A new jail in San Diego County brings a taste of college life to its inmates

At the Las Colinas Detention and Re-Entry Facility in San Diego County, California, the brightly colored furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows, and wide open spaces might fool visitors into thinking they're touring a modern college campus, rather than a women's <a href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=prison" target="_blank">prison</a>, and that's no coincidence. The new design, which has replaced a dismal 1960s facility in the same location, was inspired by higher-education campuses. “The intent was to replicate, as much as possible, the demands and responsibilities [inmates] would face out in the community within this particular facility," said Jim Mueller, the principal in charge of the project at KMD Architects</a>.

The prison serves low-security, medium-security, and high-security inmates in three types of housing. The women are first placed according to their risk levels, but through various programs, they can move to less secure levels as their behavior warrants.

Services are housed in separate buildings, and the inmates are escorted by deputies between the dining hall, the medical building, and the recreation and education facility.

An outdoor amphitheater at the Las Colinas Facility serves as an outdoor education and entertainment area.

Outdoor spaces at the Las Colinas facility are neatly manicured and welcoming.

The dining hall, featuring a curved bank of floor-to-ceiling windows, wouldn't be out of place at a the offices of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=google" target="_blank">Google</a> or Yahoo.

Airy, modern spaces make the Las Colinas Detention Facility seem more like a college campus than a women's prison.

Wide open spaces give the prison's common areas a welcoming atmosphere.

The old stainless steel furniture was replaced by chairs of lime-green moulded plastic, brightly coloured fabric-covered sofas and pale wooden sleeping bunks.

Outside, green lawns sweep out from stylish hard-paved patios and palm fronds wave overhead.

The Las Colinas medical building has also been modernized, giving inmates access to medical and dental services in modern surroundings.