Las vegas, NV

The Clark County Detention Center integrates an unwanted but necessary facility into Las Vegas' busy downtown cityscape. Located only a few blocks from casinos and entertainment areas, and adjacent to the federal and county courthouses, the building had to be a good neighbor-even as its program prohibits basic urbanistic gestures like entrances at street level.

The 320,000 square foot facility, which adds thirteen hundred beds to an existing fourteen hundred-bed jail, declares its programmatic elements with three distinct textures: the red brick block has administrative segregated cells, the tan mass of the previously existing building contains dormitory cells, and the metal grilled area encloses outdoor recreation areas. The abstracted facades calm the rugged character of the building, while its vertical street walls maintain the scale of the neighborhood. One edge of the building is set behind a low pedestal, allowing light into administrative offices without sacrificing security. Metal butterfly screens on the cell windows prevent interaction between prisoners and passerby while accommodating the requirement that each cell receive natural light. The perforated aluminum screens are a less expensive alternative to an extra facade layer. Formally, they animate the unornamented facade of the cellblock, casting shadows across the wall.

With an architecture consisting entirely of cost-effective and durable materials the detention center demonstrates the possibilities for high quality design in a situation typically afforded the lowest common denominator. Rather than being a monolithic, imposing facility, it creates an urbanistic and sculptural facade, on the cheap-an essential approach in a busy downtown environment dependent on tourism.