Location: Bronx, NY 
Client: Office of Courts Administration/ NYCDDC/DASNY 
Architect: Rafael Vinoly Architects, P.C.
Photo Credit: Rafael Vinoly Architects, P.C. 

The new Bronx County Hall of Justice, an impressive and highly visible courthouse, is located near Grand Concourse Boulevard and is part of a greater courts complex. This 778,000 SF, $275 million building consists of 47 courtrooms, 7 grand jury rooms, offices, plus space for the Dept. of Corrections, the New York Police Department, the Department of Probations, the Bronx District Attorney, contract agencies and parking for 240 cars. 

The site of the Bronx County Hall of Justice takes up 2.5 blocks on 161st Street. Once completed, the entire excavation, 115,000 cubic yards of soil will have been removed. Put another way, 4,000 tractor-trailer trips to haul the soil - which would create a convoy 27 miles long of trucks positioned end-to-end. 8,000 tons of structural steel was required to create the framework of the building, nine stories above ground and two stories below ground. 

Inside, building functions are layered in secure zones of public access for visitors and clients and secure private access for staff. Individual courtrooms comprise most of the floor plan: stairs, detainee areas, and mechanical system distribution are found in the building core. With slab-to-slab of eighteen feet, the courtrooms possess a commanding yet appropriate sense of scale, seat 60 spectators and 16 jurors and are equipped with the latest audiovisual and computer technology. In grand jury rooms, individual flat screens allow the jurors to view evidence from their chairs. Wood architect-designed benches, cabinetry, wainscoting, and paneling recall historic courtrooms of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

Energy conservation is realized with extensive use of day-lighting, high performance, low insulating glass, energy efficient supplemental lighting, and heating and air conditioning systems that incorporate displacement ventilation, making the Bronx County Hall of Justice a courthouse that serves its community as well as the environment. 

Completion Date: 2007 

YAS, P.C. Involvement: 100% of design phase and construction administration.