Taunton Trial Court Massachusetts, US District Courthouse Building, American Architecture Award
Taunton Trial Court : US District Courthouse Massachusetts
American Court Building design by Leers Weinzapfel Associates
May 31, 2012
Location: 40 Broadway, Taunton, MA, USA
Leers Weinzapfel Associates Taunton Trial Court Receives 2012 AIA/AAJ Justice Facilities Review Program Award of Excellence Merit
Design: Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Award Marks Second AIA/AAJ Nod for Firm Dedicated to Civic Design Excellence
photo : © Anton Grassl / Esto
Taunton Trial Court Massachusetts
Leers Weinzapfel Associates’ Taunton Trial Court in Taunton, MA, is the recipient of a 2012 American Institute of Architecture/Academy of Architecture for Justice (AIA/AAJ) Justice Facilities Review (JFR) Program Award of Excellence Merit, an accolade it also received in 2008 for its US District Courthouse in Orlando. Since 1997, a JFR jury of three architects and three professionals from the courts, detention/corrections, and law enforcement fields have annually selected and then published the finest examples of progressive justice planning and design in the country.
photo : © Anton Grassl / Esto
Projects submitted for the awards are evaluated on functionality and community impact, sustainability and economic feasibility, and aesthetic achievement. The unique aspects of a project and the role that the architect and the team played in the development of the solution are key award criteria, and how a building works is as important as how it appears.
photo : © Anton Grassl / Esto
The design mission for the award-winning new Taunton Trial Court was to introduce a large, forward-looking courthouse into the heart of the city’s small scale urban fabric while maintaining and respecting the historic Superior Courthouse, symbol of the downtown area, as the centerpiece of the courts complex. The resulting eight-courtroom building, which anticipates LEED Gold certification, is a compact, limestone-clad courtroom bar with a contrasting glass entry tower.
A forecourt leads the public to the tower, and an inner garden joins the new courthouse to the historic building. Inside, the public lobby opens to the entry tower and overlooks the garden. Each courtroom is suffused with daylight from windows and sculptural roof monitors. Public investments such as this building drive city revitalization.
photo : © Anton Grassl / Esto
“We are passionate about inspiring courthouse design and creating civic buildings such as Taunton that positively transform their urban contexts and become proud new landmarks in their communities,” says Leers Weinzapfel Principal Andrea Leers, FAIA.
photo : © Anton Grassl / Esto
Taunton Trial Court previously received a 2011 Boston Society of Architects Design Awards Honor Award and the 2008 Division of Capital Asset Management Excellence Award for Study. Leers Weinzapfel’s additional judicial projects include the Fenton Judicial Center, Lawrence, MA, which received the 2001 Boston Society of Architects Design Citation; the US District Courthouse, Orlando, which received a 2008 American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum; in addition to the 2008 AIA/AAJ JFR Program Award of Excellence Merit among others; and the US District Courthouse, Worcester, MA, which received the 1996 General Services Administration Design Award among others.
photos © Anton Grassl / Esto
Construction Cost: $60M
Taunton Trial Court US District Courthouse images / information from Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Address: Taunton District Court, 40 Broadway, Taunton, MA 02780, USA
Phone: +1 508-977-6000
US Buildings
American Court Buildings
American Court Building Designs – selection:
Bronx Hall of Justice Building<, New York City, NY
Maricopa Court Building, Phoenix, Arizona
Massachusetts Buildings
Contemporary Massachusetts Building Designs – selection:
Harvard University Graduate Housing
Massachusetts Building in Natick
New York State Architecture Designs
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