Light is used as a way of expressing the transparency of the judicial process and the celebration of its importance and dignity in our civic society. The brief for the courthouse includes offices for non-court agencies (US Attorneys, US Marshals and US Congressperson for the local district) as well as four major courtrooms in the main building, and chambers for District judges in a three-story annex.

A quiet palette of materials, including precast concrete and large expanses of glass is used to connect to the downtown and reinforce its location within a civic precinct. The curved building form, with slender columns celebrates the openness of American society with the formal iconic association of courthouses. The building was selected for the GSA “Security and Openness” program. Required security measures for a Federal Courthouse are accommodated with minimal visibility and without compromising the sense of openness, extroversion, and transparency for a publicly accessible building. The curved colonnade enfolds the historic trees on the site and brings light and openness into the main circulation sequence. A layer of courtrooms forms the next segment of the building, followed by the most secure section which houses the judges' chambers.

• Collaborators

  Structural/Protective Design Engineer: Weidlinger Associates MEP/FP Engineer: Cosentini Associates, Inc.
  Security Engineer: Kroll
  Acoustical Consultant: Acentech
  Landscape Architect: Brown Sardinia, Inc.

• Awards

  GSA Art in Architecture Program
  
  LEED Silver Certified, USGBC, 2012

• Clients

  United States General Services Administration

• Cost

  US $57 million