GB-A was engaged by Grieve Gillett Architects (previously Totalspace Design) to collaborate on the design of the Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre. Priorisiting youth wellbeing and care, the project scope included two new buildings; a 12-bed accommodation unit that can be reconfigured to function as two separate six-bed units and an education building that can be configured as one or two general learning areas.

The scope also included extensions to two existing buildings. A new eight-bed police custody unit was designed to provide police custody residents with accommodation that is separate from the general residential population. This provides Youth Justice Services with certainty that this numerically volatile cohort can be managed without disrupting the accommodation arrangements of other residents. An extension to the visiting space was also designed to ensure that residents could have safe, secure, and private interactions with their families or professional visitors that wouldn’t be hindered by the availability of appropriate spaces.

Significant lived experience consultation was undertaken with young people for the project team to learn what motivated their engagement in education, improved their residential interaction, enhanced connection with family, and what their desired recreational activities were. The Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre was recently featured at the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) Infrastructure Conference in Istanbul as an exemplary international project.