Richard J. Daronco Westchester County Courthouse • White Plains, New York Replacing a wind-swept plaza at the base of an existing courts tower, the new Criminal and Family Court Annex embraces an outdoor garden that has become the emblematic public space of complex greeting visitors and providing a focus for the encompassing public circulation galleries. Vertical public circulation for the Criminal Court is dramatized by its insertion into the garden, while the stair for the Family Court is filled with natural light and offers views out into the civic center. Housed in this facility are the County Courts, Family Court, and the Department of Probation providing much needed courtroom facilities and enhanced security for judges, jurors, litigants, staff, and the public. The secure circulation surrounding the array of courtrooms is allowed to project through the outer layer of judges’ chambers and jury deliberation rooms making lanterns of light and small gathering places.
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The courtroom entrances are arcuated giving material substance to the building fabric and introducing the visiting public to the special purpose to which these spaces are devoted. The courtrooms
are balanced, serene, and filled with diffused light reflected off vaulted ceilings. Carefully proportioned and detailed, they embody the courts’ fundamental commitment to due process and balanced judgment.
