I designed this building with the Ehrenkrantz Group, Nashville office. The Program was developed by Curtis Pullitzer, Ehrenkrantz, NewYork.

The Program was a large document that took 6 months to develop and was the combined effort of many experts in the field. It put into detail every facet of the 13 buildings that were to be built, including exact requirements as to the size of each cell and the amenities provided. This specific design was for both the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and the West Memphis facility. My task was to create an Architectual design that solved all of the logistical requirements of the Program.

The beauty of the design is in the synthesization of a detailed program into a single prototype that could be built 5 times on this particular site. Each housing unit houses 96 inmates plus service rooms. The challenge involved enabling visibility from the control room to all 96 doors and showers. The gradations of Security from medium to maximum involved different requirements for each Housing Unit. We were able to solve the problem with a single form that could be built multiple times on the site. The construction method is precast stained concrete. Due to this efficiency in design the Riverbend Facility amazed the State of Tennessee by completing within budget.

The axonometric on the previous page illustrates the prefab analysis with the plug-in component. I used a very strict geometry to arrive at the plan. The logic of using the geometry is both psychological as well as economical. The plan looks like a flower or a Mandala. The slices on the second floor are light wells, thus allowing a massive amount of natural light inside.

One of the sociological factors that I considered in designing a prison had to do with the idea that the punishment is in the incarceration. The environment itself should not be punishing. The guards and warden spend 20 years in the place, the prisoners will move on. An ordered, logical environment is a contrast to the chaos many criminals emerge from.

The state of Tennessee then enlarged many other facilities by using this Housing Prototype.