by Shane Henson — July 12, 2013—San Diego’s recently constructed United States Federal Courthouse is expected to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold certification through the many sustainable features it offers, according to Arup, a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm that collaborated with Richard Meier & Partners Architects LLP on the design of the building.
The courthouse was designed and built under the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Design Excellence Program. The GSA manages the design process for federal construction projects and its Design Excellence Program involves a two-step architect/engineer selection process. Arup was selected with Richard Meier & Partners Architects to design the 16-story-high federal courthouse that houses six district courtrooms and judicial chambers for 12 judges and magistrate judges, a 24-cell detention center with interview rooms, secure corridors and a squad room for U.S. District Courts, Pre-trial Services, the U.S. Marshals Services, and the GSA.
According to Arup, the design for the courthouse meets building requirements for the next 30 years and incorporates sustainable features such as narrow floor plates to optimize natural daylight and high-performance glazing and exterior shading to reduce solar heat gains. Working closely with the GSA and the U.S. Marshals to design a secure facility, Arup took advantage of San Diego’s natural climate and mild temperatures to naturally ventilate and light the building, while keeping security top of mind throughout its design.
From a security perspective, the building is kept closed and pressurized to protect against the release of a chemical or biological attack. Based on a daylighting model developed by Arup, it was decided the courthouse could operate on natural light 60 percent of the time, while only 10 percent of the building requires artificial light.
Arup also recently completed the San Francisco Federal Building, as well as the San Jose City Hall, which was also designed by Richard Meier & Partners.
