Calaveras County Courthouse • Andreas, California
The Calaveras County Courthouse is located on an undeveloped rural site with the base of the building taking cues from the natural surroundings. Mitigating the extreme grade changes, freeflowing and organic but weighted and grounded in its materiality, the base becomes the wellspring from which the upper floors emanate. Programmatically, the Clerk of Court, jury assembly, and the court support offices are housed on the first level. The upper level of the building is ordered, orthogonal, and balanced. Here the courtrooms are juxtaposed against the base. At the roof line, the four courtroom volumes are expressed against a datum of metal that is symbolic of the mountains beyond. The building interior is organized around a two-story great hall visually linking the publicly accessed functions and offering the
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ease of wayfinding. The building folds in on itself expressing this central space from the building approach, connecting between the interior and exterior. The great hall also extends to the exterior design. The site organization and entry procession situates the courthouse in a place of prominence at the top of an existing knoll. The entry pavilion is positioned as the terminus for the entry drive and defines the building at a larger scale. Pedestrian access from the public parking area is across a carefully proportioned entry plaza signifying the arrival at a place of importance. The double height entry lobby transitions the scale from exterior to interior prior to arriving at the security screening checkpoint. The northern portion of the site has parking areas for the staff along with secure sublevel parking.
