ESBH – Efficient, secure and structural detention facilities in Austrian prisons

The project ‘ESHB – Efficient, Safe and Structural Prison Design in Austrian Prisons (ESBH)’ focuses on standards for structural and technical prison design in prisons. These have been very heterogeneous up to now – in addition to new buildings, there are numerous existing buildings, including listed buildings, which meet the needs of prison management, staff and inmates in very different ways. This is precisely where the ESHB project comes in, addressing the question of how sustainable structural and technical standards can be developed for Austria's prisons in order to better meet the diverse needs of the target groups in the future. To this end, the status quo of the 23 Austrian prisons – i.e. judicial detention centres and correctional facilities – is being surveyed and described.