On Wednesday, August 9th, SOM Design Director José Luis Palacios participated in the 2017 Building Enclosure Workshop of the General Services Administration (GSA) in Chicago. To an audience of GSA architects, engineers, and managers, Palacios presented on the design-build process used at the New United States Courthouse in Los Angeles.
In a case study titled “Integrated Curtainwall Design: Design-Build at the New L.A. Courthouse,” Palacios provided an overview of the collaborative, integrated design-build approach to the project, from concept through construction. Palacios, who is based in our Los Angeles office, also shared insight on the project’s unique challenges. Topics covered in his presentation included the design-assist method, daylighting, unitization, and blast-threat design.
The Los Angeles courthouse was designed by SOM and built by Clark Construction Group. Located on a prominent block in the city’s Civic Center neighborhood, the 10-story, 633,000-square-foot building holds 24 courtrooms and 32 judicial chambers. It was designed to meet the GSA’s 2020 energy objective, and was awarded LEED® Platinum certification in May 2017.