Keywords

Shaping Justice studio; Courthouse design; Visual computation; Typology; Variation

The language of the new courthouse morphology is inspired by the linear pathfinders extracted from urban fabrics. The resulting pattern can be meandering, undulating, spiral or nested but always clearly defined.The morphology itself may reflect the context by recording on its scaffold the prevalent urban formal conditions around it and primary paths. The new federal courthouse typology consists of a mixed-use program of federal judicial activities, public and commercial spaces, and a major public green space. The design of the new federal courthouse at Greenville, SC follows these guidelines. The site of the new courthouse, located two short blocks away from Main Street, the major circulation spine of Greenville’s downtown, invites this layered, collaged approach to literally connect the new building with the urban fabric around it. The major move here is the incorporation of the public green space in front of the courthouse in the form of urban stripes to act as a contiguous zone connecting the courthouse to the adjacent urban spaces.