SCALA Civic Building of the Year Competition, 2005

Commended

The Lord Chancellor’s Department
The Crown and County Courts, Exeter

Sitting just outside the boundary of the old town wall in Exeter’s Legal Quarter, this brownfield site was of archaeological interest. Records also showed that part of the site had been infilled with potentially contaminated material. Limited access for site investigations therefore led to a risk sharing approach that sensibly capped the price and time risks with the relevant party, despite the potential for archaeological finds and contamination.

The project is approximately 10,000 sq m and draws together a number of facilities previously located in separate buildings around the City including Probate, Law Society, Court District Managers, and Police Agencies. The core facilities comprise 4 new Crown and County Courts and 5 new Civil Courts together with courts service offices and custody accommodation.

There is a generous 3 storey atrium space on the Northern frontage which acts as the main public reception area and concourse to the Court facilities. This links the public facing generic office accommodation which is adaptable and predominately naturally ventilated. The more specialist courts, jury and judiciary facilities are arranged on the Southern frontage and step down in scale to minimise the effect of the building mass on the smaller scale adjacent residential frontages.

The exterior treatment of the building is designed to provide a sense of gravitas appropriate for an important Civic Building without being intimidating or austere. The internal spaces are designed to be business like and efficient and provide a wide range of ancillary facilities including café, law library, meeting room and conference facilities.

Architect:Jacobs Babtie
Structural Engineer:Jacobs Babtie
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer:Jacobs Babtie
Landscape Architect:Jacobs Babtie
Main Contractor:Alfred McAlpine Ltd