Best of 2005 Awards

U.S. District Courthouse - Cadman Plaza

Award of Merit: Public Works and Facilities

It took a long road to complete the U.S. District Courthouse for the Eastern District of New York. The building in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza at the approach to the Brooklyn Bridge, went through several redesigns, delays, and contractors.

The end result is a monumental $265 million, 632,000-sq.-ft. structure that features a new 15-story tower and a six-story building linking to an existing federal courthouse facility next door.

Members of the Best of 2005 jury called it "a gorgeous building" with "a phenomenal design." They also blamed troubles that beset the project - including its completion over budget and off schedule - on a scope that kept expanding and the original general contractor's bankruptcy in 2003.

Original plans called for the new facility to house 17 courtrooms, but the scope eventually grew to include 25 courtrooms overall, as well as 28 judicial chambers.

The project began with demolition of a four-story office building and connecting structure. The new tower and connecting building provide space for a U.S. Court of Appeals library, administrative offices, jury rooms, and prisoner holding and transport. Three below-grade levels house the U.S. Marshals Service, offices, and a 250-space parking garage.

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The tower has a steel structural frame and concrete floor plates, along with a gently curved limestone-clad façade and a coated aluminum-and-glass curtain wall. The connecting facility and below-grade levels use cast-in-place concrete.

The connecting structure serves as the main entrance to the entire complex. The entrance and atrium feature travertine marble walls and terrazzo floors, while a massive marble stairway links the levels.

"That staircase is remarkable," one of the jurors said.

The chambers and courtrooms sport high-end finishes and millwork, with floor-to-ceiling wood paneling and coffered, 18-ft. ceilings in the courtrooms.

The jury lauded the final product despite the project's broader difficulties with the scope - administered by the U.S. General Services Administration and the Eastern District judges - and the original contractor, J.A. Jones Construction, which went into bankruptcy. New York-based Bovis Lend Lease took over as construction manager and general contractor, ultimately finishing the project in October.

Key Players

Owner: United States General Services Administration

Architect-Engineer-Planning-Interiors: HLW International

Electrical Contractor: Five Construction Manager-General Contractor: Bovis Lend Lease Star Electric

Design Architect: Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects

Structural Engineer: Narov Associates

HVAC: ASM Mechanical Services

Drywall-Carpentry: Cord Contracting

Millwork: Petersen Geller Spurge; Hird/Blaker Architectural Woodwork

Plumbing: WDF/Greene Mechanical

Marble-Tile: Port Morris Tile & Marble