Lowell Justice Center

Project highlights: Lowell Justice Center

Architecture firm: Finegold Alexander Architects

Owner: Commonwealth of Massachusetts | DCAMM - Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance

Location: Lowell, Mass.

Category: General

Project site: Brownfield

Building program type(s): Courthouse 

A contemporary vision deeply rooted in the rich history of Lowell, Massachusetts, this justice center arose from a carefully considered and comprehensive feasibility study. Ten years passed before this project moved from study to completion, but this cutting-edge and energy-efficient building now houses Middlesex County’s courts and supporting program spaces. Anchoring a primary entrance to downtown Lowell, the center is a symbol of justice and a considerable reinvestment in the city.

The center occupies a 3.2-acre site along the northern edge of the Hamilton Canal Innovation District within Lowell National Historic Park, which highlights the region’s textile manufacturing legacy. Across seven stories and 264,500 square feet, the building contains 17 courtrooms that serve five different court departments. It's universally accessible with all points accessible via the same path and public transportation is provided by commuter rail and bus lines and has bike racks on-site.

Its L-shaped scheme is organized around the rational tacking of departments with a jury pool room, arraignment courtroom, and district courts located on the lower floors. Functions that require more privacy—juvenile, housing, superior, probate, and family courts—are housed on the upper levels. Clerk and probate transaction areas are grouped in easily identified midpoints between pairs of courtrooms, while the judicial chambers sit within a collegial suite on intermediate floors so that judges are within one level of their courtroom. Separate circulation paths for public, private, and detention functions solidify internal security.

A significant challenge facing the design team was providing abundant natural light and views while simultaneously delivering a highly efficient building. Its site orientation, massing, space planning, and carefully selected materials and systems all contributed to its LEED Platinum certification, the first state courthouse in the country to achieve that important status. Most of its public spaces and courtrooms feature direct natural light, while borrowed light pours through clerestory windows to enhance the interior courtrooms. 

The center responds to its context in numerous ways. Outside, its volume is clad in locally sourced granite and references surrounding mill buildings with a series of punched windows that draw in natural light. A two-story curtainwall glass art installation designed by artist Martin Donlin greets visitors at the lobby. It includes symbols of justice and imagery referencing Lowell’s “mill girls,” young workers who traveled to the city for work during the Industrial Revolution. Inside, the lobbies highlight the city’s textile industry in a horizontal tile pattern that evokes woven fabric, and wayfinding is offered in the city’s four most common languages.