New court building lights up city

For a city boasting one of the finest medieval cathedrals in Britain, the newly-opened Salisbury Law Courts had to be of the highest quality.

Designers Feilden+Mawson believe they have achieved just that with the completion of the eagerly-anticipated new combined courts complex which comprises the contemporary and top quality facilities for all users.

Sitting comfortably inside the historic city's conservation area, the building breaks the traditional perception of courts - forbidding and intimidating - to provide a bright and business like environment to convey a transparent concept of justice and equality before the law.

The three-storey building - located on the site of the former Old Manor Hospital car park in Wilton Road - is one of the New Law Courts for Her Majesty's Court Service as part of the new wave of combined courts boasting the latest technology and accessibility to justice.

The design and choice of materials draw from the local context and 'semi-urban' townscape with the use of buff grey bricks and Chilmark stone, and has achieved a civic building which is intended to rekindle regeneration on a main route into the city.

Throughout the building the innovative use of tried and tested design elements and technology ensure sustainability to obtain a BREEAM excellent rating. Natural ventilation and a high degree of daylight penetration is achieved within the administration block which is linked to the courts by a two-storey naturally ventilated atrium. A South facing light well adjacent to the public concourse on all floors utilises external solar shading to prevent heat gain while facilitating daylight penetration and captures views of the Salisbury Cathedral and River Nadder basin. The use of infrared presences detectors and daylight sensors contribute towards the excellent rating while a high degree of environmental control will result in an efficient energy consumption for the new building.

Text approved by HMCS