CITATION
Mecklenburg County Courthouse • Charlotte, North Carolina The new 542,000-square-foot Mecklenburg County Courthouse consolidates judicial activities previously located in four separate facilities. Faced with continued population growth and space shortages, the County recognized the need for expansion. Despite the challenge of fitting an extremely large program onto a very tight site, the new courthouse has become a focal point and gateway to the City’s center and focuses on the needs of the people to be served. The façade incorporates local materials crafted to reflect both classical and contemporary details; the appropriate use of scale and massing honors the city’s heritage while reflecting its vision to the future.
The courthouse meets post-9/11 federal security standards for courts facilities including increased security measures for personnel and vehicles, truck barriers, laminated glass, and hardened exterior walls. Two separate areas provide x-ray parcel/package inspections and walk-through weapons detection. Both areas have egress-only optical turnstiles for efficiency. Two integrated control centers utilize touch screen graphic panels to provide control for inmate movement and building operations. Integrated courtroom technology spans local and wide area networks fully integrating VCR, DVD, laser disc, document viewers, audio, and video monitors and projectors into a single, user-friendly operating system.
By locating family courtrooms on a single floor, the family court functions as a court-within-acourt. The courtroom design was customized to service specific case types. Variations in the size, bench layout, spectator seating, and number of entries are incorporated into Juvenile, Child Support, and Domestic Violence court sets. Differences from other courtrooms include an increased number of counsel tables to accommodate the greater number of participants in family cases. The height of the judge’s bench is reduced creating a less foreboding environment for the child while maintaining the dignity of the court.
Jury Comment
Additionally, a unique Public Art Commission reinforces the important conc ept that justice rises from - and serves - the people. A kinetic sculpture by Ralph Helmick and Stuart Schechter features about 3,200 tiny portraits hanging on cables from the ceiling. Made from scans of local community faces, the portraits reflect the ethnic, age, and gender makeup of the community’s citizens as reported in the 2000 Census.
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From the jury’s perspective, the Mecklenburg County Courthouse reflects design excellence in contextual site integration, exterior form, and high capacity functionality. The unique triangular footprint optimizes the use of a limited parcel
of land and adjacency to existing county government facilities while creating a park-like urban plaza area. Public access and transparency are achieved through a clearly delineated street level building entry and a spacious atrium with overlooking balcony spaces and expansive windows. Natural light and open views to the outside dynamically converge to establish an inviting, human-scale space for the public and court personnel. The high degree of openness is remarkable given the security requirements and setback constraints of the building site. Extensive programming and stakeholder involvement are evident by the co-location of court services previously housed in four separate facilities, process re-engineering of the high volume courts, and specially designed family courtrooms. Public movement within the facility is further supported by open escalators and wayfinding references to the atrium featuring an intriguing kinetic sculpture.
