Supreme Court of New Zealand in New Zealand

November 22, 2010 Category: Goverment, Public Buildings

Located in New Zealand, Supreme Court of New Zealand was designed by Warren & Mahony have produced an elegant egg-shaped court room, whose curvilinear form somehow expresses that fairness and justice are what matters here, surrounded by an elegant and finely detailed glass-clad building, with an elegant bronze privacy screen at first floor level. This mix of transparency and privacy also provides a distinctive and locally-rooted exterior, the materials for the bronze screen were produced by recycling taps and bearings from the locality.

To ensure this much smaller building makes an impact, but sits well with its neighbours required sensitivity and skill, and of course a good deal of forethought. The plan to locate the new court in a building attached to – and on an axis with – the old showed both the forethought and the sensitivity. The skill came in providing the slightly contrary client desire of transparency and privacy required for the judge’s rooms.

Supreme Court of New Zealand design by Warren & Mahony