District Court Competition 2, Jerusalem
After a dispute regarding the site of the proposed District Court at the first competition (see our entry), a new site had been selected a second competition was announced. As before the program was 65,000 sqm new Distric Court complex, located this time at the entrance to Jerusalem. The program contains dozens of functions, several court instances, strict seperation of circulation routes (public, judges, prisoners), crowd control design and security measures, offices and underground parking.
Our design aimed at creating a distinguished building on the one hand, echoing the essence of Jerusalem stone architecture, yet with a contemporary interpretation. Thus, the heavy stone envelope was cut at several atriums where the public approches the court halls. The stone walls were also perforated to allow some of the strong sun radiation to the corridors along it.