12/12. Courts of Law. Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law

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1 12/12 Courts of Law Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law

2 Brisbane s new Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law accommodate 39 courtrooms including the ceremonial Banco Court, the Court of Appeal, 23 criminal courts and 14 civil courts. This new courthouse with its cutting edge technology, wonderful, extremely beautiful and inspiring public spaces and its sustainability features will support our legal community every step of the way It s modern, innovative, sustainable, accessible and welcoming. The Honourable Campbell Newman MP, Premier of Queensland, Official Opening Ceremony, 3 August 2012 Dr Antony Moulis, Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland, discusses the qualities and context of the new facilities. Courts of Law have an integral role in contemporary society. As public buildings, they express values at the heart of our democratic way of life including justice, fairness and openness. The newly completed Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law by Architectus, in association with Guymer Bailey Architects, give clear expression to these values while making a significant and lasting contribution to Brisbane s greater urban setting. It s a building directed to the making of humanised spaces filled with natural light and visual links to the landscape the attributes of architecture that can assist with the calm concentration required of a working court. In creating spaces of quiet dignity, the focus of Architectus has been on people and providing a contemporary but enduring legacy befitting both the institution and the State. Architectus came to the Courts competition with a depth of experience from previous courthouse projects including the Commonwealth Law Courts in Brisbane, and from extensive local and overseas research. The innovative idea of opening up the building to its natural surroundings overturned the conventional understanding of courts as internalised environments. Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law and Public Square

3 The Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law are a triumph The Honourable Jarrod Bleijie MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Official Opening Ceremony 3 August 2012 The decision to open one face of each court to the exterior meant solving the complex problem of access issues to the court space, a feat achieved by providing a separate judicial lift for each pair of courts. This created the significant opportunity to make engaging light-filled court spaces that acknowledged the Queensland context. As Architectus Design Director Professor John Hockings notes, The aim of the design was to express human qualities creating a warm and welcoming place in a subtropical environment while maintaining the atmosphere of calm dignity evident in traditional European courthouse spaces. In urban design terms, the siting of Brisbane s new courthouse makes a lasting contribution to the public realm of the city. The Courts building has an L-shaped plan with façade edges to Brisbane s George Street and a major square forming a new public green space for the city. On the inner side of the plan are the major public waiting spaces at each level that open to the north and lush landscape views. This connection to the environment creates a vital but relaxed atmosphere, a feeling supported by the use of natural materials offform concrete and warm plywood panelling. The handmade quality of the concrete soffit creates a luminous surface that distributes natural light deep into the interior, creating generous airy spaces. Bringing together the Supreme Court and the District Court within the one complex was highly demanding both technically and symbolically. The introduction of new technologies into court procedures improves accessibility and efficiency and the building s technical specifications are state of the art. With deep access floors and screen-based facilities incorporated seamlessly into the architecture, the complex is simple and highly flexible in its arrangement, without being overwhelmed by the technology. The Judges chambers themselves have extensive views and vertical spatial connections stair voids and sky garden spaces that create spaces for both solitude and engagement. The outcome balances the need for spaces expressing the importance of authority with the aspirations of society toward a genuine openness. As Architectus Director Patrick Clifford explains, The Courts transparency, clarity and civic presence have been achieved through a highly sophisticated design approach, that s solved all the complex technical issues, to achieve humanist outcomes. Key to the success of the whole project was the close collaboration between architects, engineers, builders and artists on the project. Entry Hall Public Art: Collision and Improvisation by Gemma Smith

4 Typical Courtroom Bringing together the Supreme Court and the District Court within the one complex was highly demanding both technically and symbolically. View within Façade between glass skins Creating a sense of lightness and transparency was crucial to expressing the dignity of the Courts and a sense of openness and democratic access to the law. View to Public Square from upper levels According to Design Director John Hockings, Working at design solutions with the broader team was not just about understanding the look of the building, it was about appreciating and sharing the underlying design intentions. This gave value to the input of all contributors to the process, creating solutions that were imaginative as well as practical and efficient. The new Supreme Court and District Court of Queensland is testament to that spirit of collaboration and the expression of contemporary values through major civic architecture. In urban design terms, the siting of Brisbane s new courthouse makes a lasting contribution to the public realm of the city. Located at the western end of George Street, the site for the Courts building provided a unique opportunity for the completion of one of Australia s most important Colonial civic axes. With the Queensland Parliament at the eastern end of the axis, the Executive functions at its centre and the Courts precinct to the west, a new civic presence is created, representing the democratic separation of powers both physically and symbolically. The architects have used the building to frame a major public space within the larger site that provides a generous new setting for urban life in Brisbane. This pairing of a grand civic building with a public outdoor gathering space mirrors similar arrangements along George Street including that between the original Government House and its kidney lawn and the Lands Administration Building and Queens Park. The development of a perpendicular axis through the Courts site linking Brisbane s Southbank across the river to the Old Mill on Wickham Terrace is a further strategy that successfully weaves the Courts complex into its urban context. The Tank Street axis was prefigured in Architectus design of the Gallery of Modern Art This building respects the past, looks to the future, responds emphatically to its symbolic and practical functions and conjures up, in unexpected ways, the spirit of traditional Queensland architecture. Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AC, Governor of Queensland, Official Opening Ceremony 3 August 2012 at Southbank, establishing a sightline to the city and orienting to the CBD grid. The Courts building steps back from this visual axis allowing the link to Wickham Terrace to be formed across the new public square. With the new Tank Street pedestrian bridge in place the link has become a physical one, inviting public use of the new urban space by all citizens and creating a sense of openness and accessibility to the Courts precinct. The result is a new urban understanding of Brisbane that will serve and inspire future generations. Creating an architecture of lightness and transparency was crucial to expressing the dignity of the Courts and a sense of openness and democratic access to the law. The choice of a layered doubleglazed façade allowed for the controlled filtering of light to the interiors courtrooms, public spaces and offices alike making a calm, humanising presence. The infused natural light references the traditions of subtropical architecture in a thoroughly contemporary form and allows the built perimeter to modify and temper the environmental conditions within subtly recalling the verandah screens of early Queensland houses. The glass façade was produced as modular units that incorporated the glass skins, an access walkway, automated blinds and spandrel panels. The use of laminated timber verticals to brace for wind load gives an added natural presence and a refined sense of scale. The result is a significant advance in façade design, creating a new look and feel for contemporary civic architecture. Publi Waiti

5 All photography: John Gollings Opposite: Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law and Public Square Public Art: Eyes Are Singing Out by Yayoi Kusama Auckland Phone Fax auckland@architectus.co.nz Brisbane Phone Fax brisbane@architectus.com.au Christchurch Phone Mobile christchurch@architectus.co.nz Melbourne Phone Fax melbourne@architectus.com.au Sydney Phone Fax sydney@architectus.com.au Shanghai Phone Fax shanghai@architectus.com.au Architectus supports environmentally sustainable initiatives. This newsletter has been printed on sustainably produced paper using vegetable based inks and an aqueous varnish.