NCJ Number
101593
Date Published
1986
Length
12 pages
Annotation
In an attempt to ease prison overcrowding, California has initiated an expansion plan using two advanced construction techniques.
Abstract
The high security medical and psychiatric facility in Vacaville uses factory-produced concrete components in a campus-style configuration with small housing units consisting five-, eight-, and nine-person dormitories surrounding a central dayroom. The complex consists of four semiautonomous facilities separated into two prison complexes that share central kitchen facilities, an infirmary, and maintenance shops. The new institution has set records for fast and cost-effective construction. The Orange County jail expansion program used a 'tilt-up' concrete construction technique. In contrast to the technique used at Vacaville, which uses small precast concrete panels, this method involves the use of wall sections weighing over 83,000 pounds and consisting of 21 cubic yards of concrete. Both methods provide a number of advantages in efficiency, cost effectiveness, maintenance, and security. 7 figures, 5 tables, 3 photographs, and 13 notes.