A New Symbol for Law and Order

By Debra Wood

As part of a comprehensive plan to upgrade court facilities to handle increasing caseloads, the General Services Administration is building an $87.2 million annex to the George C. Young U.S. Federal Courthouse & Federal Building in Orlando.

"The concept of the project was to create a new campus environment for the U.S. courts in Orlando," said Bob Egleston, project manager for Heery-HLM Design of Orlando, one of the lead design firms. "Currently there are a number of courts and court-related agencies located in leased space in the downtown area. When you couple that with the fact the courts are growing, there was a definite need for a new courthouse."

Thirty-three courthouses are listed on the GSA's most recent project plan. In October 2004, the Judicial Council, a Division of the U.S. Courts, issued a two-year moratorium on courthouse construction, ending plans for new facilities not already under way. Security factors increased rental costs, according to Gary Mote, spokesperson for GSA.

GSA selected a design concept developed by Heery-HLM and Leers, Weinzapfel Associates of Boston, in 2000, after a design-excellence selection process, during which independent, private-sector architecture professionals evaluated various proposals. Mote said that the design adheres to recommendations made in the U.S. Courts Design Guide, developed by the federal judiciary and an outside panel of experts.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Orlando received the $77 million construction manager/general contractor contract for the new six-story building, with a basement, and a 132-car parking facility and began construction in March 2004, said Richard Lewis, project manager for Hensel Phelps. It completed the garage during the first year, he added. The 336,000-sq.-ft. building is scheduled for completion in January. Once finished and people in the existing courthouse move, Hensel Phelps will complete a linked passage way between the two structures.

Three hurricanes that year set the job back about three weeks, but Hensel Phelps made up the time.

Original plans called for the City of Orlando to take stormwater off site, through pipe to a retention pond about two blocks away. However, the city ran into hazardous material, delaying the work for seven months.

"We had to detain the water on site until it was done," said Lewis, explaining that Hensel Phelps built a retention pond on site. "We had to deal with that during erection of the precast and skin. It didn't delay us, but there were associated costs."

The pond consuming about a quarter of the parcel, and restricted easy access to portions of the building. Hensel Phelps brought in a larger crane to reach all of the elevations. The retention pond also delayed hardscaping. Once the city completed its work, Hensel Phelps filled in the onsite pond.

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Design

The Orlando courthouse design balances security needs with a desire to provide a community-friendly building. A two-acre landscaped outdoor courtyard/park will connect the new building with the Florida A&M University College of Law.

"We are trying to make [courthouses] get away from the bunker mentality, with no windows, to something aesthetically pleasing and functional," Mote said.

Architects sought and incorporated suggestions from judges before designing the new facility and renovation of the existing courthouse for use by other courts and federal agencies.

"Judges are always involved, and they play a major role in the design of the building," Egleston said. "They are, ultimately, in charge of how the courts and related agencies function within the building. They want to make sure the building functions correctly, that the public has good access to areas they need, and that security for prisoner movement works well."

The judges also requested good lines of sight and acoustics in the courtrooms, Egleston said. Heery-HLM completed computer modeling and built a full-size, rough mock-up of a courtroom out of plywood and invited judges and attorneys to visit it, sit in various places and evaluate the different lines of sight.

"We verify there is good line of sight for all the critical functions," Egleston said. "When we're building it, we've already worked those things out in a full-size [courtroom] so, hopefully, there's no need to make major changes once the building is built."

Most of the full-height walls in the courtroom areas received sound insulation and extra drywall on both sides and were sealed with caulk at the top and at all penetrations, Lewis said.

"The designers worked very diligently to make sure no other mechanical ductwork or piping was run over the courtrooms to create any unnecessary noise," Lewis said. "It moves those materials into other areas that become congested."

Construction

The reinforced, cast-in-place concrete building, with a structural-steel roof, sits on about 174 displacement piles, Lewis said. Additional structural elements and supports provide blast hardening for the building. Large flower boxes in front also serve to keep vehicles away from the building, Mote said. Neither Mote, Lewis nor Heery-HLM could reveal other security features. However, the building was designed to meet the strict security criteria outlined in the Interagency Security Committee blast-protection guidelines.

Floors three through six contain four courtrooms each. In addition, on the third floor, there is a library, which could be built out in the future for another courtroom, and a special proceeding room on the third floor.

The courtrooms open onto a four-story lobby. As in historic courthouses, with their high steps and stately columns, Mote said the GSA hopes the public will embrace the lobby area as a place to hold private functions, such as wedding receptions.

On the east side of the building, a 48-ft.-tall by 20-ft.-wide laminated art-glass mural designed by artist Al Held and fabricated by Architectural Glass Art of Louisville, Ky., provides a visual feature in the atrium, after the public passes through security.

"When the sun comes up, you're going to get some brilliant light coming through that window. It's very cathedral-like," Egleston said.

The work was commissioned as part of the GSA's Art in Architecture Program. GSA allocates .5 of 1 percent of the estimated construction cost to one or more works of art for new or substantially expanded buildings.

Held created five paintings the panel could choose from for the stained-glass window, Egleston said. The artist donated the other four paintings to create smaller art-glass punched windows on the ground floor, he continued.

However, that left one window without art glass.

"[Held] agreed at no extra cost to provide a sixth painting to fill in the last window," Egleston said. "Unfortunately, during that process he met an untimely death. But the painting was far enough along, that his studio could complete it. All of the windows will have an Al Held stained-glass design."

The courthouse also includes a detention wing for arrangements, special elevators for prisoners and holding cells for courtroom appearances.

Architectural precast concrete and curtain wall cover the exterior. A cast-in-place concrete tower clad with white precast projects 30-ft. above the building, Lewis said. Four open cut outs and a skylight provide natural light to the main entry way below. Security guidelines require a reduced amount of glass, so the skylight offers a safer way to create an open, airy feeling.

All jurors and the public will enter through a security area in that space. Heery-HLM included queuing space, so people will not have to wait in the elements before passing through the checkpoints.

About 280 workers toiled on the project at its peak.

Useful sources:
U.S. Courts Design Guide
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?P=PME&contentId=15102&contentType=GSA_DOCUMENT