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Court appeal

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The new R242-million court at Oakdene in the south of Johannesburg, which was officially opened on 28 March 2019 by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is an example of a new generation of creatively designed governmental buildings that are welcoming to the public, with large open spaces and user-friendly public furniture.

The new court was commissioned to make it more convenient for local communities to access justice services. Until now, communities were serviced by the Johannesburg Central Magistrate’s Court in the Johannesburg Central Business District. The new court offers a range of services to reduce the load on existing courts and is equipped with a sexual offences court to support victims of genderbased violence and femicide.

Co-Arc International Architects were appointed, in a joint venture with Consultium Architects, to design the court, which was also to serve as a standard for other new courts to be built in future.

The combination of a sloping site and its location on the corner of Rifle Range Road, a major arterial road, and Amanda Avenue, presented a number of challenges to the brief in terms of the general foundational requirements for courts, which include complex security requirements and interface between the court’s various users and their functions.

The prominence of the site makes for a dramatic statement. The building slots into the sloping site with a central movement system that essentially connects to the ground levels and “climbs up the hill” via generous stairs and ramps reflecting the natural landscape. A central triple-volume atrium flooded with natural light helps to provide clearly legible orientation prompts to the public, while organising the functional elements of the building efficiently and safely. It was also imperative that these public areas have a welcoming, friendly atmosphere, reducing stress and anxiety and helping the government fulfil its aim to serve the public in a positive, productive manner.

The courtrooms are located on the upper ground level, while the lower levels include an extremely complex interface between functions, including holding cells, police-controlled areas and various other security processes. The entrance, which is at the lowest point in the building, separates staff, magistrates and accused, with high security requirements and separate movement systems for all three. There are also requirements for accused and the public and lawyers to interface. Each courtroom requires separate entrances, too.

The courts themselves are on the upper ground floor, along with facilities for ancillary offices, various services and atriums. The courts are designed to separate victims and the accused – particularly in the case of child offences – and includes CCTV cameras so that child victims are not further traumatised either by the intimidating experience of testifying to a court or through exposure to the perpetrators of offences. The first floor includes spaces for public prosecutors, court administrators, a library and various other functions.

The courtrooms themselves are treated with acoustic panels to ensure a soundproof interior, while natural materials such as timber introduce warmth and texture.

The palette of robust structural and finishing materials, which includes coloured concrete walling, masonry and lightweight infill panels, and a sounddampened steel roof is contrasted with glazed shopfronts, and clerestory windows above the main concourse, which let in natural light for a sense of calm and wellbeing. The architects also took advantage of the security needs of the building to create some interesting sculptural filigree to the building, softening the potential severity of such an imposing civic structure. The curved roof also adds an uplifting sculptural dimension.

In the central concourse, stairs and ramps reflect the natural slope of the site, while clerestory windows let in abundant natural light.

The landscaping is carefully integrated into the architecture, enhancing public and private areas alike with terraced structuring, public gardens, private courtyard gardens serving the office spaces and a soak-away integrated with the stormwater management concept for the sloping site.

The landscaping by John Drummond Landscape Architects is carefully integrated into the architecture, enhancing public and private areas alike.

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