Facing page : Comprehensive wayfinding was a major factor in the design – intended to make a potentially worrying visit to the Precinct as stress-free as possible .
Below : Blades that bookend the courts are in limestone , with fritted glass windows also providing interest to the exterior .
Following pages : The linear emergency services building , straight ahead , all-but closes the central courtyard defined on the other three sides by the U-shaped Courts Building . environment , the windows ’ special double-layered fritted glass also decreases solar gain on these rooms by 40 %.
While the co-location of government entities made the Courts Building ’ s circulation somewhat tricky , in all other ways it presented an economy of money , time , and effort . For example , defendants in police holding cells can be brought straight to court via secure corridors and stairs – without the need to be driven across the city with the attendant security , vehicle and personnel costs involved .
This economy of government function is even more evident in the emergency services building where the various emergency services each have their own distinct but connected workspace . In case of an emergency response , they all coordinate or individually take precedence of control in a large central joint operations room – depending on the nature of the emergency . Soundproofed windows on each floor look into the central space . Often an emergency will involve more than one service , and the speedy coordination of these disciplines may well help save lives through a connected and optimised response .
If there is ever seismic activity in the future , it ’ s reassuring for all response staff – in fact everyone throughout the complex – that the Precinct employs highly advanced seismic protection systems .
“ The Courts Building and emergency services building have base isolation engineering and are built to an Importance Level 4 ( IL4 ) standard – this ensures the buildings remain operational following a one-in-one thousand year seismic event ,” the architect says .
Essentially , the two buildings are set on giant lead-rubber isolator bearings . When the ground moves , the bearings compensate for the activity and the buildings remain static .
The Precinct carpark building is also IL4 but has a different seismic safeguard , in the form of a rigid cross-braced steel frame structure .
“ Across the Precinct , the material palette was carefully considered to convey permanence and ‘ civic weight ’ in a contemporary way that is attuned to the site and the city ,” says Warring .
The materials of choice – bronze , aluminium , stone , glass and timber – have all been used in a way that reflects the basic layering of the buildings .
“ Bluestone forms the external ground plane from the street edge , folding up around the building
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