Haifa Courthouse, New Israel Architecture Images, Architect, Design Photos
Haifa Court House Building
Contemporary Israeli Legal Building design by Chyutin Architects
14 Feb 2011
Haifa Court House Building
Location: Haifa, Israel
Architects: Chyutin Architects
The Urban Context
Haifa is the main northern city of Israel, situated on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, on the slopes of Mount Carmel. The building site is located at Haifa’s downtown area, between two roads that define its boundary. The lower avenue serves as a main city thoroughfare, linking the city of Haifa to the northern part of Israel.
The topographical situation is unique as the topographical soaring of Mount Carmel begins at the site’s longitude parallel. As a result, the building’s positioning is “double faced,” i.e., one side facing the mountain and the other facing the sea. The structure has two public entrances.
The main entrance leads from the urban square in the west directly to the upper entrance level. The secondary entrance from the urban square on the eastern side of the structure leads to the lower entrance level. The building’s entrance square from the west is a meeting point of main urban pedestrian routes.
Description of the Structure
The main concept pertaining to the building’s functional plan is expressed in the systematic approach, which regards the structure as a “law factory.” The functional effectiveness surpasses considerations related to prestige or status. The building is composed of two blocs, with unique functional and spatial characteristics.
The southwestern judicial wing, which is positioned along the length of the upper street, contains the courtrooms and judges’ chambers. The northeastern administration wing, which is positioned along the lower main avenue, features the administration of the various courthouses.
The two wings demarcate a monumental entrance hall, which constitutes the bridging and connecting link between them. From the entrance hall one enters the general service activity area including the law library, a restaurant and the judges’ club. A sweeping and wide ceremonial stairway, designed in the entrance hall, leads to the main levels, and overpasses link the judicial and administrative wings on the various levels.
The Traffic inside the Building
The interior of the structure is designed as a covered urban system. The courthouse’s entrance space is the continuation of the external pedestrian street, which is defined by the office buildings and stores along its length. The space is designed as a covered street defined on its sides by the administrative and judicial wings.
The public activities (the library and restaurant) face the main space, like the stores on the main road. The secondary roads and lanes lead perpendicularly from the main space to the judicial clusters and the administrative service areas. The traffic of the various groups in the building is based on the principle of separating the routes of the different groups of users: Judges, staff, detainees and visitors.
Natural Daylight
The penetration of daylight into all of the courtrooms and the adjacent judges’ chambers is a guiding principle in the choice of the architectural solution. This principle dictated the bloc-related split of the judicial wing into four “judicial clusters,” each of which contains six courtrooms. The main entrance hall is illuminated through an upper skylight.
Haifa Court House – Building Information
Location: Haifa, Israel
Building designation: District, Magistrate’s, Foreclosure, traffic, Juvenile & labor courts
Number of courtrooms: 73
Number of judges’ chambers: 100
Construction building area: 90,000 sq.m., of which 40,000 sq.m. Parking facilities
Site area: 10,000 sqm
Building Budget: 115,000,000 $
Haifa Court House images / information from Chyutin Architects
Location: Haifa, Israel
Israel Architecture
Contemporary Architecture in Israel
Israeli Architecture Designs – chronological list
Another Haifa building designed by Chyutin Architects:
Haifa University Student Center Building, northern Israel
Haifa University Student Center
Tel Aviv Architecture Walking Tours
Another Israel Courthouse design by Chyutin Architects on e-architect:
Jerusalem District Courthouse
Jerusalem District Courthouse
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image Courtesy architecture office
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Comments / photos for the Haifa Courthouse Israel page welcome
Website: Israel Travel
