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Laminated glass brings new daylighting and security to U.S. courthouses

The courthouse is one of the oldest types of civic structure. Yet how can contemporary courthouses serve the conflicting needs of judges, clerks, juries, prisoners, lawyers and the public – populations that must often be segregated from each other as they move through the building?

Partner at leading New York law firm, Hughes, Hubbard and Reed, Dr. John Fellas, told LGN: "Courthouses are typically dark and oppressive. The philosophy until now has been to shut off the courthouse environment from the rest of the world." Architects today are using contemporary glass products both to provide an inviting community environment and deal with physical security.

Partner at Pei Cobb Freed, Michael D. Flynn says: "The Conoid's laminated glass façade gives an open feeling between the exterior and the interior of the building."

The U.S. Courthouse and Harborpark in Boston

The $163 million US Courthouse and Harborpark in Boston, Massachusetts by Pei Cobb Freed and Partners (completed in 1988) is built on a privileged and highly visible waterfront site. The firm says that the driving vision behind the design is "to assert the principle that the courts are open to all".

The Boston Courthouse's Conoid façade of laminated glass lets everyone inside – the judiciary and the public – enjoy the vista across the park and water to the city skyline.

On the waterfront side, the building stands out by making the entrances to all 27 courtrooms visible from the city and harbour through an emblematically-shaped, metal-and-glass wall – the 'Conoid' – made from clear Low-E insulating laminated glass in a painted aluminum frame.

Partner at Pei Cobb Freed, Michael D. Flynn, told LGN: "We used the Low-E coating to mitigate heat loss and the laminated glass on the interior for the safety of people inside the building.

Bronx Courthouse

For the new Bronx Courthouse, Rafael Vinoly Architects has proposed floor-to-ceiling exterior glass walls – 100% laminated for security – that look like a stretched-out accordion from the outside and have inherent 3D qualities.

One purely modern answer if the proposed Bronx Criminal Courthouse on East 161^st Street, New York, designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects. Rafael Vinoly has said that his primary design goal is to communicate a sense of permeability while including floor-to-ceiling, exterior glass walls. "We wanted a transparent building," said Jay Bargmann, vice president of the Vinoly firm, "but it had to have some sense of solidity and monumentality."

The architects had to find a glass façade that met the client's requirements in terms of energy-efficiency, security and heat gain and loss. The corrugated metal they are considering laminating into the glass will mean that people inside the building are reassured by seeing the metal but can, at the same time, feel the natural daylight behind.

Rafael Vinoly Architects has taken an innovative approach by having a large, two-story courtroom surrounded by lower-volume buildings, such as judges' chambers, which are one story lower so there is actually a lot of natural daylight flooding into the courtroom. "It won't feel as if you're going into the dungeons of the criminal justice system," said Luis M. Tormenta, commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction in the Bronx.

Brooklyn Courthouse

Meanwhile, a $225 million renovation of the Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn is being planned by Cesar Pelli and Associates. Again, the project relies on laminated glass for a modern design.

The new building will be linked to the existing courthouse through an entry pavilion behind a six-story, semi-cylinder of laminated glass. Terrace-like balconies and a grand staircase will cascade through the space which also protects people inside the building from nature's elements while keeping them safe and secure.

Long Island Courthouse

Renny Logan, an associate partner at Richard Meier and Partners, recently said, regarding traditional courthouses: "you get a big stone box with a front porch on it and you have no idea of what goes on inside." The firm is in the process of designing a $227 million courthouse in Long Island, New York. An atrium of laminated glass bisects the 11-story, 68,096 square meters main building, housing 22 courtrooms. As Richard Meier himself commented on the courthouse environment: "People spend a lot of time waiting. That whole experience is filled with angst. It should be made as pleasant as possible."

Security paramount

Architects prefer security measures to be inconspicuous; security officials want them to be obvious with the goal of deterring assailants. And the risks cannot be over-estimated. As Dr. Fellas pointed out: "Judges in the USA routinely receive death threats – as often as every week. One can also understand the frequently-expressed desire from jurors for anonymity since they are also the recipients of death threats, particularly from organized crime members at 'mob' trials."

The challenge ahead for architects working on Government buildings is to seamlessly integrate the life-safety and security measures with aesthetic building design. Security need not be incompatible with good design – and the use of prudent precautionary measures may save countless lives and millions upon millions of dollars in damages.

SentryGlas^® Plus 'ideal' for high-security glazing

Floral Glass Industries, headquartered in Hauppauge (NY), specializes in high-performance security glazing including bomb blast and ballistic resistance. CEO Charles "Chuck" Kaplanek, Jr. told LGN: "There has certainly been an increased awareness of the need for high security glazing in federal buildings in recent years, consisting of glass panels 1.43cm thick and upwards. In addition, an increasing number of non-governmental clients – even small private companies such as gas stations, retail outlets and stores in high-crime areas are specifying medium-security thicknesses of laminated glass (between 0.79cm and 1.43cm)."

Mr. Kaplanek told LGN: "DuPont^™ SentryGlas^® Plus is ideal for high security applications requiring a thinner substrate." Thinner substrates have many benefits, for example, there is less framing weight, and installation, trucking and handling costs are reduced. Kaplanek concluded: "Level 1 bullet resistance previously required a 3cm thick, all-glass construction whereas similar protection can be given at an equivalent cost using only 1.43cm laminated glass incorporating SentryGlas^® Plus interlayer."