Pine Grove Correctional Centre

Pine Grove Correctional Centre is a women’s correctional facility located in Prince Albert, SK. Owned and operated by Saskatchewan Government Services, this women’s facility works to serve the entire province of Saskatchewan. Originally built in 1965 to accommodate 52 female offenders, the aging building is no longer able to serve as an effective facility. The combination of a need for increased secure bed space with the requirement to meet the Ministry of Corrections, Public Spacing and Policing, a renovation and addition to the existing facility is currently underway. In concurrence with Pine Grove’s Master Plan, a phased New Living Unit addition is currently under construction. The new building will provide additional secure bed spaces, improve security, and increase programming space. For the secure bed space, the design includes 3 units each with 10 cells, allowing for 60 additional beds. The design takes into consideration shared supervision between units and the addition of flexible space. Each unit features a central living space which includes kitchen and laundry access. Saskatchewan Government Services, with a commitment to sustainable building design, has mandated a LEED Silver Target for all Government buildings in Saskatchewan. As a Government owned building, the Pine Grove Correctional Facility is no exception. As traditional correctional facility design does not lend itself well to daylighting, access to views, water savings, and controllability of systems, the design team has been extremely innovative in the approach to LEED certification for this building. The LEED implementation plan has required a combination of creativity and integrated design to develop an approach that will not only result in a sustainable building, but one that will set a precedent for future corrections development. Choosing a primarily concrete structure, the design team has taken into consideration the durability of both the building envelope and its finishes, ensuring the facility will be able to support its functions now and in the future. A focus on specifying materials that incorporate recycled content and local extraction/manufacturing is important for this project. Although a non-conventional method, all paints, coatings, finishes and cleaning products will be low VOC and be environmentally preferred products. In addition, 100% of the wood used in the facility will be FSC Certified. With a focus on rehabilitation, the New Living Unit concept encourages the human element. With this in mind, the cells will each feature two windows and access to views in each common area. Although access to daylight and views will not be achievable for this facility, it has been important to provide as many daylighting techniques as the nature of the facility will allow. The building will feature in-wall radiant heating in the cells where occupants will each have individual control over systems, with a central override to meet corrections requirements. Upon assessing the quantity of potable water use in the current Pine Grove facility, it was obvious to the project team that stormwater collection and greywater use be employed. The project will feature six cisterns in the building’s crawlspace for stormwater collection. With a high rainfall rate in Prince Albert, the stormwater collected will be used for greywater in flush fixtures and on-site irrigation. The intent is to only use non-potable water for these functions within the building. This is a new initiative for Government Services, and the design team looks forward to the project’s innovative approaches to set the standard for the future.
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