San Diego’s new federal courthouse covers 2.6 urban acres with a build program that links new and existing federal buildings with landscaped gardens, plazas and a series of pedestrian walkways. The structure includes 14 federal courtrooms with an initial build out of 21 chambers.
Richard Meier’s design called for a 16-story tower clad in terracotta and glass with minimal supports that increase the amount of natural daylight throughout the structure at its east/west orientations. The east elevation offers commanding views of the surrounding city and bay area below.
Off-site prefabricated concrete panels provided by Clark Pacific were initially called out as Cast-in-Place elements, but prefabricated system proved to be much more feasible and economical for the project.
