The exterior aesthetic combines elements of the client’s existing architectural vernacular from other sites with modern systems, elevating the County’s physical presence and reflecting the forward-thinking vision of the local leadership.

The contemporary approach to “shade-making architecture” thoughtfully engages with light and shadow, creating dynamic patterns that enliven the space while drawing inspiration from the playful and innovative designs of nearby precedents by Frank Lloyd Wright, Gene Leedy, and Santiago Calatrava.

An inviting entry plaza welcomes visitors and enhances their experience, while a clerestory daylighting system distributes natural light deep into both public and staff areas, reducing energy use and creating a bright, productive environment that is uncommon in facilities of this type.

The Center’s design carefully prioritizes wayfinding, using color, materials, and lighting to guide visitors smoothly and intuitively through the different service areas, enhancing both convenience and overall user experience.

Primary public thoroughfares are elevated both acoustically and visually by a continuous ribbon of kaleidoscopic acoustical wall panels, which reduce noise while creating a vibrant, engaging environment that turns functional design into a compelling public art experience.

At the ends of the public corridors, expansive curtain wall windows frame views of the surrounding landscape, visually connecting the interior spaces with the natural environment and enhancing occupants’ sense of openness and well-being.

Preserved moss wall installations inspired by the County’s official logo, paired with a linear arrangement of felt acoustical panels, create an immersive environment where occupants can experience a subtle, encoded representation of the County’s brand identity as “Florida’s Crossroads of Opportunity,” reinforcing a sense of place and community pride.

The courtrooms feature a subdued, complementary material palette that contrasts with the vibrant, active public areas, creating a calm and focused environment that supports concentration and the formality of legal proceedings.

The centrally located, dividable multi-purpose conference and community room offers a welcoming and adaptable space that encourages community engagement and supports a wide range of events and activities.

The design exemplifies the integration of well-being, with abundant natural light streaming through expansive exterior views and a continuous clerestory, creating bright, uplifting interior spaces that enhance comfort, productivity, and overall occupant experience.

The exterior of the courthouse is clad in Indiana limestone with a granite base.

The central atrium features a WPA era mural by Xavier Gonzalez which was moved from the historic courthouse.

The courtrooms feature marble backdrops behind the bench and coferred ceilings.

Rich natural materials portray the civic nature of the courthouse at different scales. A slate-clad stair tower extends vertically to offer prominence to the building from the Durham Freeway. The corner of the parking deck is clad in the same slate, to connect this distant view to the vehicular approach.

Slate wraps the pedestrian entry pavilion, broken by punched windows from the jury pool and openings at grade between slate columns grounded by granite bases. Granite is used on other site elements, such as the site walls and monumental steps that frame the entry pavilion.

The public procession is a study in the balance of security and openness. Security screening is integrated into the main entry pavilion. Beyond the queue and screening, the lobby opens into a double-height space focused on an exposed stair and mosaic art wall. Southern exposure and large expanses of glass provide brightness to these large public spaces. The stair connects the most heavily trafficked first three floors of the building, reducing elevator usage to conserve energy.

The building takes advantage of the southern exposure and introduces natural light into the public galleries serving the courtrooms. The full length glass and integrated light shelf emits daylight deep into the internal courtrooms through a clerestory window system that runs the length of the public corridor. In addition the three largest courtrooms are located on the western end of the building which allows for a large expanse of glazing and views of the city.

Balanced by perforated acoustical wall panels, rich FSC-certified wood veneer panels bring warmth and civility to the courtrooms.

Matching slate from the outside of the building carries through the courtroom vestibules and into the focal wall of each courtroom. The combination of warm and rich materials with the open rail between spectator seating and the well breaks down the traditional hierarchy and encourages civil behavior in the courtroom.

The new Howard County Court Building in Columbia Maryland presents the opportunity to simultaneously convey the dignity and accessibility of the legal system while establishing a major civic presence in the community.

The overall landscape plan complements and reinforces the civic identity, order and programmatic clarity of the architectural design.

The plaza and green, acting as a terminus for the procession to the building, will be flanked by planted trees connect to the campus landscape and provide a shaded entry and exit transition zone for visitors.

The green spine will be a visually inviting amenity used by facility staff and visitors to the courts. It will also serve as a civic setting for residents of the surrounding neighborhood and county at large.

Strong transparent architectural forms define the building entry and serve as a reference for public circulation. This expression of transparency is symbolic of the transparency of the legal proceedings of the court.

A mural by Mexican artist, Thomas Glassford, is highlighted in the central atrium. Great stairs lead visitors and potential jurors up to the jury assembly whose hovering glass bay looks out onto San Pedro Creek.

Reflecting the ordered pilasters outside, 50’ tall interior pilasters frame views into courtrooms through oak slats that warm the atrium while filtering light into the courtroom gallery from the continuous skylight above.

Courtroom lobby balconies overlook the atrium, allowing both spaces to work in tandem by functioning as a multi-use space for large gatherings, events, and citizenship swearing-in ceremonies.

Clerestory windows over the judge’s bench bring natural light into the courtroom, representing the idea of transparency in the judicial system. Oak panels, intricately carved wooden well gates inspired by the late artist and craftsman Lynn Ford, and the studded leather wall behind the judge’s bench create a unique and distinctly South Texas courtroom experience.

Strong ordered volumes promote the dignity of the judicial proceedings and provide a suitable theater for the adjudication of multiple proceedings. Each courtroom has a central bench which is reinforced in the planning and design of the room’s volume. A hierarchy of levels improves visibility for all in the space. Natural daylight is provided from both from clerestory and transoms over the courtroom entry doors.

The primary feature of the tower façade is the expression of linear stacked public gallery and waiting spaces that serve the courtrooms. The public volumes are expressed as facetted glass curtainwall that offers dramatic views back to the urban skyline and abstracts the surface reflections of the adjacent Pleasant Run waterway.

The courts tower reads prominently, screening the detention center from the main public approach. The hinged building form creates visual interest and responds to the adjacent creek and to the main entry drop-off. The crystalline facade becomes a demonstration of the dignity and transparency of the justice system while allowing expansive views of the creek and city from the interior public spaces.

The entry lobby serves as the central point for the public to access the courts or sheriff. Wood tones provide an inviting feel to the lobby while transparency allows daylights and views to the landscape and city beyond.

Typical Courtroom

Hearing Rooms

Jury Assembly

By reorienting the existing judicial building, the new courts facility formally addresses Main Street with a public plaza.

The addition houses court functions including one large courtroom, five standard courtrooms, collegial judicial chambers, detention, and Clerk of the Court management functions.

SLAM (formerly Heery Design) went to great lengths to find complementary building forms, materials, and colors to reinforce a campus theme and create a transitional architecture that blends well with its context.

The building takes advantage of the southern exposure through an elaborate system of sunshades and light shelves to bounce light deep into the public waiting areas and courtrooms. It ties back to the city core via a public plaza along Main Street.

The five-story addition has a simple massing that extends perpendicular from the existing courthouse towards the street. The massing and materiality of the building’s skin directly reflects the functions within. The public realm including the public entrance lobby, vertical circulation and jury assembly are marked by transparency and natural daylighting. The common arrival sequence with axial windows and views connects the renovated courthouse to its rich environment with views both urban and natural.

This existing County Courthouse and tower addition are a complement to the dynamic civic plaza. The colonnaded porch and arrival stairs elevated above the ground plain have a symbolic reference to the classical courthouse prototype.

The courthouse facade is a balance between the open expression of the new public entry and screening lobby with the brutalist punched openings that articulate the existing building envelope. The massing and materiality of the building’s skin directly reflects the functions within. The grand entrance canopy and colonnade are defined by the glazed curtain wall façade that welcomes visitors into a highly transparent public entrance lobby with natural light.

A procession unfolds at the civic plaza that terminates at the grand porch courthouse entrance, creating a more intimate connection between the new addition and the courthouse campus.

The courthouse addition initiates a stronger connection to the urban downtown context by an appropriately extended footprint that engages with the streetscape.

The massing and materiality of the building’s skin directly reflects the functions within. The grand entrance canopy and colonnade define the glazed curtain wall façade that welcomes visitors into a highly transparent public entrance lobby with natural daylighting.