ATLANTIC CANADA Local trades construct New Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature Local sub trades and suppliers working for the Bird Construction Group are constructing a new 81,000 sq. ft. correctional facility in Priestville, Nova Scotia. The 196- bed prison has been designed by JDA Architects, with Eastin Projects Ltd. serving as project manager. The project, the third and final phase of an overall $38.5 million initiative, is expected to create more than 70 new permanent jobs and will employ more than 100 construction workers. The new prison replaces jails in Antigonish and Cum- berland and serves courthouses in Truro, Amherst, New Glasgow, Pictou, and Antigonish. It will also provide sup- port to the Port Hawkesbury Justice Centre. Intended to house adult males convicted of crimes of two years-less- a-day as well as remanded individuals, it includes six housing units and support services including health and dental suites. JDA Architects senior architect John Dobbs says his firm completed the design in 2006/07 after a successful consultant selection competition. The site selected pro- vided quick and easy access to medical, police and fire services, but was also remote. “Once the site was selected the design was amended to include code and other changes since the original and incorporate a decision to expand the cells to move from single occupancy to the possibility of double,” says Dobbs. 16 – Fall 2013 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report This decision increased the building’s footprint by about 25 per cent, affecting infrastructure and staffing requirements. Eastin Projects project manager Paul Kelly says the project is perfectly located. “The building sits on a hill which had a large plateau in the middle big enough to accommodate the huge footprint we required,” he said. “We were able to create distance between the building and the road and there is a wooded hill behind the build- ing for screening.” Dobbs says the entire parcel of land is 80 acres, with nine acres developed to include the building’s 66,000 sq. ft. footprint (the housing units are set on two floors), with required roads and parking. Kelly says the majority of systems and components were either local or Canadian, with local trades providing the expertise. “The high tech hardware came from the U.S. but the detention doors and frames were made in Moncton and the concrete and concrete blocks used in the structure were locally sourced. This is essentially a homegrown project.” The project has been constructed with tilt-up technol- ogy, common in Atlantic Canada. “Bird is very experi- enced in tilt-up and self-performed the work here,” says Kelly. “This is a construction methodology very suitable to a building of this type.” While concrete is a natural choice for the construction of correctional facilities, the qualities that make it suit- able, also create challenges. “Acoustics are always an