Award

photo courtesy infrastructure ontario Waterloo Region Consolidated Courthouse by Christine Peets onstruction on the new Waterloo Region Consolidated Courthouse, located in Kitchener, Ontario, began in March 2010 and was substantially complete in January 2013. The $379-million project brings together the Superior and Ontario Courts of Justice in one facility. Previously, the courts operated from three different locations: two in Kitchener and one in nearby Cambridge. The 446,000-squarefoot courthouse accommodates 30 courtrooms, including a multi-accused, high-security courtroom and eight judicial conference rooms. The contemporary building design blends into the area, providing a new civic plaza in the heart of downtown Kitchener. The courthouse was designed to consolidate justice services together under one roof, in a modern, accessible facility that will increase access to justice. ���The new building will now have the capacity for expansion and internal flexibility to ensure maximum usefulness throughout its lifetime,��� says Angelo Gismondi, vice president of project delivery for Infrastructure Ontario (IO), the Ontario government agency overseeing the work. Integrated Team Solutions (ITS) is the consortium responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining the courthouse project. NORR Limited is the architect and structural engineer, Hidi Rae & Associates is the mechanical consultant and Mulvey & Banani International Inc. is the electrical C Waterloo Region Consolidated Courthouse p52-57Waterloo.indd 53 consultant. EllisDon Corporation acted as the design-buildfinance-maintain contractor, and Dillon Consulting was responsible for the design of the landscape and outdoor public space. Klienfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects Inc., the planning, design and compliance (PDC) consultant, was responsible for preparing project-specific specifications. ���The courthouse design is inspired by the geology and character of the local Grand River, a landmark that flows through the catchment area of this regional court facility,��� explains David Clusiau, design principal at NORR Limited. ���The river gorge theme extends from the civic plaza through the multi-storey public atrium and into the public waiting areas of the building, giving it both a unique local flavour, as well as a character that is less intimidating than the traditional courthouse.��� This design concept is expressed through both the massing and volume of the building, as well as the striated materials used in the construction of the facility including wood, stone, zinc, and custom concrete panels, plus large amounts of glass. The materials were chosen for their durability, ease of maintenance and security, forming an integral part of the building���s image and helping define the courthouse as a major public institution. The stone work on the project is sourced locally from the Niagara Escarpment and quarried in Owen Sound, Ontario. It is used in a rough ashlar pattern in the exterior walls around the plaza with dark horizontal bands of Wiarton Black to recreate the layered appearance of the sedimentary river walls. It continues into the atrium in curving walls that are echoed in the ceiling skylights and terrazzo floor patterns. Deeper into the building, the public spaces and waiting rooms become more rectilinear and the stone walls become smooth-faced, honed and polished, culminating in the stone wall behind the dias in the courtrooms. This transformation parallels the journey of a court participant moving from the exterior world to the more focused and formal world of the courtroom. The three-storey glazed atrium that acts as a welcoming area for visitors is part of the seven storeys above entry level, says Julian Jaffary, consulting architect for the Ministry of the Attorney General. The atrium brings natural light into the building and provides access to the ground floor and second floor courtrooms, cafeteria, jury february 2013��� ��� /53 13-01-22 3:25 PM

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