Richard Rogers Partnership
Law Courts
Bordeaux, France
1993 - 1998
Night View. Photo: Christian Richters.
The competition winning entry for a new complex of law courts is situated at the heart of the historic core of Bordeaux, near the cathedral and town hall. The awkward site is framed by the neoclassical law court building and is traversed by a section of the original medieval walls, complete with moat and bastions. The scheme exploits the public potential of the building by creating a pedestrian concourse that links the new complex with the rest of the city: "With its informality and openness this sequence is an entirely new way of looking (literally and metaphorically) at the administration of justice in a modern democracy" (Peter Davey, "Open Court" Architectural Review, March 1993, 51).
A reflecting pool extends and revitalises the moat, framing the institutional building with water along its most prominent urban edge. While the main public entrance is from a new ramp connecting the site to the city centre, the design is completely integrated into the existing structure of streets and buildings, including the old law courts and law school on the south and east of the site.
The new building, set on a heavy stone podium, defines the western edge of the site with an orthogonal block containing judicial offices and cells. A giant skeleton frame rises from the podium with a continuous glazed facade overlooking the soft landscaped heart of the site. The individual courtrooms are enclosed within this frame in seven clearly identifiable volumes, tapering in section and rounded in plan. These irregular toplit shapes stand free within the great glass volume like a row of bottles or wine vats. Supported on pilotis, the entire entrance level becomes a large uninterrupted concourse that flows under the courts, emphasising the public nature of the building. The design recognises that, for the majority of users, the space around the courts is as important as the space within.
Courtrooms from the public side.
Photo: Christian Richter.
The courtroom elements were originally conceived as exposed ferro-cement structures. The design team has since explored the potential of stressed-skin systems that offer greater flexibility of construction and greater durability, including a lightweight aluminium honeycomb sheet structure (usually employed in the aircraft industry) with a painted epoxy resin finish, which can be prefabricated under factory conditions and easily assembled on site in individual onionlike segments.
The design for the law courts is a variation on the frame-object theme that has informed a number of the practice's recent projects, including Tokyo Forum. With its use of irregular forms and natural materials, the project represents a rare investigation into the expressive potential of the organic architecture of Hans Scharoun and Hugo Haring.
See also
Antwerp Law Courts
