Domestic-scale women’s custody unit proposed for Maryhill
June 28 2018
The Scottish Prison Service has followed up innovative plans for Cornton Vale, Stirling, by pushing ahead with the latest addition to its estate - a new community custody unit in Maryhill, Glasgow, intended to bring inmates closer to their local communities.
Taking the place of the former Maryhill Health Centre the Holmes Miller design is situated off Maryhill Road and will be capable of accommodating up to 24 female inmates at a time, providing a range of support services and activities.
Accommodation takes the form of four shared ‘domestic’ houses providing common living, dining and utility facilities next to a single storey hub offering communal activities with access to and from the unit strictly controlled.
In a statement the architects said: “The proposed new CCU facility is carefully designed to the respond positively to the rehabilitation of the Women who will occupy it.
“Internal spaces are open and welcoming, with transparency at all levels. Strong connections to the external landscaped areas are created wherever possible. This feeling of openness is a key device in assisting in creating a calming, positive environment. The notion of familiarity and spaces which are domestic in scale and character further assists in this regard.”
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but architecturally, only one quibble - the mass of the virtually symmetrical hub is seriously at odds with the domestic intent and could do with being further broken down. Way too much a physical representation of a 'them and us' divide. Obvious limitations aside, it's either about rehab or its not, otherwise its just token as the above image shows.