Coalescing around a six-story atrium this design proposal for a civil courthouse creates a centralized civic space in Houston’s Midtown district through the use of sweeping curves and angled views. The project re-imagines the courthouse as a central place for the community to gather, debate, protest, and learn. The building’s form stems from an exploration of a curvilinear structural grid informed by elliptical section cuts. Inside, the light and airy interior of the civic atrium serves as a moment of reprieve from the rigidity of the legal system. The atrium acts an an urban living room, with a varied series of intimately-scaled meeting spaces and areas for public gatherings. The Midtown Courthouse acknowledges and addresses structural inequities within the Harris County court system through an inclusive design approach. Free resources including a childcare center, law library, and legal aid clinic are accessible to all.
