A new courthouse to meet the county’s growing needs
In addition to responding to the current pressing need, the new building has been designed to serve the county’s needs for the next 30 to 50 years, as the population in this part of the United States continues to increase.
Given this rapid growth, Wake County, which handled 169,000 court filings in 2000, expects this number to rise to 391,000 in 2030. The number of pre-trial incarcerations will also continue to increase as the county’s prisons are already overcrowded by 50%.
With its 20 courtrooms, including a County Commissioners room, the new justice center will help speed up the judicial process. Doors bearing the Beaubois seal will open into rooms exquisitely decorated with wall panels. The furnishings will have figured quarter-cut cherry veneers insets artistically blended and framed in hard wood, as only Beaubois can do. The team will produce all the furniture for the judges, bailiffs and lawyers in this way, as well as the witness boxes and even the acoustic panels.
Beaubois will also leave evidence of its presence in the vast atrium where it will cover the bridgework under all the floors and the window sills. The reception area furniture and security stations will also be fabricated by Beaubois and clad in its new line of acrylic solid surface, produced in the firm’s own factory. The firm has also been entrusted with making the laminated plastic furniture required by the administrative sector.
Modern and equipped with the latest technology, the building, valued at $187.7 million, will contain significant upgrades in security. Thanks to secure corridors and elevators which will only be used to move inmates, for example, that population will be kept separate from the public, court officials and staff at all times.
The designers and administrators also paid careful attention to the environmental aspects to ensure that the building will meet LEED certification standards for green buildings. In addition, the developers are using the Building Information Modeling (BIM) system, to which Beaubois will contribute its integrated designs. A project for tomorrow, perfect for a company that is always ready to step further into the future.
