Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse

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The Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse is a United States courthouse at 401 West Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona. It is named after the former Supreme Court justice.

Dedicated in October 2003, the courthouse was championed by Senior United States District Judge Robert Broomfield, and designed by architect Richard Meier, with local executive architects of Langdon Wilson Architecture in Phoenix. The courthouse is in Meier's signature monochrome style. Standing twelve stories with no public parking it encompasses more than 550,000 square feet (51,000 m²), the public atrium features a dramatic 12 story glass curtain-wall on the north face, and contains a drum-shaped special proceedings courtroom with a glass-lens ceiling, the work of New York artist James Carpenter.

Although part of the General Services Administration's initiative to bring design excellence to public buildings, the Phoenix courthouse has been plagued with climate-control problems with its evaporative cooling system. Atrium temperatures have been known to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, and the ceiling is open to dust storms.

[edit] References

• Meier, R. & Frampton, K. & Rykwert, J. & Holl, S. (2004). Page 174. Richard Meier Architect. New York: Rozzoli International Publications, Inc.

[edit] External links

• An appreciation of the O'Connor with photographs