The building creates new spaces for the practice of restorative justice, an alternative to the existing criminal justice system. Negotiating between two distinct, yet interdependent programs: the community garden, and the community justice center, this project seeks to render the practice of restorative justice as a viable option for the youth of Middletown, Connecticut through material selection and planimetric organization. CMU walls rise out of the earth to support a steel roof, which contains the building’s systems and deep coffers that filter soft, diffuse light into the spaces below.

Critic: Emily Abruzzo