City: Phoenix

The Maricopa County Courts are critical to the community’s perception of law and equity. AECOM, together with Gould Evans, helped enhance both the aesthetics and flow/process of the court building. The 680,000-square foot criminal courthouse tower in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, provides a “new image” and front door for the existing county courts complex. It features 14-stories, two of which are below grade.

AECOM worked to understand the spatial impact of current practices and forecasted future impacts to develop a functional facility design that maximized space and fostered efficient workflows.

These courtrooms are designed to provide security, public spaces, provisions for separation of different user groups, holding areas, and multiple floor configurations to accommodate criminal courts in safe, secure facilities that will meet the needs of the superior court for decades. Serving as the hub for an improved campus approach to security and safety, the new court tower, which is LEED certified, includes the following:

• New vehicular sally port and central holding area (up to 1,000 in-custody defendants);
• Campus-wide and building control center;
• Appropriate in-custody holding areas and circulation systems;
• New public/staff entrance; and
• Separate areas for public and restricted uses throughout the building

Awards

• Retrospective of Courthouse Design, National Center for State Courts, 2001-2010

AECOM’s Phoenix-based design team guided the development of Civic Space Park from visioning sessions and masterplanning, through complete construction observation. We continue to work on the next phase of the park as it expands to connect with the Arizona State University Phoenix downtown campus. Work included extensive public meetings with the community to create a park that accommodates a variety of users and events, a major artist commission, and various interactive water features and lighting elements.

One of the park’s most exciting features is a field of white columns beneath an undulating canopy that come alive at night with light and color from an array of LED animations. Inspired by lightning touching down in an Arizona summer monsoon storm, the lighting show responds to the movements of visitors. An interactive water feature is another favorite activity in the park, especially for children.

Porous concrete paving and landscape design provide for stormwater collection and filtration, allowing every drop of water that lands on this site to recharge surrounding groundwater. Solar panels on the top of the park’s shade structures will generate 75 kilowatts of power, enough to power 8-9 residential homes and offset the park’s lighting and electrical needs. When its trees and vegetation reach maturity, more than 70 percent of the park will be shaded from the desert sun.

The Civic Space Park won the Arizona Chapter of ASLA President’s Award and Award of Excellence, as well as the Governor’s Honor Award for Historic Preservation for the A.E. England building renovation.