Franklin County Corrections Center

Franklin County Corrections Center Exterior

Franklin County Corrections Center

Smart and Sustainable Justice System Serves as a County Model 

The County Commissioners made a simple request — design the Franklin County Corrections Center to be a national model for the rest of the country to follow. 

A multidisciplinary team of experts in the areas of jail operations, inmate behavior management, correctional medical and mental health care, and inmate therapeutic treatment and reintegration was assembled.  This architect-led team developed a program and architectural design that focuses on best practices and emerging trends.  The resulting facility is treatment-based and outcomes-focused rather than the County’s former containment model.  All jail operations were re-imagined to develop a more intentional, coordinated, and robust process of intake, assessment, program matching, service tracking, behavioral incentivization, and transition planning for inmates. 

Designed in association with DLZ, the design process involved a significant number of workshops with the owner and the users to develop a design that is operations-focused, normalized, efficient and safe. The jail will be built in two phases. The first phase will provide:

  • All of the core support spaces for a complete build out of 2,800 beds
  • Eighty percent of the 870 beds are designed for inmates with special needs, including those requiring medical care and mental health care
  • Special behavior management housing units that incorporate recent federal guidelines on the design and use of restrictive housing
  • Intake/Release (booking)
  • Food Service, Laundry and Warehouse
  • Court Transport
Franklin County Corrections Center Exterior
Client
Franklin County
Location

Columbus, OH
United States

Size
405,000 sf (37,600 m²)
Markets

Awards

Engineering Excellence Award (2024)
Engineering Excellence Award
American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio