Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse
Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse | |
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(2009) | |
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General information | |
Type | courthouse |
Architectural style | Deconstructivist Modern |
Location | 405 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon |
Coordinates | 44°03′04″N 123°05′12″W / 44.051085°N 123.086563°W |
Construction started | 1999 |
Completed | 2006 |
Owner | United States government |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 6 (5 above grade, 1 below) |
Floor area | 266,742 square feet (24,781.1 m2) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Morphosis, Santa Monica, California, USA, AIA (Design Architect) DLR Group (Architect of Record) |
Structural engineer | KPFF Consulting Engineers |
Main contractor | JE Dunn Construction, Portland, Oregon, USA |
Awards and prizes | AIA COTE Top Ten Award, 2007 |
The Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse located in Eugene, Oregon. Completed in 2006, it serves the District of Oregon as part of the Ninth Judicial Circuit. The courthouse is named in honor of former U.S. Senator Wayne Morse who represented Oregon for 24 years in the Senate and was a Eugene area resident. Located in downtown Eugene, the building overlooks the Willamette River.
Standing six stories tall, the 266,742-square-foot (24,781.1 m2) building contains six courtrooms as well offices for the courts and other federal agencies such as the
History
In 1999, the
On April 7, 2004, federal officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site for what was estimated to be a $70 million project.[7] The site on East Eighth Avenue and Ferry Street formerly housed an Agripac cannery and is situated along the Willamette River.[6][7] Local developers and officials hoped the courthouse and a potential new hospital in that area of town would spur further development and revitalize the area.[7] In July 2004, construction began with site preparation including digging out a hole for underground parking.[8] At that time the project was expected to be completed in August 2006.[8]
Plans called for a four-story structure covered with
J. E. Dunn Construction Group served as the general contractor on the project, with the DLR Group serving as the architect of record and as the electrical engineering firm.[9] KPFF Consulting Engineers did the structural engineer work and GLUMAC International completed the plumbing and mechanical engineering.[9]
On July 11, 2005, the 69-foot (21 m) tall building was topped out and the last steel beam put into place.[5][12] Construction on the project ended in August 2006 with completion in November.[9][13] During construction crews removed 73,000 square yards (61,000 m2) of material during excavation at the site, poured 15,000 square yards (13,000 m2) of concrete with 1,640 short tons (1,490,000 kg) of rebar, used 1,100 short tons (1,000,000 kg) of structural steel, and on the exterior 48,000 square feet (4,500 m2) of windows and 125 short tons (113,000 kg) of stainless steel were used.[12] On December 1, 2006, the $78.8 million Wayne Lyman Morse U.S. Courthouse was dedicated and officially opened.[9][14] The total cost to complete the project was $96 million.[14] The Morse Courthouse was completed on budget and on time, but due to budget cuts, elements including a rooftop reflecting pool and etching of the United States Bill of Rights onto the exterior were removed from the project.[14][15] When it opened it became the first new federal courthouse in the United States to earn LEED Gold certification.[9]
Design
The finished building reflected two major influences: Judge Hogan had wanted a more traditional
The completed design resulted in a curving structure standing five stories tall with 266,742 square feet (24,781.1 m2) of space.[9] The bottom two floors are covered in glass and house offices, while the top three floors are covered in ribbons of steel and primarily house courtrooms.[9] Three pavilions rise from the main structure to create these upper floors where the six courtrooms are located.[8] Each of the top three floors have two courtrooms; two for the judges of federal district court, two for magistrate judges of the court, and two for the bankruptcy court, with these courtrooms spread out amongst the pavilions; two per pavilion and all on the third floor.[9][13] Chambers for the judges are located above the courtrooms and include a seventh chamber for a visiting judge.[13] On the same level as the judge's chambers are two law libraries for the court.[13] The three floors featuring the courtrooms are joined to the rest of the building via the 85-foot (26 m) tall atrium.[4][9] Located on the second floor is the jury assembly room, which when not in use by the court is used as exhibit and meeting space.[9]
The courtrooms vary from as large as 3,000 square feet (280 m2) to as small as 1,500 square feet (140 m2) and are in a pear-shaped design.[9] Designs for the courtrooms were partly based on the courtrooms of the Bordeaux Law Courts in France.[15] The jury box is recessed and does not resemble a traditional jury box.[4] The courtrooms feature ribbons of wood panels on the walls in rooms that narrow as they reach the bench at the front.[9] The wood is primarily cherry with walnut accents.[4] Natural light is let into the courtrooms from small opening in the walls.[4] Videoconferencing is available in the courtrooms.[14]
In addition to the natural light from the atrium and skylights, the building is further illuminated inside by
The exterior features a large set of stairs that leads from the street level to the main entrance on the second floor.[9] This 240-foot (73 m) wide grand entrance also serves a security function of reducing the chance of a car bomb reaching the main entrance.[9][15] Other security measures in the design include the underground parking and setting the courtrooms back from the street.[9] The facility was designed as a Security Level IV facility by the government.[9] Other exterior features include structural elements left exposed along with portions of the curved metal skin that extend out from the building.[4] Mayne, the building's architect, stated that it was "the language of the ribbon" to describe the exterior design.[4]
Artwork, LEED, and awards
Artist
Energy efficient and sustainability features designed into the project led to a LEED Gold certification from the
In addition to the LEED certification, the building also won a Progressive Architecture Award in 2004 from Architecture magazine and AIA/COTE award from Architect magazine in 2007.[4][13][19] The Chicago Athenaeum also gave the design an award in 2007 as part of its American Architecture Awards.[20] The Morse Courthouse was also the first U.S. courthouse included at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.[4] The Oregonian newspaper called the courthouse "the most architecturally important new building in Oregon in decades".[15]
Tenants
The bottom two floors of the facility house offices, including those for the federal courts, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services.[9] Additionally, there are offices for both of Oregon's United States Senators and an office for a single member of the United States House of Representatives.[9] Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon's 4th congressional district uses that office.[21]
References
- ^ a b Pogrebin, Robin. "Ready, Set, Design: Work as a Contest", The New York Times, August 19, 2007, Arts and Leisure Desk; Architecture, p. 24.
- ISSN 0739-8557.
- ^ a b c d e f Hughey, Ray. Portland office of J.E. Dunn takes lead in Oregon federal courthouse Archived 2009-03-02 at the Wayback Machine Daily Journal of Commerce, February 19, 2004.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Campbell, Brett. The Education of Thom Mayne; How the uncompromising L.A. architect learned to build on common ground Archived 2015-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2007, West Magazine, Part I, p. 14.
- ^ a b "Space and Facilities: Eugene Courthouse Dedicated" (PDF). 2006 Annual Report. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. pp. 29–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c Carter, Dan. New federal courthouse in downtown Eugene, Oregon, is a courthouse for the 21st century, Daily Journal of Commerce, August 14, 2006.
- ^ a b c Dietz, Diane. New Federal Courthouse May Prompt a Downtown Revival in Eugene, The Register-Guard, June 14, 2004.
- ^ a b c Russo, Edward. "Contractors Dig Into Work: Government; Construction of the new federal courthouse is under way, due to finish in 2006", The Register-Guard, August 4, 2004, p. D1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Schneider, Jay W. "2008 Building Team Awards: Courthouse Pushes the Boundaries of Tradition: Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse; A federal courthouse puts a modern spin on ancient ideas of judicial architecture", Building Design & Construction, May 1, 2008, p. 26. Reed Business Information.
- BusinessWeek, May 2, 2006.
- ^ Pearson, Clifford A. (March 2007). "Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse". Architectural Record. Archived from the original on 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ a b Bishop, Bill. "Project High Point: Courts: A `topping out' ceremony at the new courthouse honors workers", The Register-Guard, July 12, 2005, p. D1.
- ^ a b c d e f "Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse". AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects. American Institute of Architects. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Bishop, Bill. "Designed to Shine; Courts; Eugene's new gem of a federal courthouse may serve as inspiration", The Register-Guard, November 30, 2006, p. A1.
- ^ a b c d Gragg, Randy. Sight Lines - Ribbons for Lady Justice, The Oregonian, November 26, 2006, Sunday Features (O!). p. O8.
- ^ a b Pogrebin, Robin. "A Defiant Architect’s Gentler Side" Archived 2019-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, December 19, 2006.
- ^ a b c Keefer, Bob. "Artist for courthouse offers crowd glimpse of his outlook; Arts & Literature; Critics call Matthew Ritchie's work both brilliant and impenetrable", The Register-Guard, October 7, 2005, p. C1.
- ^ Bishop, Bill. Courthouse gets a green thumbs up for its efficiency; Courts; Its features will earn the building a certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, The Register-Guard, November 7, 2005, p. A1.
- ^ Shapiro, Gideon Fink. “AIA/COTE 2007 Award Winners” Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, ARCHITECT Magazine, June 1, 2007. Retrieved on February 10, 2009.
- ^ "2007: Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse". American Architecture Awards. The Chicago Athenaeum. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- ^ Two more arrested Archived 2009-03-02 at the Wayback Machine Eugene Weekly, March 15, 2007. Retrieved on February 10, 2009.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- AIA brochure Archived 2009-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
- The Judge & the Architect Archived 2009-03-02 at the Wayback Machine - Eugene Weekly
- Morse United States Courthouse article by Morphosis