Pinellas County Family Courts

A Courthouse Designed for Healing

View Project in 3D

Project Location

Clearwater, FL

Area

86,000-SF New addition / 73,000-SF Renovation

Services

Architecture, planning, and interiors

Project Type

Courthouse

Courthouses require a unique balance in their design. They have to welcome the public, be secure for all users, possess the dignity of their important social function, and still manage to showcase forward-thinking design. This project exemplifies what it means to bring innovative, evidence-based designs to civic life that care for the traumas of those who interact with the space.

The Pinellas County Family Court Annex allows the county to consolidate court operations at their central campus, create a new public entrance, and develop a unique identity for family courts. In public spaces, the project focuses on comfort and convenience of use for the visiting public and public workers, as well as providing natural daylight and a variety of colors to create an inviting and calming environment. The courthouse also has to double as a trauma-informed workplace, guaranteeing areas for staff to rejuvenate and focus on wellness.

This design-build project consists of an 86,000-SF four-courts addition and new security entry, and a 73,000-SF renovation for the clerk of court, jury assembly, sheriff locker rooms, secure entry, new technology infrastructure, and security systems overhaul. This project has involved many stakeholders in the design process to serve each department’s needs to the fullest value and satisfaction. The stakeholders include the Judiciary, Clerk of Court, Sheriff, Security, Call Center, Attorneys, Case Workers, Facilities, Contractors, and multiple Technology and Security groups.

Show More +

four people seated in family courtroom, turquoise-tinted clerestory windows run across three walls below the ceiling providing natural light, darker wood panels on back wall, podium, desks, dividers and gates, geometric patterned low-pile carpet in soothing cool hues

exterior view of building, beige concrete facade, modern steel supports, lighted walkway, palm tree, orange and pink clouds at dusk

interior lobby with staircase, turquoise-tinted clerestory windows on one wall, darker wood panels on back wall, polished concrete flooring in soothing cool hue, floor-to-ceiling windows provide natural light

courthouse family area, high-ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows fill all walls provide natural light, soothing blues and greens for flooring, modular seating areas, barrel lamps overhead with blue and green shades

courthouse public area, high-ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows provide natural light for well-being, natural wood and blue low-pile carpet, modern circular upholstered group seating

The new family court is remarkable…My favorite features are the welcoming nature of the corridor that connects the new to the old, and the attention to detail such as the special room for children…and the soothing blues and greens."

The Honorable Anthony Rondolino Judge, Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida

A Nurturing Space

To make a courthouse a truly healing place, several different and equally important design considerations have to be addressed. Taken together, they create a built environment that promotes a healthy civic life.

A Nurturing Space

Trauma-Informed Design

Designing a Safe Place

When designing to accommodate children and families, the overwhelming and difficult emotions inherent to the courthouse experience make it even more crucial to create healing, trauma-informed spaces. In the Child and Family Waiting Room, extensive daylighting and views foster a sense of connection with nature, while a blue-green color palette works to provide a calming environment while referencing Florida’s extensive Gulf coastline.

Modernization

Updating Courtroom Design

Courtrooms are essential to the justice system, and as such should be places of equity. The need to welcome the public, however, sometimes causes tension with a desire for courtrooms to be dignified spaces. Both of these needs are met through the use of high-end finishes and textural variety. Our design enlists soothing blue-green glass to allow daylight into the room, and a warm, playful wood texture throughout. The saturation of color and daylight brings a sense of lighthearted hospitality to a room that might otherwise feel enclosed and intimidating.

Inspiration

Building on Workplace Trends

It’s all too easy to forget that our civic buildings are also workplaces. Like any other workplace, the people who serve daily within these spaces deserve an environment that reflects their status and contributes to their health and wellness. Views to the outdoors and shared daylighting provide an engaging connection to nature.

Connection

Incorporating Hospitality Design

Just as workspaces within a courthouse draw on trends in workplace design, public gathering spaces throughout the courthouse draw inspiration from the hospitality sector. A consistent color palette, comfortable seating options that allow for a variety of private and group contemplation, and connection to the world outside all remain crucially employed throughout the Annex. These spaces, which connect the Annex to the original Courthouse, also serve as vital symbols of the centralization of civic life that makes justice more accessible to the communities the courthouse serves.

In the Media

Courthouses That Work: Trauma-Informed Design Trends

_{August 24, 2023}

One of the last things to come to mind when we think of courthouses is one of the most crucial – courthouses are workplaces.

By Sector