Leadville Courthouse & Market

Instructor: Kevin Hirth

Class: Studio 5

Location: Denver CO

Date: December 2022

This project radically challenges the design of a courthouse by eliminating all stairs and permanent courtroom furniture and surrounding it with a marketplace. While the courtroom space is flexible it is attached to more traditional courthouse amenities such as clerks offices and a jury room. Due to this design, the courthouse is interwoven into the community making it a part of the daily activities of town similar to Shaker Meeting Halls. This design creates a space where past and present meet, a space where historic norms and ideas are acknowledged yet challenged, and a new way of existing can be forged.