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The new courthouse features 14 courtrooms and judicial chambers for the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Magistrate. It includes a ceremonial proceedings courtroom, as well as a library, conference rooms, a jury assembly area, public cafeteria and secured parking.

Disparate Objects

Situated on the edge of the city, the courthouse forms a gateway to the desert and the mountains beyond. It is formed of two six-story towers connected by a glass bridge. This bridge forms a grand portico connecting a shaded, "ceremonial" summer courtyard, which fronts the street, with a more informal, sunny winter courtyard.

Pfeiffer says this form was intended "to allow for a graceful transition from the city to the courthouse, as well as to signify the accessibility of the judicial process."

Symbolizing the procession from the public to judicial realm, the monumental entrance pays homage to classical architecture. A grand stair and adjacent ramp lead to a large, rotated colonnade composed of a wall of native flagstone, with green terracotta columns capped by a translucent canopy. The flagstone wall extends through the building, forming a gateway where it intercepts the lobby.

The courthouse is divided into three parallel bands or zones that extend down its long axis. The organization of space accommodates the courts' specialized security needs and permits them to function efficiently while responding to the climate of the region.

The north and east sides of the towers contain judges' chambers with expanded vistas to the downtown. Loggias, overhangs, alcoves, and deeply set windows provide relief from intense sunlight. The south and west sides contain public spaces, shaded by corrugated metal panels that permit views of the winter courtyard and Sentinel Mountain.

The courtrooms occupy the middle zone with access from both the public galleries and the judges' suites. The jury assembly area and public elevators are independent architectural elements.

Reflecting the Desert

The design incorporates the textures, colors, and materials of the desert. Courtrooms are clad in desert-red stucco wrapped by support spaces with an ashlar pattern of glass and sand-colored polished concrete block. Offices at the base of the north wing are composed of rusticated concrete block.

The desert motif of the exterior extends to the interior. Entering through the flagstone wall, the lobby's black terrazzo floor is inset with fragments of locally mined gems and copper ore. A stair is designed to appear carved out of the building like a switchback mountain path.

From the public corridors, courtroom entrances are contained in niches accented with mosaic-tile walls. Inside, the judge's bench is placed on center with the entrance in a dramatic well with raised ceilings and chevron-patterned carpets. Fabric-wrapped acoustical panels are mounted on walls in an ashlar pattern similar to the exterior.

At the upper level, a mural by Tucson-based painter Jim Waid depicts the dramatic Sonoran Desert landscape. This is just one of the works commissioned for the courthouse by the GSA and chosen by a committee of experts including local and national art professionals.

Artist Lita Albuquerque designed the summer and winter courtyards as the Gardens of Remembrance, which explores the changing relationships between a place, its inhabitants, and its history.

The building also houses the Probation Office, Pretrial Service Office, Offices of the U.S. Attorney, and the U.S. Marshals. The building is intended to expand as the court system grows, with offices that can be converted into courtrooms and chambers.

Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (HHPA) is an internationally recognized architecture, planning and interior design firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. The firm is perhaps best known for its performing arts facilities; this is HHPA's first courthouse.

The sunny winter courtyard to the south, with an art installation by Lita Albuquerque in the foreground. Photo: Bill Timmerman The exterior ceremonial "lobby" viewed from the northeast. Photo: Bill Timmerman The exterior "lobby" viewed from the southwest. Photo: Bill Timmerman Interior lobby. Photo: Bill Timmerman A stair climbs like a mountain trail, and a mural depicts the Sonoran Desert landscape. Photo: Bill Timmerman In the courtrooms, fabric-wrapped acoustical panels give the walls an ashlar pattern similar to that of the exterior. Photo: Bill Timmerman Interior hallway. Photo: Bill Timmerman Elevation of the east wing. Photo: Bill Timmerman   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.