Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building

Edward Larrabee Barnes and John M.Y. Lee & Partners designed a modern office building which combined classically inspired details with a modern functional expression. The highlight of the design is the large glass atrium which serves as the main entrance and acts as an effective counterpoint to the massive granite structure.

Our design concept was to consider the atrium as a glowing lantern connecting the crisply designed lobbies. Although we were not given specific constraints regarding energy usage, we selected fluorescent for the lobby, because of its efficiency and its appropriateness to the design solution. Control of the lighting is through a central building computer.