
General Services Administration (GSA) | United States Courthouse | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Courthouse Embodies Design Excellence
Currently under construction with Brasfield & Gorrie, this is the latest federal courthouse to be designed to the standards set forth in the GSA’s Design Excellence program. Located along the Tarpon River, just south of downtown, the 10-story building is filled with natural light and will have distant views to both the Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean.
It is designed to accommodate all court functions, including 12 courtrooms and 17 chambers, to house U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court, and U.S. Bankruptcy Court judges. The courthouse will also house the U.S. District Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy Clerk, and U.S. Marshals Service. Each courtroom floor will include two courtrooms planned around a central core that holds elevators, stairs, restrooms, and conference rooms for each courtroom. Judges chambers include private offices, restrooms, conference rooms, and office spaces for clerks and staff. Daylighting from the corridors on each floor penetrate into the courtrooms through clerestory windows.
Visitors are welcomed into the secured first floor formal lobby with access to elevators and the probate wing. The first floor also holds the jury assembly area with a large outdoor courtyard for jurors awaiting calls with vending, dining, coffee, separate restrooms, and staff who welcome and host the jurors. The U.S. Marshals Service offices are located on the second floor along with the grand jury hearing room. Judge parking is provided in the building, and an adjacent parking structure provides parking to staff and the public.