This serrated façade achieves a north/south orientation that maximizes views while reducing solar heat gain by 47%; each plane facing the sun has an embedded solar screen and its adjacent plane, facing away from the sun, is open view glass. The building’s innovative structural concept suspends the cubic volume above its stone base resulting in a high performance and artful response to earthquakes and the threat of explosives. The plan optimizes the courts program, operations and day-lighting into all major spaces including courtrooms, jury deliberation rooms, judicial chambers and work areas.

Each floor is organized around a central Light Court that brings natural illumination into the heart of the building and each courtroom. Public circulation wraps and penetrates the Light Court. Adjacent 2-story volumes, joined by open stairs, provide informal gathering spaces that are visible to and from the street. These relaxed spaces, proposed and developed by the architects, provide a reduced-stress environment for conversation and enhanced opportunities for pre-trial settlements. At ground level a public courtyard provides a place of repose while the entry plaza creates a civic setting for the courthouse within the downtown context.

Set in a terraced landscape of indigenous planting, the courthouse will be an enduring example of California civic architecture.