Wayne County Criminal Justice Center

Wayne County engaged HOK to program and design a comprehensive new criminal justice campus that emphasizes dignity, transparency and efficiency. The new campus brings together services previously held in an aging criminal courthouse, an inefficient juvenile detention facility and three outdated detention facilities located across metropolitan Detroit.

A connector building links together five buildings within the new campus. They include a:

1. 2,280-bed adult detention building
2. 160-bed juvenile detention building
3. new criminal courthouse with 29 courtrooms
4. administrative building for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and Prosecutor’s Office
5. central utility plant.

A joint venture between Wayne County and a private developer, the project required HOK to stay within a tight budget while delivering a high-quality civic building for the people of Detroit and Wayne County.

Elevated design

Consolidating multiple departments and services into one cohesive campus presented an early design challenge. To solve this, the team devised the building podium as a unifying framework while incorporating varying facade treatments across the different buildings to break down the scale of the campus into unique but related ‘siblings.’

A scalloped pre-cast panel on the detention facilities, administration building and central utility plant provided an elegant and cost-effective way to create visual interest. The scallop form pays homage to the curvature of the autos designed and manufactured within the Motor City. Beyond their interesting aesthetic, the panels are also structural and insulated, providing the campus with efficiencies in construction and building performance.

Sunlight as a material

The design uses sunlight as a material to activate the buildings’ interiors and exteriors. The scalloped panels seem to change shape as light and shadows move across their contoured surfaces. A glimmering glass curtain wall on the courthouse welcomes the public to the building and reinforces the notion of transparency. Windows and curtain walls draw daylight deep into the buildings, providing daylight to both public and secure areas of the campus.

Community asset

By consolidating services, the project reduces the burden of commuting between detention centers and courthouses, helping to facilitate the public’s right and access to a speedy trial.

To further underscore openness and engagement with the community, most of the Justice Center’s buildings are adjacent to the street, holding the corner of the city block and de-emphasizing parking. The result is a visually unexpected and welcoming public building that achieves its functional demands while raising the quality of a civic building with a focus on openness, respect and community.