Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/331457
of ver t ic a l circ ulat ion, t he public elevators, are centrally located. You just need to know what f loor to go to and you can easily navigate to your courtroom." The complexity of modern North American courthouses today, explains Sula, is that each must incorporate three internal circulation systems that can- not overlap, but that meet in the court- rooms. The public circulation system must be easy to understand. The private circulation system for judiciary and key staff must be efficient, and the secure circulation system must provide for the safe transport of prisoners and other in-custody users. "When you organize this circula- tion, it impacts everything we do. The challenge then, is to design a dignified structure that meets all these other pro- grammatic requirements," says Sula. Bird Design-Build Construction's Kevin Farrow recalls hearing the term "architectural gymnastics" frequently as work was being done on the triple circulations systems. But as a builder, one of his biggest challenges was meet- ing the timelines in a location notorious for cold weather. While a typical large courthouse project would call for concrete, struc- tural steel was used here to allow the crews to work through the winters. "But it added the complexity of having to manage the building acoustic after- wards," says Farrow. Acoustic consultants worked their way through the design adding supple- mental materials – for example, steel columns were wrapped in dry wall to encapsulate structural elements. Later, another layer of drywall, the actual architectural finish, was used to obscure the soundproofing. While elements of circulation and judiciary offices are hidden out of necessity, much of the building's atti- tude conveys a sense of openness. "We wanted a building that would convey the dignity and imagery of the courts," says Chiao. "It should show confidence in the justice system. And to do that it had to be a building that is easy to understand and clear about what it does. That will give the public confidence." From outside, the multiple accused high-securit y courtroom, the large jury courtroom and court tower are all elements that protrude from the podi- um's bulk. They speak to its judicial pur- pose specifically. And the ACSR speaks to the space's intent as a public place. It is a well-planned space that bal- ances its need for privacy by evoking the dignity of the courts. By making the adjudicating spaces prominent fea- tures of the building, and making the complex easy to navigate, the court- house offers a coherent statement about the ambitions of the province's justice system and its place serving the public interest. n Location Brodie and Archibald streets, Thunder Bay, Ontario agency ResponsibLe Infrastructure Ontario cLient Ministry of the Attorney General Design-buiLD-Finance-Maintain Plenary Justice Thunder Bay Design-buiLD-Finance-Maintain Design buiLDeR Bird Design-Build Construction Inc. aRchitect Adamson Associates Architects stRuctuRaL consuLtant Read Jones Christoffersen MechanicaL consuLtant Vanderwesten Rutherford Mantecon eLectRicaL consuLtant HH Angus & Associates Ltd. inteRioR Design Figure3 Interior Design FaciLity ManageR Johnson Controls couRthouse consuLtant RicciGreene Associates LanDscape aRchitect Baker Turner Inc. secuRity consuLtant Lobo Consulting Services Inc. totaL aRea 255,000 square feet totaL vaLue oF DbFM contRact $247 million june 2014 /77 Thunder Bay Consolidated Courthouse Sight N Sound Design.indd 1 13-10-30 3:32 PM p.74-77ThunderBay Courthouse.indd 77 14-06-03 10:17 AM