Program Analysis The proposal for the site comprises of a courthouse and civic square. The existing courthouse, which was originally a Customs and Treasury building, has reached its maximum functional capacity. Most of the offices and courts are too small, poorly designed and lack sufficient storage space. Sometimes, court
hearings are held in adjacent buildings which have been adapted to provide spaces for these activities. The former courthouse and legislature building, which is now the House of Assembly (location for meeting of Parliament), houses at times the visiting Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Court of
Appeal. Minor offenses (theft, matters less than $ 10,000EC) are litigated in the Magistrate Courts, while major offenses (murder, matters more than $ 10,000EC) are debated in the High Court. Appeals are dealt with by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Court of Appeal. This Court makes periodic visits to the island. Further appeals are then dealt with by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of England.Hence, the island has no main Courthouse. All Dominicans keep abreast with political events either through the media or by attending political meetings (most common at times of an approaching election). These meetings are held regularly outdoors, at night. The common locations for the meetings are the playing fields (community parks) or streets of the town where some sort of "podium" is located, example a large stairway such as the Piper Stairs (photo to come, meanwhile see map). There are many urban spaces within the city, none of which serve a political mandate. There are two market spaces; the old one serves as a crafts market catering mainly to tourists and visitors, while the new one sells agricultural produce to the citizens. A small park, Peebles Park, and a memorial (dedicated to volunteers who fought in the W.W.II), like the markets, are located on the coastal west side. The town is bounded on the north east by the Windsor Park Sporting facilities and the Botanical Gardens, and to the south by the grounds of the State House, which was built in 18th century as the home for the President of the Country. (Ceremonies of the State are sometimes held here and at the Windsor Park).
Clockwise: piper stairs, old market, botanical gardens, peebles park, the
cenotaph.
The following is list of programmatic functions with a few notes of spatial requirements (coming very soon, see Tables):
Entrance gallery
High Courts
Magistrate Courts
Magistrates’ Chamber
Judges’ Chamber
Office of Judge Secretary and Clerk of Court
Strong Room (Vault)
Administrative Office (for Senior Executive Officer)
Jury Room
Exhibit Room
Law Library – reading and stacks, binding room
Prisoners’ Cells
Roaming Room
Briefing Room
Washrooms – public and staff
Registry Department – births, deaths, titles, registrar’s office,
probates, patents and trademarks,
companies, bailiff’s quarters, registration, filing, storeroom, kitchen.
Meeting Hall
Civic Square or Outdoor Room
Relationships (this section if based on functional requirements see section on thoughts for my interpretation).
Hierarchy of SpaceTypes: Public, Restrictive, Private, Secured
| Public | Restrictive | Private | Secured |
| courts, public conference rooms, waiting rooms, entrance gallery, registry depart functions [ births, deaths, titles, registrar's office, probates, patents & trademarks, companies, registration. | press room, administration offices, registrar and deputy registrar's office, registry department functions [ filing, storeroom, kitchen], strong room (vault) | robing rooms, chambers, jury rooms briefing room. | prisoner holding cells and interview rooms. |
Functional organization needs:
Movement:
movement between courtspaces
movement between court and ancillary spaces
Design Considerations
General
Building design should: not be monolithic, the size
should be broken down. Building height should be carefully thought of and a cascade of
roofs could be
included if possible. There should be some central point in a building, entrances should
be highlighted, building could be a
thoroughfare, light in building is important, roof gardens are another design idea,
maintain short corridors, highlight building edges
(crenallation or other means), connect building to earth, build on worst part of site to
avoid wrecking it (Pattern Language).
Civic plaza (outdoor room): short width should not be more than 70 ft., create sequence of outdoor spaces, a large space should have a small "back" space, two or three doors should open on to the courtyard and there should be a transition area. Paths should be connected and lead to goals, square area requirements should be designed for 150 to 300 people, their should be focal points in the center of the square while the edges be made of small places elements that can be usable by visitors to sit or wait (stairs). (Pattern Language)
Environmental
- air conditioning( individual unit
control) should be maintained at minimum in courthouses, chambers and jury spaces, or
better, natural ventilation where possible.
- soundproofing of external and internal walls is essential in courtrooms, jury and
chamber spaces.
- daylighting and views for all rooms if possible.
Security
- detection and alarm systems, camera
surveillance.
-group spaces requiring similar level of security together.
-access to private and secured places should be separated whenever possible from
access to public spaces.
-intercom system.
-unsupervised public spaces such as toilets, rest rooms, lounges and conference
rooms should not have hung ceilings where objects can be hidden.
-areas that will remain open after working hours should be near ground floor so
that upper areas can be sealed up.
Functional
- videotaping needs rooms that can be
darkened.
-sightlines are critical for judge and public.
-machines to look up cases could be installed in library.
-hearing should be good; volume and distance should be reduced in very large
courtrooms to control reverberation time (best 0.8 to 1.0 sec).
to avoid echoes, use hung ceilings or reduce room size.
-furniture for judge and counsel is usually heavy, so it should be modular for ease
of assemble or movement. Public seating facilities should be fixed.
Spatial Guidelines
- for every 1,200- 1500 sq. ft of
court space, allow 700-1200 sq. ft. of adjoining facilities
- judicial area in hearing can be accommodated in
about 600 sq.ft.
- public observation area determined by size of jury panel: 25 to 30 for
12-man jury, 12-15 for 6 man jury plus an additional 15-20 seats (for both)
-floor- to- ceiling heights should vary from 10-15 ft.
I think that there is an ability to elaborate the activities of the Courthouse. Proceedings within a court, can be likened to a theatrical performance; the actors or actresses being the judges, counsels, witness, defendant, jurors and others who sit within the pit of the court. The public is essentially the audience. Hence I think that certain functions could be opened up to the public. So far, I am thinking about adapting the entrance gallery (and perhaps exhibit room) into a museum, or rather display space. This would highlight not only the achievements of Dominicans in politics and social arenas, but the demographic composition and history of origin of the people. Perhaps it could be explained as being a small museum of civilization. This would somehow connect to outdoor rooms.
One of the key features of the outdoor space would be a podium for delivery of political speeches and such matters. This would help to also link the project to nature and the outdoor environment. There is the opportunity to include environmental friendly technical features within this project. I think that passive, as opposed to high-tech elements are more appropriate for the site. This will prevent the project from becoming an "environmental-friendly experiment". I am of the view that environmental features, high- tech or low-tech, will be integrated within most projects soon, and so this will be a basic conceptual idea to all buildings, another more important social or cultural idea has to hold it together.
As pertains to relationships among spaces, there is a hierarchy as shown by the functional requirements and due to security measures. I am in agreement with most of this, but would like to elaborate further on the relationship between the judicial authority figures, the public, and the prisoner. Although, the judges and counsel may be in an authoritarian position, there is still a level of familiarity between the Judges and counsel , and the public. Dominica is a very intimate place.Thier authority only prevails within the walls of the courtroom. I donot therefore foresee the judge and council entering the courthouse complex from a separate entrance, apart from the public. His entrance to the courtroom itself will be separate from the public since this is his domain. The prisoner is of a lower "class" (for lack of a proper word now, perhaps, social standing is better) than everyone. He has committed a crime and so to speak has "fallen from grace" (temporarily, if proven innocent) in the eyes of the public. Therefore his entrance to the courthouse will not be grand. Whilst the journey of the public through the complex will be exhilarating, melodramatic and informative, the prisoners journey will be more comtemplative. His journey will be for him a period of personal reflection and self-discovery. He will be reminded of words and scenes of slavery, (a period of time when his freedom was limited) and of religious images depicting hope and sacrifice and the meaning of life.
Sources: Magistrates Courthouses: Design Study
1977. Home Office and Greater London Council : London, 1977.
Wong, Michael F. Space Management and the Courts. US
Government Printing Office, 1973.