program: design-build project for the construction of an urban Community Reintegration Facility with 90 beds, and partial renovation of the existing 30-bed halfway house.
client: Ministry of Justice (APIJ)
general contractor: Ramery
architects: Nicolas Kelemen Architecture, Agence Schneider
landscape designer: Zenobia
engineer: Prisme Ingénierie
renderings: Damien Laurens
size: 45,640 sq. ft.
construction cost: 12,900,000.00€
delivery: 2022
project brochure: <read>

The “structure d’accompagnement vers la sortie” program launched by the Ministry of Justice must be seen as a fundamental evolution in the French approach to incarceration. Today we have the opportunity to participate in this necessary discussion, to imagine how such an establishment should fit into the politics of incarceration, with the objective of preparing inmates for successful reintegration into society as they approach the end of their sentence.

The architecture itself must take the opportunity to present a new image for penitentiary facilities, integrated within its community, with a coherent, thoughtful and humane image.

The project is designed with the notion of respecting the dignity of each individual and keeping in the foreground the concept that the facility must be adapted to its goal of accompanying the process towards a rediscovered place within society. Our ambition is to propose a design that embodies the notion of a respectful place to live and work.

Integrated into its urban context, the project is organized to ensure a coherent and adapted response to the functional program. A restrained and clear composition, avoiding ostentation and brutality, while addressing necessary safety concerns, the project works to be consistent with its vocation: accompanying the process of reintegration.