Consulting in a Courtroom: The Los Angeles Federal Courthouse

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) hired Jacobs as Construction Manager for a new First Street United States Federal Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, California. This new glass cube structure replaces an older building and consolidates functions from multiple locations. The courthouse accommodates the U.S. District Court, U.S. Marshals Services, U.S. Attorneys' Office, a GSA field office, the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Services and the Federal Public Defender.

The 10-story, 633,000 square-foot facility showcases 24 courtrooms and 32 judicial chambers. The innovative structural engineering design allows for total seismic safety, while the courthouse appears to float over its base. The award-winning, $350 million glass cube structure features a serrated façade that reduces solar heat gain by 47 percent and reduces glare while maximizing daylight harvesting with a north/south orientation.

The LEED Platinum facility incorporates sustainable features including high efficiency building systems, water-efficient fixtures, green roofs, drought tolerant landscaping, an underground rainwater cistern, and roof mounted solar producing 525,000 kWh annually.

The new facility improves courthouse operations, solves security concerns and opens more space for the U.S. District Court. The courthouse maximizes its sunny downtown location with natural daylighting throughout, organized around a central skylight.

The new courthouse is GSA’s largest design-build project and showcases the benefits of this innovative construction delivery model, reducing project delivery from 6-7 years down to 46 months and saving the owner $3.6 million, while still maintaining GSA’s Design Excellence standards and the guiding principles of federal architecture.