WOODLANDS JUSTICE CENTRE
Woodlands has been designed as a centre of national and international excellence in secure care, offering a wide range of services and support to help prevent young people from re- offending. Opened in January 2007, the new Centre has enabled a step change in the care and development of young people in its care.
Type
Education
Location
Bangor, Co.Down
Client
Status
Complete
Date
2006
Woodlands provides a safe, secure and stimulating environment for up to 48 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 17 placed in custody. The centre has been designed to support positive interactions between staff and children within a safe and secure environment devoid of the expected features of a secure facility. The wide range of services, accommodation and flexibility in responding to the needs of children have been built into the design and layout of the Centre from initial planning to final construction. Modern electronic systems have been put in place to promote the safety of children in all areas of the Centre. This building and the services provided within it will be the benchmark for future development of secure facilities for children for years to come.
The overall design is based on a campus type facility with house units grouped around individually styled courtyards. The nature of the buildings with pitched roofs, domestic scale fenestration and variations in clay brickwork will create an individual identity and a non- institutional atmosphere. This is reflected in the hard and soft landscaping and general external environment.
These courtyards, each with their own individual identity provide extended living space for individual house unit and provide a variety of stimulating active and passive spaces at different times. They provide the main means of circulation within the centre and reinforce the family living aspect of “going to school” or “going to the swimming pool” etc.