Century-old courthouse renovated for Delaware law firm offices

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP moved into its new headquarters, a former Federal building, after extensive renovations by architecture firm Francis Cauffman. Young Conaway is the sole tenant of the notable Daniel L. Herrmann Courthouse in downtown Wilmington. The 233,880-sf. courthouse had been vacant since 2002. .

The renovated courthouse comprises four floors and a mezzanine. The entrance features a two-story atrium that is now the heart of Young Conaway’s public and collaboration areas. Francis Cauffman restored the central bronze stairwell, and the refurbished natural stone and chiseled marble in the atrium augment the clean, streamlined interior. The first floor has flexible conference rooms while the mezzanine floor contains a visiting attorney strategy suite, a mock trial room, additional conference rooms, and access to an outdoor plaza.

The U-shaped building boasts a large outdoor plaza with an urban garden lit by the building’s original ornate lampposts. The outdoor plaza can accommodate up to 300 people for events. The design firm added a 100-car garage beneath the building, making parking quick and easy for the downtown location.

To account for future expansion, Francis Cauffman developed a plan to accommodate the addition of an 8-story tower to the building. This included laying the foundations and creating infrastructure for the future addition. BD+C

Two innovations—program manager Gafcon’s SharePoint360 project management platform and a new BIM “wall creator” add-on developed by ClarkDietrich Building Systems for use with the Revit BIM platform and construction consultant—show how fabricators and owner’s reps are stepping in to fill the gaps between construction and design that can typically be exposed by working with a 3D model.