DuPage County Jail Expansion

Wight, in collaboration with HOK, prepared a space needs assessment and designed the first addition of a two-phase expansion for the DuPage County Jail to increase capacity levels by 475 beds. The facility is organized in a cluster of four-story housing pods containing individual cells and group day rooms. A central command station in each pod provides security and supervision. An important design feature allows prisoner cells to receive natural light through fenestration of the perimeter service corridor.

Using this arrangement, the building’s exterior doesn’t have the typical security bars and slotted windows often seen on jail facilities.