Towers free jail from site constraints. (DeKalb County Jail; Decatur, Georgia)

In 1988, overcrowding at the DeKalb County (Ga.) Jail had reached epic proportions. The facility, located in Decatur, was built in 1972 and designed to house 443 inmates. With the growth of the county's population and a dramatic increase in drug arrests, the jail frequently held more than 900 inmates per day.

As a result, the Dekalb County Sheriff's Department, which governs and operates the county's jail system, wanted to construct a facility that would meet the county's needs until at least the year 2020. Meeting that requirement, however, would require a substantial capital investment by the voters of DeKalb County.

In December 1989, the county voters approved a $100 million bond referendum to finance the construction of the new jail. Approximately $82 million was earmarked for construction of a facility with an inmate capacity of 3,540. The resulting 940,000-sq.-ft. structure consists of two pairs of high-rise inmate housing towers connected by a three-story base.

To select a designer for the project, the county solicited bids from various firms. According to John Clower, who has then chief deputy, competing architects were evaluated on the basis of a complex rating system, which included prior jail and prison construction experience.

While several firms rated highly, A/E firm Rosser International Inc. of Atlanta submitted a proposal that set it apart from …