2013 National Architecture Awards: David Oppenheim Award

Jury citation

In its exploration and successful reframing of the prison typology, the West Kimberley Regional Prison integrates excellence in sustainability across environmental and social terms. A focus on amenity drawn from response to environmental and climatic factors becomes an operative strategy for successfully addressing cultural issues associated with housing Indigenous prisoners. By ensuring cross-ventilation in smaller pavilions with good access to natural light and the local landscape, an environment has been provided that respects cultural differences and becomes a significant aspect in the approach of rehabilitation to enable subsequent contribution back to communities.

Preservation of the existing biodiversity and natural landscape, extensive and localized approaches to water use and control, passive and active solar responses and a number of strategies for embodied and consumable energy reduction have all been integrated and demonstrate excellence in environmental sustainability.

Read the project review by Elizabeth Grant and Peter Hobbs for Architecture Australia.