Module Prison System Offers More Applications

Speed, flexibility, security, maintenance, and durability Massachusetts may offer further applications for structures such as schools and hotels


The Bridgewater, Mass., minimum-security correctional facility was built using six-bed modules in a design-build, five-year lease-back format. If the state decides to move the project or discontinue the lease, the modules can be disassembled and moved or sold to another client.

Click image above for a large detailed Picture
This exploded diagram shows how the various components come together to create the modular units. The complete 46,600-square-foot, two-story Bridgewater facility included lavatories, laundries, offices, dayspace, sallyports, and an elevator.

Hollow-core plank was used to span between adjacent modules, creating larger spaces.

The components were shipped by truck to the site on their edge and rotated and set into position by crane. Each dorm room channel measures 12 feet wide by 30 feet long by 10'4" high, providing 9'6" of headroom.

Individually constructed modules were hoisted into place with only a few plate welds needed to connect them. Approximately 5,000 square feet of components were erected each day.

Modular channel pieces like these allowed the entire facility to be built quickly on site using only a few key components.

The finished modules include space for six inmates along with all lighting, HVAC, and other mechanical and plumbing needs.

Click image above for a large detailed Picture
This exploded diagram shows how the six-bed prison cells stack using only a few components, speeding construction while providing a consistent and tight design.

The entire Bridgewater project was completed on a rapid schedule. Ground was broken in September, and units were finished in February.
 
Precast concrete components have become a primary method for producing prison cells in many states. The ability to provide completed, furnished and plumbed modules that can be hoisted into place and put in the dry quickly give this construction an advantage when timing is a key consideration. Now, an even more modular system offering six-bed units being used for the first time may offer additional benefits to prison designers as well as other applications, including schools and hotels.

The first project completed, a 300-bed, low-security prison facility in Bridgewater, Mass., features factory-made precast concrete channels, hollow-core plank and wall panels that are erected on site. Officials say it is the first concrete modular dormitory project using this channel approach to be completed in the country. The channels feature a combination of prestressed and mildly reinforced structural concrete cast as a sandwich wall panel with an architectural façade.

Lease-Back Included
The Massachusetts program includes a unique design-build lease-back format, in which the dorms are produced by the design-build team and leased to the government for five years. If at the end of the lease the state decides it doesn't want the structure due to changes in policies, expansion of other facilities or a (highly unlikely) decrease in prison population, the modules can be removed from the site and reused or sold to another client.

"This is the first time we've used this design format, although we've used precast construction before," says Patrick Lynch, project manager for the Division of Capital Planning Operations (DCPO) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. "Our agency has used precast with cubical cell units before, but we've never tried this elongated-channel format."

That also holds true for the design firm, Equus Design Group in Belmont, Mass. The company designed the first concrete cells produced by the precaster of this system, Rotondo Precast in Rehoboth, Mass., some 10 years ago. Now, its designers think they have taken another step forward with a program that could have wider applications.

"Since those first designs, we've looked at a variety of options for using these modules," says Michael Smith, president of the firm. "We're continuing to look at a variety of possibilities for these modules, including the housing and school markets. These prison projects in some ways serve as prototypes for possibilities in those industries."

Long Spans Offered
The concept came together with designers at Rotondo and Equus working to develop a prototype with Massachusetts state designers, who had liberalized the requirements for building low-security prisons to provide more building options. The goal was to create a specific plan that would create long-span modules that could be compartmentalized and constructed quickly—and then taken apart some years later as needed. Typically, much of this construction was provided by trailers, which didn't offer the advantages of precast concrete.

"In order to break into that market, we needed to develop a prison module that could hold six inmates, yet still be transportable over roads," explains Equus' Smith. "We worked closely with the state to determine their needs and find the most advantageous system using precast components, and the rest now is history."

The complete system, patented by Rotondo under the name "Maxi-Dorm," contains only six basic components in its Channel Bay system to build the finished facility. These comprise epoxy finishes, doors, windows, lighting, and other elements while providing larger column-free spaces.

"The uniqueness of the system is in the span lengths we can reach," Smith says. "This is starting to approach bridge-span dimensions, and we're using some of the same processes that go into bridge designs to achieve our spans. The only limitations we have are in total component weight and the ability to ship the pieces over the road and lift them by crane. But we're starting to find creative ways to make longer-span structures while minimizing the weight involved."

The six components used in the system are:

This type of construction offers a variety of benefits due to the inherent qualities of the concrete, the design approach, and the fast erection sequence. "There are a lot of advantages over the trailer type of format," says DCPO's Lynch. "They're more durable, and they're permanent if we want them to be. They'll last a lifetime with very little maintenance. That gives them a definite edge versus wood, which often needs considerable refurbishment even during the ten-year lease program."

Indeed, that high level of durability also adds to the facility's security level, Lynch adds. "These also could be used in high- and high/medium-security facilities because of the solid concrete surfaces and the general lack of joints where prisoners can hide contraband or try to pry out holes."

Quality Is Superior
The overall quality of the components, which are produced by a PCI-Certified plant, is a clear advantage, says Equus' Smith. "The quality is far superior to what the state was receiving from some of the trailer manufacturers," he says. The factory-cast components not only produce a uniform product that offers a consistent, aesthetically pleasing look, but they are also cast to tight tolerances, ensuring fewer job-site adjustments and quicker erection.

The fast erection speed provides a compelling advantage, Lynch notes. "A major incentive is the quick time from agreement to construction, which should become even better as they refine the system and produce more of them." At the Bridgewater facility, for instance, ground was broken in September, and units were finished in February.

The capability to remove and reuse the modules also offers an intriguing aspect, the designers say. "Essentially, there are only eight or 10 welds in each module," Smith explains. "Those exposed weld plates can be undone quickly if the lease is given up on the structures. If that happens, we can just undo the welds, take off the roof and the built-in elements of the ceiling, walls and ducts, and very easily move it to another location."

A State First
The design-build lease-back system was a first for the state, although it has done other design-build projects of this nature, especially on prison cells so that it can procure the components as one unit. "Using a design-build format increases the speed of construction in the process and ensures a single-source contract that the state finds attractive," Smith explains. "It lets them produce units far faster than would happen if they had to have the plans drawn up and then bid."

The new lease-back option allows Massachusetts to remain flexible in its commitments to these structures and locations, particularly in cases such as Bridgewater, where the facility was built on an emergency basis. If larger structures or additions to other prisons become available in the future, the lease program gives the state the option of rearranging its resources.

"Experience has indicated that these leases generally run longer than originally planned," Equus' Smith notes. "If the building is successful, officials usually want to keep it in place. Our feeling was that if we could provide a better long-term option than a trailer situation offers, it would be attractive for the longer run."

Both Reviews Won
In fact, the state evaluated the bids on the Bridgewater facility through two separate reviews, based on price and non-price elements."We were far and away the winner in the non-price evaluation," Smith states. "But we also were the low bidder. At that point, giving us the contract was a no-brainer." Adds Lynch, "Cost-wise, these components are coming down further because they're being produced in greater volume and the increased efficiencies of the concrete precasting are becoming apparent. The precasters are producing the modular components, including the treatment of the concrete surfaces, less expensively than can be done at the construction site. They are getting the method of module precasting, finishing and erection down to a science."

The essential approach to constructing the structure involves producing a level cast-in-place concrete footing wall or slab on grade. If more than 12-foot headrooms are required, a cast-in-place knee wall can be used to accept the Channel Bay segments. For sloped-roof applications, channel segments can be provided with a factory-built pitched roof slope. In these cases, the roof is designed with clear spans without the use of interior supports. Embeds are required to fasten roof trusses, rafters, girts, knee walls, and other structures.

Bridgewater Shows Way
The Bridgewater facility, begun in the spring of 1997, was constructed as a 300-bed emergency addition for the state, requiring speedy construction. The 46,600-square-foot two-story facility features a permanent stand-alone housing unit with lavatories, laundries, offices, dayspace, sallyports, and an elevator. The precast option competed against six other bidders using steel- or wood-frame trailer construction.

Included in the design-build team were R.W. Granger & Sons Inc. in Shrewsbury, Mass., which served as general contractor; LeMessurier Consultants Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., which acted as engineer of record; and precaster Rotondo. H. Wilden & Associates in Macungie, Pa., performed the initial engineering analysis.

The precast components were erected in 23 days, with the entire structure finished in 150 days (see the timeline at left). The components were shipped by truck to the site on their edge, then rotated and set into position by crane. Each dorm room channel measures 12 feet wide by 30 feet long by 10'4" high, providing 9'6" of headroom. The interior walls were framed with metal studs and abuse-resistant wallboard.

The project proved so successful that the team bid and received the contract for another prison project immediately afterward in Bristol, Mass. That facility, also a 300-bed, two-story structure, includes significant support areas for food-service amenities and other support needs. On this project, the fourth wall of the long-span module has been built with a monolithic sidewall to separate each cell rather than the wallboard used in Bridgewater. For more on this project, see the profile on H. Wilden & Associates on page 14.

More Options Open
The success the system has found with prison construction isn't the end of its potential, the designers agree. "There is a lot of flexibility to this design and a lot of options," says Lynch. "Schools make an ideal application." Indeed, with their need for additional classrooms on an ebb-and-flow basis as large class years flow through the building, and a lack of long-term funds or space to commit to such programs, school officials may find a lease-back system provides them with great versatility. In purchase situations, the system provides the capability to deconstruct the units and move them to another location in the school district if needed.

Other options include the hotel and housing markets, Smith notes. "We're looking at a variety of possibilities for these concrete modules. Schools have obvious potential, as do hotels and colleges that need dormitory space. There's a lot of potential out there." - Craig A. Shutt

Construction Timeline
The 300-bed Bridgewater, Mass., "Maxi-Dorm" low-security prison facility, a 46,600-square-foot structure, was completed in 150 days, following this schedule:
Proposals Due April 12
Selection May 3
Award/Notice to Proceed May 17
Geometry Submitted May 17
Geometry Approved May 24
Mold Fabrication Begins May 28
Precast Drawings Submitted June 10
Precast Drawings Approved June 24
Full Production Begins July 1
First Erection Begins (all but one dorm wing) August 5
First Erection Ends August 16
Second Erection Begins (28 dorm channels and hall planks) September 10
Second Erection Ends September 12
Precast Components Substantially Completed September 20
DCPO Use & Occupancy October 24
Final Approvals November 22
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