Morphosis - Wayne L. Morse - United States Courthouse

Morphosis
Wayne L. Morse
United States Courthouse
Eugene, Oregon

Discrete object buildings – a reference back to an earlier single room courthouse model.

Photo: ©Tim Griffith

American courthouse architecture has moved away from the use of symbolic iconography to communicate the importance of the judicial process. Courtrooms are now routinely located in generic office towers – effectively repositioning the proceedings as business as usual – thus obscuring the gravity of the judicial process by excising the symbolism inherent in the traditional courtroom.
The Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse seeks to challenge this trend by expressing the courtrooms as discrete object buildings – a reference back to an earlier single room courthouse model.

Photo: ©Tim Griffith

The building is composed of two distinct strata, the honorific and the quotidian. The iconic elements are the courtrooms themselves, located in articulated pavilions that float above an orthogonal two-story plinth that houses office and administrative spaces. Their forms refer to the fluid nature of the American Judicial System – a system that is designed to remain flexible by being continuously challenged and reinterpreted by the proceedings of the courts.
The formal and structural organization of the plinth is mimetic of the Cartesian layout of the city, and thus represents the more static nature of Eugene’s urban fabric upon which the organic and independent shapes of the courtrooms rest.

Photo: ©Tim Griffith

Ribbons of steel envelop the pavilions, articulating the movement sequence between the three courtroom clusters. The waiting areas and public corridors that connect the courtroom pavilions provide views to the surrounding mountains and a perception of light and the passage of time.
The entry occurs at the moment where the two systems collide, in a large open atrium, framed by the base’s strict grid and sculpted by the fluid forms above.

Photo: ©Tim Griffith

The shapes of the pavilions emanate from the autonomous courtrooms themselves, whose soft forms are constricted to direct the focus to the witness stand and judge's bench. The jury boxes are partially recessed, isolated in an articulated space that refers to the juror’s role as both observer and participant.

Photo: ©Tim Griffith

In the courtrooms, natural light is admitted through two thick-walled, large apertures, one above the judge’s bench, and one above the spectator seating. The effect is that of a freestanding building, a unique and dignified place in which the court’s raison d’être is architecturally legible.

Photo courtesy Morphosis
Site Plan

Photo courtesy Morphosis
Study Models

Rendering courtesy Morphosis

Drawing courtesy Morphosis
Plan Level One

Drawing courtesy Morphosis
Plan Level Four

Drawing courtesy Morphosis
Roof Plan

Drawing courtesy Morphosis
Section looking West

Drawing courtesy Morphosis
Section looking East

Drawing courtesy Morphosis
Section looking North

Site area: 225,206 square feet (5.17 acres)
Project size: 270,000 sq. ft.
Completed: 2006

Photographed by Tim Griffith

Client: GSA Northwest Region 10
Design Architect: Morphosis
Executive Architect: DLR Group

Morphosis project team:
Principal:
Thom Mayne
Project Manager:
Kim Groves
Job Captain:
Maria Guest
Project Designer:
Ben Damron
Patrick Tighe
Eui-Sung Yi
Project team:
Caroline Barat
Linda Chung
Ted Kane
Ung-Joo Scott Lee
Rolando Mendoza
John Skillern
Martin Summers
Project Assistants:
Alasdair Dixon
Haseb Faqirzada
Dwoyne Keith
Laura McAlpine
Gerardo Mingo
Sohith Perera
Nadine Quirmbach
Michaela Schippl
Natalia Traverso Caruana

DLR Group project team:
Principals:
Jon Pettit
Bill Buursma
Kent Larson
Project Architect:
Jim Conley
Jason Wandersee

Morphosis arcspace features

Book
Morphosis: Volume IV
By Thom Mayne
Publisher: Rizzoli

Thom Mayne's firm Morphosis, founded in the early 1970s, has maintained an avant-garde presence among contemporary architecture firms even as it has garnered high-profile, big-budget commissions around the world.
In the tradition of its three comprehensive predecessors, this fourth volume packs 575 illustrations into its tour of Morphosis's activity at the turn of the twenty-first century.
New works covered in Volume IV include the extraordinary Cal Trans Headquarters in Los Angeles, housing designed for New York's 2012 Olympics bid, the San Francisco Federal Office Building, the NOOA Satellite Operations Facility, and major housing projects in Toronto and Shanghai constructed of glass and high-tech materials demonstrating the appealingly iconoclastic modernism of Thom Mayne and Morphosis.
Thom Mayne won the 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize, his field's most prestigious award.

Check the price at amazon.com

European customers click here:

Check the price at amazon.co.uk

January 22, 2007





				Features
		Morphosis Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse Eugene, Oregon Discrete object buildings – a reference back to an earlier single room courthouse model. Photo: ©Tim Griffith American courthouse architecture has moved away from the use of symbolic iconography to communicate the importance of the judicial process. Courtrooms are now routinely located in generic office towers – effectively repositioning the proceedings as business as usual – thus obscuring the gravity of the judicial process by excising the symbolism inherent in the traditional courtroom. The Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse seeks to challenge this trend by expressing the courtrooms as discrete object buildings – a reference back to an earlier single room courthouse model. Photo: ©Tim Griffith Photo: ©Tim Griffith The building is composed of two distinct strata, the honorific and the quotidian. The iconic elements are the courtrooms themselves, located in articulated pavilions that float above an orthogonal two-story plinth that houses office and administrative spaces. Their forms refer to the fluid nature of the American Judicial System – a system that is designed to remain flexible by being continuously challenged and reinterpreted by the proceedings of the courts. The formal and structural organization of the plinth is mimetic of the Cartesian layout of the city, and thus represents the more static nature of Eugene’s urban fabric upon which the organic and independent shapes of the courtrooms rest. Photo: ©Tim Griffith Photo: ©Tim Griffith Ribbons of steel envelop the pavilions, articulating the movement sequence between the three courtroom clusters. The waiting areas and public corridors that connect the courtroom pavilions provide views to the surrounding mountains and a perception of light and the passage of time. The entry occurs at the moment where the two systems collide, in a large open atrium, framed by the base’s strict grid and sculpted by the fluid forms above. Photo: ©Tim Griffith Photo: ©Tim Griffith Photo: ©Tim Griffith Photo: ©Tim Griffith Photo: ©Tim Griffith Photo: ©Tim Griffith The shapes of the pavilions emanate from the autonomous courtrooms themselves, whose soft forms are constricted to direct the focus to the witness stand and judge's bench. The jury boxes are partially recessed, isolated in an articulated space that refers to the juror’s role as both observer and participant. Photo: ©Tim Griffith In the courtrooms, natural light is admitted through two thick-walled, large apertures, one above the judge’s bench, and one above the spectator seating. The effect is that of a freestanding building, a unique and dignified place in which the court’s raison d’être is architecturally legible. Photo courtesy Morphosis Site Plan Photo courtesy Morphosis Study Models Rendering courtesy Morphosis Drawing courtesy Morphosis Plan Level One Drawing courtesy Morphosis Plan Level Four Drawing courtesy Morphosis Roof Plan Drawing courtesy Morphosis Section looking West Drawing courtesy Morphosis Section looking East Drawing courtesy Morphosis Section looking North Site area: 225,206 square feet (5.17 acres) Project size: 270,000 sq. ft. Completed: 2006 Photographed by Tim Griffith Client: GSA Northwest Region 10 Design Architect: Morphosis Executive Architect: DLR Group Morphosis project team: Principal: Thom Mayne Project Manager: Kim Groves Job Captain: Maria Guest Project Designer: Ben Damron Patrick Tighe Eui-Sung Yi Project team: Caroline Barat Linda Chung Ted Kane Ung-Joo Scott Lee Rolando Mendoza John Skillern Martin Summers Project Assistants: Alasdair Dixon Haseb Faqirzada Dwoyne Keith Laura McAlpine Gerardo Mingo Sohith Perera Nadine Quirmbach Michaela Schippl Natalia Traverso Caruana DLR Group project team: Principals: Jon Pettit Bill Buursma Kent Larson Project Architect: Jim Conley Jason Wandersee Morphosis arcspace features Book Morphosis: Volume IV By Thom Mayne Publisher: Rizzoli Thom Mayne's firm Morphosis, founded in the early 1970s, has maintained an avant-garde presence among contemporary architecture firms even as it has garnered high-profile, big-budget commissions around the world. In the tradition of its three comprehensive predecessors, this fourth volume packs 575 illustrations into its tour of Morphosis's activity at the turn of the twenty-first century. New works covered in Volume IV include the extraordinary Cal Trans Headquarters in Los Angeles, housing designed for New York's 2012 Olympics bid, the San Francisco Federal Office Building, the NOOA Satellite Operations Facility, and major housing projects in Toronto and Shanghai constructed of glass and high-tech materials demonstrating the appealingly iconoclastic modernism of Thom Mayne and Morphosis. Thom Mayne won the 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize, his field's most prestigious award. Check the price at amazon.com European customers click here: Check the price at amazon.co.uk January 22, 2007