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AIA: The year's best justice facilities

Justice Facilities

AIA: The year's best justice facilities

CO Architects, RMKM Architecture, and SOM are among the firms honored with 2015 Justice Facilities Review Awards from the AIA’s Academy of Architecture for Justice.


By BD+C Staff | November 10, 2015
AIA: The year's best justice facilities

San Bernardino Justice Center won a Citation award. Image courtesy SOM

The American Institute of Architects’ Academy of Architecture for Justice (AIA AAJ) named the projects that have received 2015 Justice Facilities Review Awards.

The three Citation winners were CO Architects’ South County Justice Center, Superior Court of Tulare County in Porterville, Calif.; SOM’s San Bernardino Justice Center in San Bernardino, Calif.; and RMKM Architecture’s East Mesa Public Safety Complex in Las Cruces, N.M.

According to AIA, the Justice Facility Review documents “best practices in planning and design for Justice Architecture, including functionality, security and safety, technology, accessibility, community impact, sustainability and economic feasibility (first cost and long-term cost of ownership), longevity (lifecycle performance and operation), as well as aesthetic achievements are essential elements for identifying the success of these projects.”

Sustainable design, including meeting a minimum of 60% reduction in energy use from regional baselines, and incorporating innovations in planning, design, and sustainability is also factored in.

Five entries were also published by AIA AAJ: NORR Limited’s Elgin County Courthouse in St. Thomas, Ontario; Lionakis’ Stanislaus County Juvenile Commitment Facility in Modesto, Calif.; DLR Group’s Superior Court of California, Calaveras County Courthouse in San Andreas, Calif.; RicciGreene Associates and Bushey Feight Morin Architects’ Catonsville District Courthouse in Catonsville, Md.; and DLR Group’s Everett Municipal Court in Everett, Wa.

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