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 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.

oWner

Judicial Council of California Administrative Office of the Courts Sacramento, California

architect of record

DLR Group Sacramento, California

landscape architect

Wood Rogers Sacramento, California

Civil engineer

Wood Rogers Sacramento, California

structural engineer

Buehler & Buehler Sacramento, California

mechanical and plumbing engineer

Capital Engineering Rancho Cordova, California

electrical engineer

The Engineering Enterprise Auburn, California

owner pre-Construction Cm

URS Sacramento, California Completion date: 2012 Construction Cost: $ 21.3 million

number of Courtrooms: 4

Type of Court: Criminal, Civil, Juvenile, Domestic, Small Claims, Traffic, Probate, Appellate Building area: 44,621 BGSF; 31,040 NAA Finance method: Revenue Bonds

delivery method: Design / Bid / Build Type of Construction: New leed Certificate: Silver