BIA-Navajo Justice Facilities

Tséhootsooí Justice Center Concept Design

Navajo Nation, Fort Defiance, Arizona

JCJ teamed with IDS+A, a Navajo owned design firm, to propose three new concepts for the Navajo Nation’s Tsehootsooi Justice Center. Located on the border of Arizona and New Mexico, each of the proposed concepts embraces the idea of ‘restorative justice’ and considers the needs of the wider Navajo community. The facility will be used to rehabilitate offenders through victim reparation, community care, and offender responsibility. Connecting to Mother Earth in a very tactile way, the three concepts provide many moments with openings to the sky above and earth beyond and use locally sourced materials, inspired by the landscape.

These projects were designed under the oversight of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in close consultation with representatives from the Navajo Nation.

Tse’bit’a’i’ Restorative Justice Center

Shiprock, New Mexico

In collaboration with IDS+A, JCJ Architecture supported programming and concept design for the Tsé Bit’á’I Justice Center & Medical Examiner Facility.

The new 80-bed 97,000-square-foot facility is centralized to serve the Northern Navajo area and is set to house Courts, Law Enforcement and Corrections. It is situated near major amenities such as the Northern Navajo Medical Center and Department of Behavioral Health and will consolidate and replace the current Shiprock justice facilities. The driving force behind design of the campus is restorative justice that embraces culture, local context and the community as a whole.

These projects were designed under the oversight of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in close consultation with representatives from the Navajo Nation.