The San Antonio Federal Courthouse, which opened earlier this year, replaces a courthouse that had been constructed as a pavilion for the 1968 World’s Fair. Serving the Western District of Texas—a 93,000-square-mile area stretching from San Antonio to El Paso—the new 228,000-square-foot Courthouse aims to serve as both a safe, secure facility and a welcoming public presence.
Designed by Lake|Flato Architects in association with Alta Architects (formerly Munoz & Company), the San Antonio Federal Courthouse sits two blocks from the historic city center. For 12 years, the design team worked with the City of San Antonio, the General Service Administration, and several federal agencies to design a facility that both represents the civic importance of a new federal courthouse and captures San Antonio’s cultural identity.
Four feet above the streetscape, the Courthouses rests on a landscaped plinth of native plants that reference the site’s agrarian history, while reinforcing the structure’s significance for the community. The eight courtrooms create an expression on the building’s facade, placing judicial leadership on metaphorical display. Visitors ramp up past a tree-covered landscape to the entry portal.
Inside, visitors enter the central atrium, which is overlooked by courtroom lobby balconies. Great stairs lead visitors and potential jurors up to the jury assembly. Clerestories, skylights, and dormers create an inviting, light-filled environment. Within the courtrooms, clearstory windows over the judge’s bench let in natural light, representing the idea of judicial transparency.
On track to achieving LEED Gold certification, the Courthouse has a compact footprint. Its energy-efficient and resource-conserving strategies reduce energy costs by 21% and provide an indoor water savings of 30%. The facility also features two electric vehicle charging stations.
On the Building Team:
Design architect: Lake|Flato Architects
Construction administration and landscape architect: Alta Architects (formerly Munoz & Company)
Design-build contractor: Brasfield & Gorrie
Design-build architect: SLAM Collaborative
Mechanical/plumbing engineer: Integral Group
Electrical/lighting engineer: CNG Engineering
Structural engineer: Datum Engineers
Survey/civil engineer: Pape-Dawson Engineers
Related Stories
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: TD Ameritrade Park
The new stadium for the College World Series in Omaha combines big-league amenities within a traditional minor league atmosphere.
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Fort Belvoir Community Hospital
A new military hospital invokes evidence-based design to create a LEED-certified facility for the nation’s soldiers and their families.
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital
How a Building Team created a high-tech rehabilitation center for wounded veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
| May 3, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Rush University Medical Center
This fully integrated Building Team opted for a multi-prime contracting strategy to keep construction going on Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, despite the economic meltdown.
| May 3, 2012
U of Michigan team looking to create highly efficient building envelope designs
The system combines the use of sensors, novel construction materials, and utility control software in an effort to create technology capable of reducing a building’s carbon footprint.
| May 3, 2012
Best commercial modular buildings and marketing programs recognized
Judges scored entries on architectural excellence, technical innovation, cost effectiveness, energy efficiency, and calendar days to complete.
| May 3, 2012
Zero Energy Research Lab opens at North Texas
The living lab—the only one of its kind in Texas—is designed to test various technologies and systems in order to achieve a net-zero consumption of energy.
| May 3, 2012
NSF publishes ANSI standard evaluating the sustainability of single ply roofing membranes
New NSF Standard provides manufacturers, specifiers and building industry with verifiable, objective criteria to identify sustainable roofing products.
| May 3, 2012
Gilbane to provide CM services for North Reading’s integrated middle/high school
The project scope includes a wastewater treatment plant, demolition of the existing high school and extensive athletic fieldwork.