flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

John Adams Courthouse

John Adams Courthouse

Boston, Massachusetts


By Maggie Koerth-Baker | August 11, 2010
This article first appeared in the 200610 issue of BD+C.



After more than a century without a substantial renovation, Old Suffolk County Courthouse, designed in Neo-Classical style by Boston's first city architect, George Clough, was overdue for a facelift.

Old Suffolk County Courthouse
Smothered by decades of coal dust, smoke, and pollutants, the ornate, gilded ceiling of the Great Hall at Boston’s Old Suffolk County Courthouse was carefully restored in a $117 million renovation. The courthouse was renamed John Adams Courthouse following the 43-month project.
PHOTO: JONATHAN HILLYER PHOTOGRAPHY

Enter the makeover team: Boston-based architects Childs, Bertman, Tseckares and general contractors Suffolk Construction/NER Construction Management. Their patient: a courthouse built between 1886 and 1894 and nowhere close to being ADA-compliant, too small to handle the needs of the Massachusetts High Courts, and sporting woefully out-of-date electrical, HVAC, and communications systems.

The team's efforts focused heavily on preservation and restoration because the courthouse was listed on the state and national historic registers, which meant that simple matters had to be addressed in smarter ways. After more than 100 years, its space needs had changed, not only for its judicial function, but also to accommodate security systems and automobile parking. Ordinarily, the solution would have been to loosen the girdle and letting the building expand. But here, the team had to find a way to add square feet within the parameters of the courthouse's original footprint—effectively plumping up the building while still managing to fit it into last season's pants.

To accomplish that goal, the Building Team headed for the light wells. Outdated since the advent of modern lighting systems, parts of the courthouse's two largest wells were converted into 50,000 square feet of usable space for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the state Social Law Library.

Meanwhile, new underground parking was inserted into the building's lowest level, giving the state's highest judicial members direct access from their cars to their chambers. The team also moved most major court functions to the second and third floors and reorganized the entry level to celebrate the Great Hall, a soaring four-story public space.

The Great Hall was also a major focus of the team's renovation efforts. Architectural details that were smothered by decades of coal dust, smoke, and pollutants were cleaned inch by inch, as was the decorative ceiling with its intricate, gilded floral abstract pattern bordered by arches and columns decorated with rosettes, egg and dart borders, and classical figures cast in plaster. Damaged areas were infill-painted using reversible materials, saving as much of the original art as possible.

Courtrooms were also heavily renovated. Drop ceilings from the 1960s were removed to reveal original plaster moldings. For the wall and woodwork restoration, the team turned to old photographs that documented original vibrant paint schemes, Victorian stencil work, and light-colored, lustrous wood finish. Modern, efficient versions of historic lamps and lighting fixtures completed the transformation.

When the dust settled and the nipping and tucking was finished, the now-344,285-sf courthouse was so transformed that officials decided it needed a new name. The Old Suffolk County Courthouse was reborn as the John Adams Courthouse.

Related Stories

| Sep 7, 2014

Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications

The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.

| Sep 4, 2014

Ranked: Top courthouse sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Fentress Architects, Tutor Perini, and AECOM top BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from courthouse facilities, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.

| Sep 3, 2014

Ranked: Top local government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

STV, HOK, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.

| Sep 3, 2014

New designation launched to streamline LEED review process

The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.

| Sep 2, 2014

Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms. 

Sponsored | | Aug 8, 2014

Safe and secure: Fire and security glazing solution for Plaquemines Parish Detention Center

When the designers at L. R. Kimball looked for an all-in-one clear, wire-free glazing solution that protects against fire, bullets and forced entry for the new Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, SAFTI FIRST supplied a complete single-source tested and listed assembly that was easy to install and maintenance-free. 

| Aug 6, 2014

25 projects win awards for design-build excellence

The 2014 Design-Build Project/Team Awards showcase design-build best practices and celebrate the achievements of owners and design-build teams in nine categories across the spectrum of horizontal and vertical construction. 

| Jul 28, 2014

Reconstruction market benefits from improving economy, new technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Following years of fairly lackluster demand for commercial property remodeling, reconstruction revenue is improving, according to the 2014 Giants 300 report.

| Jul 28, 2014

Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Structure Tone, Turner, and Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.

| Jul 28, 2014

Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Giants 400

Top 50 Justice Facility Construction Firms for 2023

Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner, STO Building Group, Clark Group, and CORE Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest justice facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all public safety/justice facilities buildings work, including correctional facilities, fire stations, jails, police stations, and prisons.  


Giants 400

Top 60 Justice Facility Engineering Firms for 2023

EXP, AECOM, IMEG, Dewberry, and Tetra Tech head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest justice facility engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all public safety/justice facilities buildings work, including correctional facilities, fire stations, jails, police stations, and prisons.  


Giants 400

Top 90 Justice Facility Architecture Firms for 2023

DLR Group, Stantec, HDR, HOK, and Elevatus Architecture top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest justice facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all public safety/justice facilities buildings work, including correctional facilities, fire stations, jails, police stations, and prisons. 


Giants 400

Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023

Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021