Storstrøm Prison

Storstrom's Prison in Falster, Denmark - aerial photo

Project data

Denmark

Client

Kriminalforsorgen (Danish Prison and Probation Service)

Completion

2017

Architects

C.F. Møller Ltd.

Contact

Esben Thygesen

Projektleder

T: +45 51618269

Services we provided

Acoustics Buildings physics & material technology Construction management Digital design and BIM Electrical engineering Façade engineering Fire & safety Ground engineering Landscape Mechanical engineering Project management Civil & structural engineering Sustainability services

The largest maximum security prison in Denmark is located on the island of Falster. The prison has capacity for 250 inmates and is the most secure facility in Denmark.

Construction Management

Ramboll was responsible for construction management on the project. With a location of 130,000 m2, corresponding to 18 football fields, the project constituted one of largest construction sites in the country. For logical reasons, the concrete wall encircling the prison was built first. The wall is 1.5 kilometre long and 6 metre high and functioned as a quite effective construction site fence, contributing to the prevention of theft from the site.

Ramboll performed technical supervision and coordinated interfaces between approx. 20 subcontractors. When activity was at its height, more than 300 people worked on the construction site. That requires strict planning and coordination!

The buildings

The floor area is 35,000 m2. The prison consists of 10 buildings, including four normal sections, one maximum security unit and a cultural centre with a church, special visitation units, administration and staff house.

Workshops for painting, carpentry, welding and assembly have been built in connection with the normal sections to offer the inmates activities and allow for certain types of basic education.

Security

The security in the prison is based on a combination of electronic and constructional security solutions. The range of various security installations based on state-of-the-art technology, such as the 300 surveillance cameras in the prison, combined with the structure of the prison makes it the most secure prison in Denmark.

Electrical installations

In the prison, a number of varied functions make demands on the technical installations: security scanners for both individuals and luggage at the entrance, industrial kitchen, laundry, grocery store, workshops, doctor and dentist. Several interfaces need to be considered and coordinated so that e.g. the routing for suction to the dental chair does not clash with ventilation ducts or various safety installations.

Electricity supply

A power failure in the prison could obviously have unfortunate consequences. Therefore security of supply is high. In the event of a power cut, the electricity supply is secured by a back-up power system in the prison.

Solar cell system

A solar cell system is located at ground level. The system can produce up to 360,000 kWh/year, which is enough to cover the consumption of approx. 75 households. The solar cell system contributes positively to compliance with the energy frame, by supplying 30-40% of the total energy consumption of the prison.

Lighting

Demand-driven LED lighting in the indoors facilities furthermore helps to comply with the energy frame.

Climate proofing (rainwater drainage)

Rainwater from buildings and sites is diverted to a local watercourse south of the prison. To protect the watercourse from overflow, rainwater levels are adjusted by leading the water into an artificial lake – a 7,544 m3 rainwater basin – outside the wall of the southern prison area.

In addition, a climate adaptation zone has been established between the lake and the watercourse to further protect the environment against the effects of extreme rain. From some of the buildings, rainwater from the roofs is diverted through furrows in the terrain to rain beds shaped like wide trenches, with sand in the bottom and underlying drainage systems, which delays the rainwater before it is discharged to the lake and to the watercourse.

The prison in numbers:

Number of doors in the prison: approx. 1,900
Number of cameras: approx. 300
Number of kitchens: 141 kitchenettes + 1 industrial kitchen
Amount of concrete used: approx. 36,200 m2, corresponding to 4,524 truckloads
Length of the concrete wall: 1.3 km
Area within the wall: 130,000 m2, corresponding to 18 football fields.