U.S. Courts Design Guide
For internal expansion and convertible spaces, the following design considerations
apply:
Creating "structural zones" to accommodate present and future needs
n
Constructing judiciary-related office areas set aside for future courtroom
n
expansion with a high bay structure
Designing floors in judiciary-related offices that are capable of bearing the
n
heavy loads required by both the court library and library spaces in judges'
chambers to allow for future expansion
Designing judges' chambers and library spaces to accommodate heavier floor
n
loads over all or most of their allocated space (allowing expansion and
flexible movement of shelves and record storage during the life of the
building)
Anticipating the location of future chambers and courtrooms so that judges
n
will have continued access to restricted elevators and circulation patterns
Planning acoustical isolation to accommodate future offices requiring privacy
n
from the public but not confidential privacy within the offices
Creating "mechanical zones" to accommodate present and future off-hours
n
needs and/or air-handling needs of courtrooms and chambers
Designing for expansion and movement of spaces that takes into account
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relocation and reuse of work stations; partitions; heating, ventilating, and
air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment and registers; lighting fixtures; electrical
outlets; and communication systems
The size of a courthouse can be reduced if the court's housing plan incorporates
space-saving assumptions such as:
staffing projections reflecting current staffing policy, which may be less than
n
100% of the staff needed
operational efficiencies such as reducing the number of conference rooms,
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training rooms, libraries, mailrooms, and other office support space
efficient designs reducing the amount of space needed for circulation
n
shared courtrooms and judicial support space for senior judges
n
multi-use jury assembly and grand jury suites
n
2-18
12/19/97
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