Architecture of Deconstruction

(Long Island Federal Courthouse, Richard Meier & Partners, Architects LLP)

Representations of lawyers, judges and courthouses abound in pop culture, and we are seeing more and more art projects that deal–directly or unfortunately–with law. Yet critical analysis of the physical structures of courthouses are not as frequently seen.

Isabel Abislaiman has recently reviewed a book which tackles the architecture of justice head on. Abislaiman notes that Steven Flander’s Celebrating The Courthouse A Guide for Architects, Their Clients, and the Public, brings together an anthology of writings by architects, lawyers, and judges (including a forward by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer), all of whom analyze the differing and diverse structural embodiments of law as well as the importance of transparency and context.

“Some authors are advocates for restoration and renovation of historic courthouses, which typically dominate the landscape of town squares. Others relish the physical and metaphorical dimensions of new building materials and design requirements such as glass walls to represent judicial transparency and openness and the removal of barriers to the physically disabled as literal symbols of accessibility….The importance of this book lies [in] how architecture can serve as our mirror to help us look at the way we practice law.”