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TenBerke has been announced as one of several team members on a major new commission that will deliver a new home for The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) from the city’s former Family Court Building at an important nexus in its expanding cultural precinct. Located near the... View full entry
Yet the courthouse reveals the limits of what architecture can do. Its spatial clarity and sedulous details don’t resolve some issues with where it is placed. This is a spectacular execution of a flawed recipe. [...]
Then there is a larger question: Is a centralized courthouse a good idea in the first place?
— The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail architecture critic Alex Bozikovic reviews the massive new RPBW and NORR-designed Ontario Court of Justice project, calling it characteristically calm, natural, and “friendlier” than other contemporary North American courthouse designs owing to a well-articulated... View full entry
Snøhetta has been chosen to design a new National Court of Asylum and Administrative Court in Montreuil, France. The proposed scheme sees the two courts arranged on one site around large green areas, offering what the team calls “a place of calm during what can be a time of intense turmoil.”... View full entry
A long-closed Los Angeles County courthouse in Sawtelle that was once a popular draw for skateboarders may soon be redeveloped for affordable housing. The County Board of Supervisors voted to buy the former West Los Angeles Courthouse at 1633 Purdue Avenue for a mixed-use, affordable housing development, City News Service reported via KFI AM 640. — The Real Deal
As detailed by The Real Deal, a motion to buy the courthouse, which has been vacant since June 2013, was proposed, asking Los Angeles County to source funds to acquire the space from the Judicial Council. The County has reportedly, so far, paid more than $3.5 million to the Council to incentivize... View full entry
When it opened in 2008, the loftily named Bronx Hall of Justice was billed as the crown jewel of New York’s court system — the biggest courthouse in the state, sheathed in glass and housing enough courtrooms to handle dozens of criminal and civil cases each day.
All these years later, the verdict is that it’s more like a broken-down jalopy.
— The City
Numerous problems including flooding, failed fire alarms, shattered glass windows that appear out of nowhere, and floor collapses stemming from a built-over underground stream have befallen the Rafael Viñoly-designed Bronx Hall of Justice for more than a decade. The courthouse building has... View full entry
The latest high-profile architectural addition to the Fort Lauderdale skyline is moving forward this week as the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has announced its approval of SOM's design concept for a new 252,000-square-foot federal courthouse. The development will target LEED Gold and... View full entry
The new 265,000 square-foot Lowell Justice Center courthouse in Massachusetts designed by Finegold Alexander Architects has opened to the public. The $146 million facility houses Superior, District, Housing, Juvenile, Probate, and Family Court facilities, including 17 courtrooms... View full entry
The $350-million, 633,000-square-foot courthouse, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is an unusually polished work of civic architecture — especially by the standards of Los Angeles...This is a building that wants to look respectable and rational but not staid, one that is fairly conventional on the horizontal plane and takes a significant if measured chance on the vertical one. Still, it’s a chance that pays off. — Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times
Christopher Hawthorne gives a thumbs up in his review of SOM's design for the now-completed Los Angeles U.S. Courthouse, which appears to “float” in mid-air. Don't forget to check out a virtual tour of the building in the video below. Previously on Archinect: LA Federal Courthouse under... View full entry
Jürgen Mayer H.'s latest creation is about to officially swing its doors open to the public tomorrow, September 13th: the new Court of Justice building in Hasselt, Belgium was designed by a team comprising Berlin-based J. MAYER H. Architects and local firms a2o-architecten and Lensºass... View full entry
McCarthy/Brooks + Scarpa /HMC Architects have released their proposal for the Design Excellence/design-build competition for new United States courthouse in Los Angeles. The contractor lead design/build team was selected to compete thru the General Services Administration two-stage Design... View full entry
Federal officials this morning announced that Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Architects has won the contract to build a $400 million Downtown courthouse.
“Today, the new federal courthouse is that much closer to becoming a reality for downtown Los Angeles,” said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard in a prepared statement. The selection, she said, “means we are moving toward the groundbreaking of a critically needed facility that will resolve long-standing security and space issues.”
— ladowntownnews.com
The Singapore Subordinate Courts have announced the winning design for a new courts complex after an open competition process that started in September last year. The design, by London-based Serie Architects in collaboration with local Singaporean firm Multiply Architects, includes two new towers and the renovation of the existing Octagon courts building. Serie and Multiply will work with CPG Consultants Pte Ltd to implement the design. — bustler.net
The interplay between the new system and the courthouse spaces emphasizes the spaces volume and captures the spontaneity of a new architectural presence. The courtyards will be covered and will programmatically serve as contemporary exhibition spaces. — bustler.net
