.
Another challenge has been project funding. Prices have not yet stabilized
and with mega correctional projects in New York, Alabama and potentially other states in the next few years, the logistics of long lead times on detention materials and products may be affected. Many projects in their early design and planning phases have a funding deficit due to outdated cost-per-square-foot metrics and a lack of adequate escalation increases, as it has been hard for clients and the industry to anticipate, and in some cases accept, these increases.
BEIGHT: The field of architectural justice design offers an emerging professional the opportunity to make a strong impact on society through the development of facilities that foster positive social change for the individual. Giving an individual the opportunity to turn their life around and become a contributing member of their community is a noble cause. It is important to understand that much work lies ahead, and I would recommend looking at this field through the lens of moving a giant ship: Things take time for true change to occur. In that regard, we’ve seen a lot of positive change in this field, specifically over the last 10 years challenging the status quo, which has been for the betterment of humanity. Many states and counties have responded to do their part by agreeing to better environments. It’s an exciting time. Joining the field now provides opportunities to support these efforts that benefit communities.
How have you seen the industry change over the past five to 10 years?
GREENE: The widespread acceptance of a therapeutic, restorative approach offers new hope for using the justice system as an opportunity to change lives. Also, the need of wraparound programs that address the whole person and are tailored to individual needs has gained broad support across the industry, with a growing demand for buildings designed to enhance the impact of these programs.
Additionally, integrated project delivery approaches that foster partnerships and teamwork across project teams have gained traction. Public-
private partnerships are among the most advanced forms of project delivery, particularly when performance-based, where monthly payments to the provider are conditional on the performance of a building’s elements. This approach protects the value of the asset, maintaining a “like new” condition at the end of a 20- or 30-year lease period.
VIE: The justice design industry has experienced massive changes over the past decade. There’s been a clear shift toward human-centric and rehabilitative environments, with designs that prioritize natural light, calming materials, and spaces dedicated to mental health services and substance abuse recovery programs. Technology has also revolutionized the industry, with advanced systems enhancing security and enabling innovations like remote courtrooms and virtual visits. At the same time, staff wellness has become a critical focus, with facilities now including thoughtfully designed spaces to support those working in demanding, high-stress environments. Collaboration has also taken center stage, with community groups, corrections professionals and other stakeholders working together to create spaces that reflect a wide range of needs.
VALDEZ: The need for specialized environments to support mental health, stabilization, community resource connection and therapeutic services
that are all common place in new facilities. Quiet and blue rooms have become required program spaces within correction, law enforcement and judicial facilities recently, which allow for the calming and de-escalation of high stress situations and environments, to name one specific example.
BEIGHT: We have seen the corrections continuum-of-care and trajectory continue to move away from punitive environments toward recovery-based operations and designs. Our clients desire to integrate as much healthcare, education and training as possible for not only those in custody but for their staff. Staff recruitment, retention and training continue to be challenging given that other opportunities often provide higher pay and less stress or less exposure to risk/injury. This results in high turnover, and many facilities don’t have enough staff or space large enough for training. Designing facilities that incorporate incentivized staff spaces is critical to attract new talent. Additionally, a lack of public support for the necessary funding of these facilities often leaves many clients only able to marginally improve upon the bare minimum. The justice A/E/C industry continues to push for funding decisions that are evidence- based while keeping budgets and funding paramount to the project balance. Having all parties come to agreement takes time, and the industry has been providing increased client and public education over the last five to 10 years.
This article was originally featured in the January/February edition of Correctional News.