Alachua County Courthouse, Criminal Justice Center, Gainesville, Fla
N 29° 39.001 W 082° 19.513
17R E 371733 N 3280739
The new Alachua County Courthouse Criminal Justice Center houses 11 new courtrooms and is situated on 6.2 acres.
Waymark Code: WM37F2
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/22/2008
Views: 130
In an attempt to solve the county's operational issues of having a civil and a criminal court building, the new criminal courts facility brings with it the Clerk of the Court criminal operations, a portion of the court-reporting department, and staff from court administration. A new jury assembly space that is located in the criminal courthouse supports both buildings, making up for the lack of adequate assembly space in the existing courthouse.
The new criminal courthouse encompasses 6 blocks a half mile west of the existing courthouse in downtown Gainesville, Florida. The criminal courthouse at four floors produces a ground floor of approximately 39,000 square feet. Sited to the northeast corner of the site, this allows for future expansion scenarios to occur to the south. Up to as many as three future construction phases will make this site the new judicial complex for the downtown and County.
The development of the architecture has proceeded along the dual aims of creating a building, which would not only reflect the dignity and honor appropriate to a courthouse, but also would make a notable yet sympathetic civil addition to the fabric of the host downtown. The design draws from classical architecture with a vertical vocabulary, which is organized in a prototypical classical formula of base, middle and top. It is intended that this building have an architectural feel different from a commercial or religious structure. The strong solid ends and somewhat severe austerity of the elevations call attention the seriousness of what this building represents and sets it apart from the more superficial aspects of our day-to-day commercial architecture.
The building mass is composed of 3 separate volumes and is a reflection of the functional aspects of the building. The first and largest is the main courts tower; levels 1-4 contain primarily the courts and their direct support. The separation of the judicial chambers allowed for the creation of the low wing along southwest Second Avenue. The third component is the two-story entrance pavilion facing the north east of the low wing and tower.
This tri-part arrangement of parts allows the building to have a more massive base and to attenuate as it reaches towards the sky, thereby creating a more visually pleasing and proportional silhouette. It also allowed the building to respond to simultaneity of scales, creating both a gentle transition to the smaller size and scale of the buildings on the adjacent blocks as well as responding to the larger realm of the Gainesville skyline.
The asymmetrical "Z" shaped plan relationship of tower to low wing and entry pavilion creates the opportunity to form a powerful urban space and entry forecourt. This plaza not only allows the tower to reinforce the urban edge of Main Street but also becomes a major component of the entry sequence in to the building.
Year Built: 2001-2003
Current Use of Building: Criminal Division of the Court
Level of Courts: County
Architect: DLR GROUP, INC. (A FLORIDA CORP.)
Dates this building was used to house judicial proceedings: Not listed
Physical Address: Not listed
Hours: Not listed
Related Website: Not listed
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