Correctional & Detention
A correctional facility runs every system as a security boundary. Air paths, conduit, and piping become potential weapons, contraband routes, or escape points the moment they enter a cell. We deliver construction-ready MEP that holds the secure envelope, survives deliberate hard use, and stays on when the power fails.
Every Duct, Conduit, and Pipe Is a Security Boundary.
In a Group I-3 occupancy, occupants are under restraint and cannot self-evacuate, so the MEP carries life safety the way it carries security. Duct penetrations into cells need security barriers; fixtures must be ligature- and tamper-resistant; smoke control has to hold compartments while staff remotely release locked doors. We design robust, hardened systems, coordinated with the detention-equipment and security-electronics vendors and sealed by the licensed engineer of record on your project.
HVAC & Secure Air Pathways
Ventilation that meets cell air-change rates without becoming a breach in the secure envelope.
- Cells ducted so no air transfers between them, sized to ASHRAE 62.1 correctional-occupancy ventilation rates
- Security duct barriers and bar grilles wherever ductwork penetrates a secure wall or exceeds the code opening size
- Wet-cell toilet/shower exhaust run to outdoors with no recirculation, balanced with transfer air
- Negative-pressure booking, intake, holding, and medical-isolation areas to contain odor and airborne disease
- Continuous-duty equipment selected for 24/7 operation and deliberate hard use
- Mechanical rooms and routing kept secure and out of inmate reach
Smoke Control & Life Safety
Group I-3 occupants can't self-evacuate, so the air has to stay tenable while staff unlock doors.
- Smoke compartments and smoke-barrier coordination per NFPA 101 Chapters 22/23 and IBC Group I-3
- Engineered smoke control supporting defend-in-place and horizontal evacuation between compartments
- HVAC shutdown and smoke-mode sequences coordinated with the fire-alarm matrix
- Locked-egress and remote-release interlocks coordinated with the detention security electronics
- Sprinkler and standpipe coordination with institutional, tamper- and ligature-resistant heads
Electrical, Security & Standby Power
Power and pathways hardened so security never goes dark and nothing becomes a tool.
- Level 1 emergency and standby power per NFPA 110 for security electronics, locks, and life safety
- Generator and ATS sizing carrying door control, CCTV, intercom, and detention-control loads
- Tamper-resistant devices and vandal-resistant, security-rated luminaires in inmate areas
- Coordinated power, conduit, and pathways for detention security electronics (PLC/networked door control, CCTV, intercom)
- Concealed and chase-routed wiring kept inaccessible from occupied secure spaces
Plumbing & Ligature-Resistant Fixtures
Security-grade fixtures and piping built to resist self-harm, vandalism, and flooding.
- Ligature- and vandal-resistant stainless-steel combination toilet/lavatory units for cells and dayrooms
- Chase-accessible valves and piping so fixtures are serviced from outside the cell
- ASSE 1070 scald protection delivering tempered water to inmate fixtures
- Flood-control and remote shutoffs to limit fixture-blocking and intentional flooding
- Heavy-duty distribution rated for continuous, abusive use
Coordination & Water Safety
Engineered around secure occupancies, their vendors, and the standards that govern them.
- Detention-equipment and security-electronics interfaces coordinated through shop drawings and BIM
- Designed to ACA standards and the AHJ's adopted I-3 requirements
- ASHRAE 188 Legionella water-management considerations for large domestic systems and dead legs
- Domestic hot-water plants sized for shower, laundry, and kitchen peaks across the population
- Phasing and tie-in sequences planned around an occupied, never-emptied facility
Quick answers about how we deliver design support for this sector.
It is a Group I-3 occupancy where occupants are under restraint and cannot self-evacuate, so every system doubles as a security and life-safety boundary. Duct penetrations into cells need security barriers, fixtures must be ligature- and tamper-resistant, and smoke control has to keep air tenable while staff remotely release locked doors. We design to that reality behind your seal, coordinated with the detention and security-electronics vendors.
We duct cells so no air transfers between them and meet the ASHRAE 62.1 correctional-occupancy ventilation rates, then add security duct barriers or bar grilles wherever a duct penetrates a secure wall or exceeds the code opening size. Wet-cell exhaust goes to outdoors with no recirculation, and routing stays out of inmate reach. The goal is code-compliant air that never becomes a contraband route or escape path.
Yes — Level 1 emergency and standby power per NFPA 110, sized to carry the security electronics, electronic locks, door control, CCTV, intercom, and life-safety systems. We coordinate the generator and transfer scheme so the facility stays secure and controllable through an outage, not just code-minimum egress lighting.
We specify security-grade stainless-steel combination toilet/lavatory units engineered to resist ligature anchor points, tampering, and vandalism, with concealed valves serviced from a chase outside the cell. Tempered water with ASSE 1070 scald protection and remote shutoffs for flood control round out the design. Fixture selection is coordinated with the facility's security and behavioral-health requirements.
Yes, and in I-3 they can't be separated. Smoke control has to hold compartments and keep air tenable during the time it takes staff to remotely release locks, so the smoke-mode HVAC sequences, fire-alarm matrix, and door-control system all have to agree. We coordinate those interfaces with the security-electronics and detention-equipment vendors so the building responds as one system.
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