Victoria’s newest prison was officially opened in October 2017 and began the process of receiving prisoners the following month. With the new medium security prison built in Ravenhall, adjacent to the Metropolitan Remand Centre and the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on vacant government-owned land.

At over $670 million, Ravenhall was designed to accommodate for over 1,000 prisoners and delivered as a full service public private partnership (PPP), with the GEO Consortium being responsible for the design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation of the facility over 25 years.

Overseen from a state-of-the-art control room, over 500 CCTV cameras and an alarm-linked “energised” fence ensure prisoners are always under observation. Additional security measurements such as iris-scanning technology ensures only authorised personnel have access to secure areas.

The design intended that with the unique construction method of the cells, which were built as separate 70 tonne modules off site, cavities in the walls and roof would be prevented.

This isn’t the first prison or mental health facility that the Shapeair team has been involved with. The experience brought together decades of knowledge and allowed some unique solutions to be designed for this specific project.

One of the major issues faced with a prison such as Ravenhall, is not being able to use commercially available standard type air diffusion products. Shapeair though have the solutions required for such a project and the ability to supply a range of products including our vandal resistant door grilles.

Another innovative solution provided by Shapeair was the design of a security perforated grille that had unique features required for the Ravenhall Prison project. One of those features involved for a more efficient installation process for the mechanical contractors, saving not only installation costs but also allowing for the project to reduce in overall time requirements.