The United States Penitentiary (USP) at Yazoo City, MS, was recently awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the first LEED Gold USP in the Federal Bureau of Prison (FBOP)’s system.
More than 20 buildings were involved in the design-build delivery of the men’s high-security USP and minimum-security Federal Prison Camp (FPC). GRW architects and engineers led the design team for the prison in conjunction with the contractor, which was a joint venture between Yates (Philadelphia, Miss.) and Caddell (Montgomery, Ala.). Located on a 76-acre site in Yazoo City, the $182 million project has a gross building area of approximately 784,000 SF with a separate FPC facility.
A few examples of the energy saving results achieved at USP Yazoo City include:
- Waste Reduction – More than 91% of the construction waste, including scrap wood, concrete, cardboard, plastic, etc., totaling more than 15 million pounds of construction waste, was diverted from landfills into recycling programs.
- Regional Materials – More than 31% of building materials were extracted or harvested and manufactured with 500 miles of the project site, reducing transportation costs and improving regional economic conditions.
- Water Reduction – The prison’s low-flow and low gallon-per-flush fixtures, as well as its laundry water recycling system, is estimated to save more than 58% of water usage of a conventionally designed facility.
- Energy Reduction – The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) requires that all federal buildings be designed to beat energy codes by more than 30%; USP Yazoo beats the code by 32%, resulting in annual estimated utility cost savings of $250,000.
Read more about the FBOP’s first LEED Silver federal correctional facility and prison camp located near Aliceville, AL. GRW also led the design team for the Aliceville FCI, also a design-build project.