Maine Correctional Center

Location:

Windham, Maine, USA

Photographer:

Date:

2022-09-01

Type:

Correctional Facility

The Maine Correctional Center (MCC) reconfiguration is the culmination of a 20+ year, system wide transformation to a forward-thinking, rehabilitation focused operational model for the Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC). SMRT has been a trusted partner of the MDOC for the duration of this journey, designing facilities across the state to enable the growth of their future-focused mission.

The design of the new MCC provides ample opportunities for education, rehabilitation and treatment services for all of the incarcerated population. New housing units provide safe, clean environments filled with natural light, bright colors and normalized furnishings. Residents have views of the surrounding meadows and direct access to exterior spaces within each housing pod. Additional features include spaces for medication-assisted-treatment, healthcare and mental health services, a new gym and fitness facility, chapel and music room. Classroom spaces are also featured inside each pod, as well as in a centralized educational building.

SMRT paid special attention throughout the planning and design process to the experience of visiting family members, especially children with incarcerated parents. The entrance, public lobby and family visitation areas utilize conventional materials, normal furnishings and soft colors to create a welcoming, human-scale environment to reduce anxiety and promote calmness and connection.

This $149 million reconfiguration also includes a new central unity plant, which is capable of serving all of the new and renovated buildings on campus with additional capacity for any future needs.

The new facility also features a new kitchen, laundry and support facilities to serve the 980-resident population. Staff, service providers, and volunteers now have access to contemporary office spaces, meeting, locker, and fitness rooms.

Paid special attention throughout the planning and design process to the experience of visiting family members, especially children with incarcerated parents. The entrance, public lobby and family visitation areas utilize conventional materials, normal furnishings and soft colors to create a welcoming, human-scale environment to reduce anxiety and promote calmness and connection.

There are nooks in the back of the room for quiet conversations, with wall-to-ceiling acoustic panels featuring biophilic images of the Maine coast (featuring photos taken by staff).

This beautiful, calming space is right after the metal detector and x-ray security machines that visitors have to pass through in order to enter.

This is the visitation room. The desk in the front left is for the supervising officer. You can see the cubbies and semi-private bays in the back, for families visiting with children. There are now some toys and other comfort items in those cubbies.

In the far back of the room is the exit to the rest of the facility, including the room where incarcerated individuals are searched before returning to the general population. Even in this area, extra care was taken to include light wood benches and individual privacy bays for the searches, to mitigate the difficult process as much as possible.

This is a conference room that can be used by residents, and features movable furniture. Fixed fixed furniture is the norm for correctional environments, because light furniture can be used as a projectile or weapon. Being able to move your chair is key, because the moment you are in a residential setting and can’t move your seat as you sit down or get up, it sends a subliminal message that you are not in control of your environment..

The campus includes a medical facility in a separate building, in which residents receive health care services, including medical, mental health, and medication assisted treatment

This state-of-the-art kitchen that includes prep stations, huge boilers, and even a large composting unit that heats waste on a daily cycle that reduces it to ash.

This bright hallway runs alongside the facility's gym.

Here you can see the gym, which features natural light. The architects opted for a soft floor rather than a hardwood finish.

Each housing pod includes movable furniture and tables, including some with game-tops. There are biophilic acoustic panels to help with the noise and stress levels. The doors are made of wood, not metal, which is nearly unheard of in a maximum security facility. You can see some of the large TVs, as well as the small kiosks through which residents can make phone calls and access services.

In the back left, there's an area that juts into the day room. This area includes a space where a person can be isolated , either in a small cell or a more open area. That area offers open views, and when the weather cooperates, access to the outside. This means that when someone is experiencing high levels of stress, they can be removed from the larger environment and try to regulate their systems and behaviors without being removed from the housing unit. When the are able, they can then rejoin the rest of the unit.

In the back, right is officer’s desk, and a metal door behind it. These units are designed to house approximately 40 people each, with only one supervised officer. Should the worst happen, and that officer is concerned for his safety, he can lock himself in a small room behind that door and call for help. In this way, the officer’s safety is protected with minimal intrusiveness on the environment.

The exterior of the building is quite beautiful, given its function.

Staff and visitors can enjoy this lovely outdoor patio.

Maine Correctional Center

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