Mount Eden Prison Update

Work is progressing well on the Stephenson&Turner-designed Mt Eden Prison Stage 1 redevelopment.

Located in the heart of Auckland city, the new-look Prison is required to meet a multitude of needs – from those of the prisoners and staff to those of visitors and the people who live, work and go to school nearby.   The key challenge has been to respect and respond to these needs, while building a facility that also meets all the security and safety requirements of our client, the Department of Corrections.

Originally built about 120 years ago, the old Mt Eden Prison is now very near the end of its useful life.  The new structures will reflect a 21st-century approach to prison architecture, which offers a safe environment with ample natural light for remand prisoners, and provides prison staff with an efficient and secure place in which to work.

The result will combine two new accommodation buildings and Auckland Central Remand Prison two current prison buildings into a single integrated prison facility designed primarily to house some 966 prisoners being held on remand, for average stays of about four weeks.  As they often need to visit courts in the Auckland region, the Prison will provide a central ‘hub’ location with relatively easy access to the city’s roading network.

With a multi-level car park already complete, construction is now focusing on a four-level visits block and two accommodation buildings (one eight storeys high and the other four). An elevated walkway will eventually connect all the main buildings and the new Prison will have a single entry point, in the new Gatehouse building, which will incorporate stringent security procedures and high-technology scanning equipment.

Designed to blend as much as possible with the surrounding multi-use environment, the buildings are clad in a variety of materials. For example, the accommodation buildings have a ‘second skin’ of fritted glass that’s separated from the secure concrete structure to provide a service/maintenance walkway around it.  This not only enables the building to complement the nearby commercial buildings but eliminates the security risks involved in maintaining building services.

The new buildings will be completed early next year, providing about 554 prisoner beds for more than 550 inmates in an environment reflecting the best of modern prisons and environmentally sustainable design. Meanwhile, the original Mt Eden Prison (a registered heritage site) will be strengthened and restored, and is currently undergoing a strategic review regarding its future use.

For more information, please contact Malcolm Gardiner at 04.472.7899.

- Posted Nov. 16, 2010