Initial Concepts - Regionalism

Regional architecture might trigger images of skillion roofed buildings in paddocks, but what I am exploring is regionalism through materials.
Directly north of the site is Newcastle harbor - The working harbor sees activities from ships and industry as well as leisure activities such as yacht racing and water sports
Directly east of the site - Surf and sand form the edge of the city that over looks the ocean and cliffs show sandstone and seams of coal that are still present under Newcastle's much mined hills.

To the west of the site and the Hunter region, vineyards, mountains, forests and craftsmanship bring timber and fine detail to the concept of a regional building that reflects the whole of the Hunter region.

 

Initail Concepts - Transparency

While exploring the concept of light and transparency I found that it would easily translate to environmentally sustainable design solutions. Solar control and cross ventilation forming part of the natural lighting and transparency of spaces.

 

 Structure is also a key element in the lightness the ratio of solid and void can play with a persons perspective of elements that are light and heavy.

 

Initial Concepts - Stacking

Another concept I have explored is the more literal idea of stacks of papers and files and folders that are always present of the desks of court rooms. This led to a series of sketches relating to the facade of the law courts along Church Street.

Initial Concepts - Darkness

Initial ideas for the Newcastle law courts center around light and darkness and how these elements can be used to shape the building  as an extension of the law and the consequences of breaking it.

The concept of the building being used to emphasize the law led to the idea of flipping the building upside down and housing the court rooms underground with car parking and offices above ground.

Site Selection

The Newcastle Law Courts have been proposed on the corner site of Hunter and Burwood Streets in Newcastle's civic precinct.

The proposed site also includes the vision of a new law precinct to form around Newcastle's civic center to revive the area. The law courts will be the catalyst project for the CBD bringing all the associated businesses and public to Hunter Street.

But where does this dramatic proposal to re-arrange Newcastle East leave the existing legal precinct?
The heritage court house building would be left vacant and unusable like the famous Post Office and other heritage buildings in the area. It is unlikely that a private investor would willingly re-develop the site for residential or commercial use.

The re-development of the existing court house to accommodate current and future court needs makes more heritage conservation sense then moving the law precinct to the other end of town.

The original Court house was built in 1890 by James Barnet, with extensions tacked on the east and west sides later on. If these wing buildings were removed, new court rooms and facilities could be built around the heritage court house.

Precedent Analysis

Historic courthouses such as the Brussels Court House in Belgium (1883) are over scaled classical buildings that dominate their surroundings.

 

The Newcastle Law Courts (1900) also have a classical design that has been brought down to a more human scale. The building is not as imposing as the Brussels courthouse, but maintains is civic identity with its classical architecture. 

More recent law courts have stepped away from their authoritative symbol of law and justice and brought the idea of transparency and equality of the law into court design.

The Arezzo law courts in Italy (2007) show an artistic structure that floods the court rooms with natural light.

The design of the court rooms themselves do not define hierarchy or authority making it a less threatening environment.

The evolution of the modern courthouse is a reflection of our society and the changing roles of the law court within it.
In Australia, the Parramatta Trial Courts (2008) by Lyons, have defined the new bench mark for law court design. The complex circulation requirements and incorporated technologies as well as the public, private and shared spaces have been designed and furnished specifically for each user group.

Choosing a project

While thinking about what project I wanted to do this year, I started thinking about what architectural issues I wanted to explore.
Light and form were two inspiring areas of architecture I wanted to experiment with and so I started to look for projects that use form and light as key issues in their design.

Initial project ideas included a new regional gallery for Newcastle. After discussing the possibilities of the project with tutors the concept for a totally new building was ruled out in favor of an extension to the existing gallery. This smaller project did not feel like it had the same potential, so i went looking again for inspiration.

This is when I started thinking about the potential for the proposed Newcastle law courts in Civic. The complex circulation and security issues of a court house interest me as well as the people who use it. The highly charged emotions of the users could also influence the design concept.