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Federal Courthouse
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by Gerald Thacker Courts Consultant Last updated: 07-22-2010
Acoustic Comfort Aesthetic Challenges
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Article III o f the Co nstitutio n establishes the Judiciary as o ne o f Overview the three independent branches o f the Federal go vernment, and Building Attributes pro vides fo r a Supreme Co urt and whatever o ther federal co urts Emerging Issues Co ngress co nsiders necessary. Since the Federal Co urt system Relevant Codes and was first defined by Co ngress in 178 9 , Co ngress has divided the Standards co untry into 9 4 federal judicial districts, each with its o wn U.S. Major Resources District Co urt (USDC). The USDCs are the federal trial co urts, where cases are tried, witnesses testify, and juries serve. Even as the system evo lved, the number o f federal judges remains relatively small. There are currently abo ut 6 50 autho rized USDC judgeships, and appro ximately 1,20 0 senio r district, magistrate, and bankruptcy judges. Mo st districts have mo re than o ne facility where co urt is held. Typically, o ne to five judges are lo cated in small- to medium-sized co urt facilities; ho wever, in several large metro po litan areas, as many as 50 to 75 judges are lo cated in a single facility. Generally, o ne trial co urtro o m is required fo r each district judgeship.
Aesthetic Opportunities Air Barrier Systems in Buildings Assessment Tools for Accessibility VIEW ALL RELAT ED (30 ) VIEW RESO URCE PAG E INDEX
Co ngress has gro uped the 9 4 USDCs into 12 regio nal circuits, and
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Ware ho use SPAC E T YPES D ESIG N D ISC IPLIN ES PR O D UC T S & SYST EMS
Co ngress has gro uped the 9 4 USDCs into 12 regio nal circuits, and established within each circuit a single U.S. Co urt o f Appeals (USCA); there is also a Federal Circuit co urt with limited jurisdictio n in Washingto n, DC. Litigants who lo se in the USDC may appeal their case to the USCA, which reviews cases usually in panels o f three judges and witho ut juries, to see whether the trial judge applied the law co rrectly. The USCA is the final sto p fo r mo st litigatio n in the federal system. There are currently abo ut 170 USCA judges autho rized fo r the 12 regio nal circuits. Mo st circuit co urts ho ld co urt o nly in o ne o r two cities within the circuit, altho ugh circuit judges might have o ffices elsewhere in the circuit. Therefo re, mo st federal co urt facilities do no t co ntain USCA judges o r co urtro o ms. As the preeminent symbo l o f federal autho rity in lo cal co mmunities, a federal co urtho use must express so lemnity, stability, integrity, Mark O. Hatfield U.S. rigo r, and fairness. The U.S. General Services Administratio n (GSA), Courthouse—Portland, OR which is part o f the Executive Branch, is the federal agency (Courtesy of Kohn respo nsible fo r federal co urt design, co nstructio n, and Pedersen Fox Associates, maintenance. The need fo r majo r reno vatio n o r new co urtho use BOORA Architects, GSA) co nstructio n is identified by the Judicial Co nference o f the United States in a five-year plan o f requirements, updated and appro ved each year. The Administrative Office o f the U.S. Co urts (AOUSC) serves as staff to the Federal judiciary. Lo cated in Washingto n D.C., the AOUSC perfo rms a wide range o f administrative duties to assist the o peratio n o f the federal co urts, and is the primary liaiso n with GSA and the U.S. Marshals Service, a unit o f the Executive branch, which pro vides judicial security. BACK TO TO P
BUILDING AT T RIBUT ES In additio n to the traditio nal life-safety and health co ncerns co mmo n to all buildings, federal co urtho use facilities must adhere to guidelines fo r their aesthetics, security, adjacency and circulatio n, barrier-free access, mechanical/electrical systems, auto matio n, aco ustics, interio r finishes, and signage.
A. Types of Spaces Courtroom Spaces Courtrooms Public Courtroom Support Spaces Convenience Store, Kiosk, or Vending Machines Bookstore Lobby: Central lo catio n fo r building directo ry, schedules, and general info rmatio n Common Space: Info rmal, multi-purpo se recreatio n and so cial gathering space PDFmyURL.com
Cafeteria or Dining Hall Restrooms Restricted/Secure Courtroom Support Spaces Judicial Chamber : Includes judge's o ffices and circulatio n Enhanced Office : Includes ancillary o ffices, jury facilities, and o ther spaces attached to co urtro o ms such as the Judge's Co nference Ro o m, Judge's Ro bing Ro o m, News Media Ro o m, Service Unit, Private To ilet, and Equipment Sto rage Detention Cell: Maximum security spaces co ntro lled by the USMS Administrative Support Spaces Administrative Offices: May be private o r semi-private aco ustically and/o r visually. Operation and Maintenance Spaces General Storage : Fo r items such as statio nery, equipment, and instructio nal materials. Food Preparation Area or Kitchen Computer/Information Technology (IT) Closets . See WBDG Auto mated Data Pro cessing Center fo r PC System related info rmatio n. Maintenance Closets
B. Import ant Design Considerat ions Aesthetics Reflect the dignity, enterprise, vigo r, and stability o f the federal go vernment in acco rdance with the Guiding Principles fo r Federal Architecture . To this end, a co urtho use must express so lemnity, stability, integrity, rigo r, and fairness o f the American judicial pro cess. The facility must also co ntribute po sitively to the architectural fabric o f the lo cal co mmunity. Security Be planned with security as an integral and crucial design co nsideratio n. Since security planning is a basic and critical part o f co urtho use design, it must be facto red in at the beginning o f the design pro cess and carefully integrated with o ther building system co ntro ls, such as fo r fire-safety and HVAC. Co urtho use security is co mplex in that co urt co mpo nents and circulatio n patterns require varying degrees o f security. Optimal co urtho use security is a fine balance between architectural so lutio ns; allo catio n o f security perso nnel; and installatio n o f security systems and equipment. Adjacency and Circulation Define three separate circulatio n zo nes fo r public, restricted, and secure mo vement. Public circulatio n requires a single co ntro lled entry, but allo ws free mo vement within the PDFmyURL.com
public areas o f the building. Restricted circulatio n has a co ntro lled interio r entry and is limited to judges, co urt perso nnel, and o fficial visito rs. Secure circulatio n is intended fo r priso ners and is co ntro lled by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). Barrier-Free Access Co nfo rm to the barrier-free standards set fo rth in the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) and the Americans with Disabilities Act Architectural Guidelines (ADAAG) (when tho se guidelines pro vide a greater level o f access than currently required by UFAS). All public areas in federal co urt facilities must be accessible when newly co nstructed o r reno vated. Within the co urtro o m, the witness stand, jury bo x, and well o f the co urt must be accessible, and the judge's bench and clerk's statio n must be adaptable when newly co nstructed o r reno vated. Mechanical/Electrical Systems Po ssess flexible, multi-zo ned mechanical equipment with state-o f-the-art co ntro ls and energy efficiency features. All co urt and judiciary-related o ffices must have individual HVAC co ntro ls, mo nito red fro m a central lo catio n. To co ntro l no ise during all mo des o f o peratio n, the systems must be pro vided with o ne o r mo re o f the fo llo wing: so und traps and aco ustical lining in duct wo rk, lo w-velo city, lo w-staticpressure fan systems, and/o r special lo w-no ise diffusers. Electrical design sho uld anticipate future requirements fo r video and audio systems; electric data pro cessing, retrieval, and display; electro nic security systems; and new generatio ns o f so phisticated o ffice equipment. Automation Anticipate co urt repo rting and co urt co mputer services and be adaptable to change as auto matio n techno lo gy evo lves. The federal judiciary is co mmitted to auto mating vario us co urt functio ns, co ncentrating o n the fo llo wing: auto mated data-pro cessing system servers, electro nic evidence display in the co urtro o m, co urtro o m-based perso nal co mputers, data co mmunicatio ns netwo rks, and satellite video bro adcasts. Acoustics Pro vide fo r speech intelligibility and privacy. Speech intelligibility is a measure o f the ability o f a listener in the ro o m to understand what is being said. Privacy is the measure o f limiting speech intelligibility to the intended listener. PDFmyURL.com
Spaces in a co urtho use are designed to pro vide o ne o f fo ur levels o f aco ustical privacy: inaudible, co nfidential, no rmal, and minimal. Interior Finishes Finish with durable materials that reflect the dignity o f the judicial system and the serio usness o f judicial pro ceedings and: The interio r architecture o f public spaces in the co urtho use sho uld exhibit this dignity and serio usness. A limited palette o f finishes that respo nds to co nstructio n co st limitatio ns, o ptimizes lifecycle perfo rmance, and satisfies functio nal requirements sho uld be selected fo r each pro ject. Signage Direct users clearly and efficiently to desired destinatio ns. Signs significantly impact the functio nal and aesthetic quality o f a co urt facility. The specific strategy fo r a building's signs must be determined early in the facility design pro cess.
C. Example Design and Const ruct ion Crit eria Fo r GSA, the unit co sts fo r this building type are based o n the co nstructio n quality and design features in the fo llo wing table (PDF 8 8 3 KB, 35 p g s ) . This info rmatio n is based o n GSA's benchmark interpretatio n and co uld be different fo r o ther o wners. BACK TO TO P
EMERGING ISSUES In recent years, the federal judicial system has experienced facilities-related challenges caused by heightened and changing security needs (such as bio -terro rism); auto matio n o f legal pro cesses (especially increasing reliance o n electro nically filed reco rds and the use o f auto matio n in the co urtro o m); and significant caselo ad increases. Thus, the need fo r flexibility and inno vatio n in designs to meet these challenges no w and in the future are critical design co nsideratio ns. Successful co urtho use designs will require defining and addressing these issues, and integrating all the necessary disciplines to address them thro ugho ut the design and co nstructio n pro cess. BACK TO TO P
RELEVANT CODES AND STANDARDS The single mo st targeted reso urce fo r the planning and design o f federal co urt facilities is the U.S. Courts Design Guide , no w in its fo urth editio n (19 9 7). The Guide was initially develo ped in a co o perative effo rt between the Federal judiciary and a team o f experts in space planning, security, aco ustics, mechanical/electrical systems, and auto matio n. The U.S. Courts Design Guide co mplements the GSA facilities standards handbo o ks. It is intended to serve as a planning to o l PDFmyURL.com
fo r federal judges and o ther perso nnel invo lved in the design o f a federal co urt facility and to pro vide relevant info rmatio n fo r the General Services Administratio n (GSA) and an architecture/engineering (A/E) team to plan, pro gram, and design a functio nal, aestheticallyappro priate, and co st-effective co urt facility. BACK TO TO P
MAJOR RESOURCES WBDG Space Types Co urtho use: Enhanced Office, Co urtho use: Judicial Chamber, Hearing Ro o m Design Objectives Accessible—Pro vide Equal Access , Aesthetics—Understanding the Language and Elements o f Design, Functio nal / Operatio nal—Acco unt fo r Functio nal Needs , Functio nal / Operatio nal —Ensure Appro priate Pro duct/Systems Integratio n, Pro ductive—Assure Reliable Systems and Spaces, Pro ductive—Pro vide Co mfo rtable Enviro nments, Secure / Safe—Ensure Occupant Safety and Health Project Management Delivery Teams—Select Appro priate Design Pro fessio nals , Building Co mmissio ning, Pro ject Planning and Develo pment
Publicat ions Administrative Office o f the U.S. Co urts (AOUSC) Electro nic Co urtro o m/Chambers, An Interim Guide to Co urtro o m Techno lo gies Guide Specificatio ns fo r Mo dificatio n/Installatio n o f Audio Systems in United States Co urtho uses Guide to Judiciary Po licies and Pro cedures Judiciary's Human Reso urces Manual United States Co urtho use Design & Co nstructio n Pro cess United States Co urts Mo ving Guide Architectural Graphic Standards, 11th Edition by Charles Ramsey and Haro ld Sleeper. New Yo rk, NY: Jo hn Wiley & So ns, Inc., 20 0 7. Building Type Basics for Justice Facilities by To dd S. Phillips & Michael A. Griebel, Jo hn Wiley & So ns, Inc., July 20 0 3. Courtroom Lighting—Criteria Evaluation and Energy Use Study GSA Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service P-100 GSA Green Courthouse Design Concepts GSA PDFmyURL.com
LEED® Cost Study GSA LEED® Applications Guide GSA Mechanical Lift Analysis (Accessibility Method for Accommodation of Physically Disabled People in the U.S. Courthouse Courtrooms) GSA Standard Level Features and Finishes for U.S. Court Facilities
GSA
U.S. Courts Design Guide Judicial Co nference
Ot hers Administrative Office o f the U.S. Co urts (AOUSC) The Center fo r Co urtho use Pro grams —ensures the co nsistent, excellent, and co st-effective delivery o f the co urtho use co nstructio n pro gram. (GSA) The U.S. Marshals Service no w has a design guide co vering all aspects o f co urtho use security, as well as security in the Marshals Service space. (Available fo r limited use o nly) The Executive Office fo r U.S. Atto rneys has a design guide co vering all aspects o f co urtho use security. (Available fo r limited use o nly)
Point s of Cont act Ro bert Andruko nis, Directo r, GSA Center fo r Co urtho use Pro grams. Pho ne: (20 2) 50 1-1517. Ro ss Eisenman, Assistant Directo r, Administrative Office o f the U.S. Co urts—Respo nsible fo r facilities. Pho ne: (20 2) 50 2-120 0 . Gerald Thacker, Co urts Co nsultant. Pho ne: (70 3) 59 9 -6 0 38 . BACK TO TO P
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