The 60,000 gsf Federal Courthouse reinterprets and updates the classical American courthouse while adapting to the extreme Southern Arizona climate utilizing 21st century durable materials and technologies.
“
...the John M. Roll Courthouse in Yuma will continue [Judge Roll's] legacy of justice and fairness.”
Gabrielle Giffords, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 2007-2012
The complex houses two Courtrooms, Judges' Chambers, Jury Facilities, Probation and Pretrial Services, District and Bankruptcy Court Services, and U.S. Marshals Service program.
The site's prominent location near Yuma's Main Street motivated the designers to incorporate an important outdoor civic space within the building's design. A "front porch" for the public was created through an expansive photovoltaic canopy. The canopy (together with solar thermal collectors) provides an estimated 26,000 annual kWh, but is also a shaded oasis for the employees and visitors of the facility and the greater community.
The principal facade is composed of flanking, buff-colored, Arizona sandstone masses inset with a double-height glass lobby. The east and west faces of the building, with deeply recessed windows, are shaded by a "living wall" - a weathered steel trellis and frame structure supporting vines that soften the harsh sun and provides dappled, controlled sunlight to the perimeter spaces inside.
“
With so many layers of significance, it is only fitting that the idea behind the design was equally nuanced.”
ARCHITECT Magazine
The project is pending LEED Gold certification.
