Redesign of Court Building Wins Award

By Alexa K. Apallas

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Originally, HMC architects had simply planned to upgrade the security features at the Santa Clara County Superior Court building. But one thing led to another, and HMC ended up redesigning the entire courthouse lobby, ultimately winning an award for its work.

“This started out as a security project, and it became clear that with all of the building users and employees now entering through that one entry point, there was potential for peak periods during the day to generate some queuing to get into the building,” says Eugene Ely, project manager for HMC. “We needed to create a covered entry area that people could stand under.”

The need for an entry area was the impetus for a redesign. “The existing building, which had been done in the ’60s, stood out in stark contrast to the historic courthouse next door, which was kind of the pride and joy of Santa Clara County. They had renovated it after an earthquake and it was seen as one of the county's leading facilities,” Ely says.

By designing an entrance canopy, HMC was able to soften the appearance of the more blocky 1960s building. “We tried to do something that respected the massing of the existing courthouse, which was a fairly large, massive building, but at the same time had some of the qualities of the historic courthouse. So, we used higher-end materials, like polished limestone, to suggest the qualities of the historic courthouse,” Ely says. The project also included large, aluminum-framed skylights.

The $1.8 million project took 18 months to complete. It took a long time, Ely says, because “it was fairly complicated to wire all the security systems in an existing building where courtrooms were still being used, and there were noise issues and coordination issues.” At times, workers could only do construction at night and on weekends to avoid disrupting courthouse operations.

The project, complete with limestone columns and a simple, clean glass canopy, was completed in 2002. Recently, HMC won a merit award from the Santa Clara Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The merit award is given out only every two years.