News
13 July 2009
Pick Everard is given a sentence to smile about with major prison design contract
Pick Everard has just won a major contract with Kier Build to design and construct a new-build, environmentally high-performing prison for the Ministry of Justice. The prison will be built at Featherstone, West Midlands, and will have a construction value in excess of £150million.
Working with Kier Build, Pick Everard Architects, Structural engineers and Civil engineers will transform a brownfield site next to the current HMP Featherstone. The male only prison near Wolverhampton will accommodate over 1,600 prisoners on land previously used by the Ministry of Defence for a light munitions factory. Selected for its proven prison design capability and operational knowledge, Pick Everard also recently celebrated the completion of the high dependency Keppel Unit at Her Majesty’s Young Offender Institute, in Wetherby, Yorkshire. The new prison at Featherstone will start to take shape towards the end of the year and is being designed to meet the sustainability and environmental requirements demanded for custodial properties. Completion in phases will see two housing blocks and ancillary facilities opened in spring 2012, and a third house block ready in summer 2012. Pick Everard’s design strategy for the new prison includes using prefabricated and modular construction and is similar to that applied at the high dependency Keppel Unit. Lean construction techniques* will be used as part of the focus on sustainability. Prefabricated and precast components will be sourced and manufactured as close to the site as possible, reducing traffic travelling to and from the site.
The new facility incorporates three main house blocks and support facilities, including a first night unit, healthcare and substance misuse facilities, skills workshops, library and multi-faith facilities. Buildings will be designed by Pick Everard with abundant natural daylight and natural ventilation. Central to the site design is a pedestrian spine along which all buildings are located. A route for delivery vehicles keeps the spine traffic-free. Plans also include numerous sporting facilities, including a gym, sports and five-a-side football pitches, as well as farms and gardens for recreation and food production.
David Nisbet, partner at Pick Everard comments, “The brief from the Ministry of Justice is for all new prison buildings to be as energy-efficient as possible, both in construction and throughout their operational life. We’re delighted that Pick Everard has been appointed for its design capability and expertise in meeting prison service requirements.
*Lean construction techniques detail:
- Main accommodation, support and regimes structures will be constructed from a flat-pack-style, pre-cast concrete system sourced from seven manufacturing facilities in the UK, with all pre-cast components sourced from within 100 miles of the site.
- The majority of mechanical and electrical pre-fabrication will be undertaken in West Bromwich, just seven miles from site, saving time and cost.
- For faster construction, roofing cassettes will be manufactured locally and delivered on site in full roof lengths. This prefabricated roof panel system allows complete roof sections (structure, insulation and internal and external finishes) to be craned onto the roof.
- A specialist site logistics and safety team will ensure that relevant parts of the site are ready at the relevant time to coincide with the delivery programme.
Kier Build is the major building projects arm of the Kier Group and provides a comprehensive service for design & build, Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and traditional contracts throughout the UK.
