Craighead County Courthouse

As Craighead County has grown in population, so has the need for county facilities including the need for courtroom space and Quorum Court space. Brackett-Krennerich was commissioned to design an addition to the existing Craighead County Courthouse Annex which would house these facilities, in addition to all support spaces required for jury trials, and other county court cases.

This three story 36,000 square foot addition includes identical courtrooms on all three floors in addition to a judge’s chamber, jury deliberation, holding cells, witness rooms and support space. Courtrooms are large and spacious creating an atmosphere of structure and prominence. The judge’s bench and county seal form the focal point of the room with the bench highlighted in white quartz set in contrast to a deeper wood tone adorning the surrounding witness stand, clerk’s desk, and jury box. The wood trim and accents of wood paneling provide a formal accent to a transitional style interior with light toned walls and accent lighting.

The key component to the buildings layout and organization is the need to maintain separation between the public, judges/staff, and those under custody. This creates the need for front and back of house hallways and vertical circulation paths to limit the crossing of these groups. Access control and separated stairways and elevators allows for safety and security for the public, jurors, judges, staff, witnesses, and those accused. In addition, several of the hallway floors are sloped to not only meet new floors to existing finished floors, but to also provide for a raised judges bench, witness stand, and jury box. However, these slopes also provide for a fully accessible use of all spaces within the building; making this facility fully accessible without additional lifts or temporary ramps or other methods.

Additionally, the Quorum Court space serves as a FEMA Safe shelter open to the general public with accommodations for 600 members of the community. This cast-in-place concrete structure includes all the necessities for a tornado shelter including a stand-by generator, ventilation requirements and protective measures to reduce the ability of missile penetration into the building structure.