The proposed redevelopment encompasses 31 new courts and retention of 17 existing courts including the historically significant Court No 1 of the former Federal Court. A new entrance on Lonsdale Street using the laneway provides a new covered access to a main foyer at the base of the new building. A new glazed roof over the existing historically significant courtyard will link the old and new with a remarkable public space interior.
The new building form is expressed as three elements of slender proportion. The western element containing public space rises to ten levels and presents the principal wall or background against which the historic Supreme Court is read. The proposal imagines a new court building of independent modernity that will rise to mask the Telstra wall, extend the Court’s functional use and establish a mutual dignity between both buildings. A new and finely articulated surface stretched over a composition of three vertically organised building elements will provide an appropriate new background for the Supreme Court.
Location – Melbourne, Victoria
Client – Department of Justice
Completed – 2006
