Tallahassee United States Courthouse Annex
Tallahassee United States Courthouse Annex
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The Context
Located in downtown Tallahassee, the Tallahassee United State Courthouse was designed as an annex to the city¿s original federal courthouse. Located on historic Adams Street, the building is situated among the small scale buildings and the live oak trees, which line the downtown streets.
The building includes one Special Proceedings Courtroom, two District Regular Courtrooms, one Magistrate Courtroom, and offices for the Clerk of the Court of the Northern District of Florida, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorneys, and Probation. Designed by Reynolds, Smith and Hills in association with William Morgan Associates, the process began in 1995. One year later, construction began with the official opening in 1999.
The Building
The building is organized around the public circulation spaces, which transect the building. With a public circulation core at the center of the floor plate, the individual floor¿s public corridors provide the framework for the courtroom organization.
The exterior walls of the building were clad in pre-cast concrete panels. The building's windows are tinted double glazed in aluminum frames. The main lobby is finished in pre-cast concrete paneling, with terrazzo flooring. Within the courtrooms, the spaces are finished in drywall and have wood paneling with decorative wood moldings.
While the current build out of the Courthouse provides enough courtrooms for the existing jurisdiction, future expansion options were designed into the built form, as an additional District courtroom can be created by combining the Circuit library and U.S. Attorneys offices. Additionally, the neighboring Florida Education Association building can be purchased to allow for the construction of an expansion wing if necessary.