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Harris County Courthouses And Square


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9 hours ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

it seems like it was designed by someone who was never stuck with jury duty, or there would be twice as many elevators

The issue with capacity hasn't been for juries, it's more of a hassle for defendants and their attorneys who have had to wait for an hour or more to get through the screening process and onto an elevator to get to the right courtroom. Judges didn't help by revoking bail for being late, even though the defendants had no reason to know how bad the lines were.

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On 8/1/2020 at 10:26 AM, Ross said:

The issue with capacity hasn't been for juries, it's more of a hassle for defendants and their attorneys who have had to wait for an hour or more to get through the screening process and onto an elevator to get to the right courtroom. Judges didn't help by revoking bail for being late, even though the defendants had no reason to know how bad the lines were.

 

This seems like one of the worst buildings ever built in Houston. I doubt it is still standing after 2040.

 

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On 8/8/2020 at 2:47 PM, Houston19514 said:

Wow, do we know what the plan is for the Jury Assembly Plaza?  Renderings?


Found a render. Page designing this. They were the original architect. 
 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Reconstruction-begins-on-flooded-Harris-County-15074070.php

 

image.jpeg.1cf4acfbe4ba684e792388c87cda6a55.jpeg

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On 8/8/2020 at 2:58 PM, H-Town Man said:

 

This seems like one of the worst buildings ever built in Houston. I doubt it is still standing after 2040.

 

I really hope the Civil Courthouse is gone before then. IMO it's in the top 10 worst for worst in Houston. 

 

The Criminal Courthouse is in the same realm, but it doesn't leave as sour taste.

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1 minute ago, Montrose1100 said:

I really hope the Civil Courthouse is gone before then. IMO it's in the top 10 worst for worst in Houston. 

 

The Criminal Courthouse is in the same realm, but it doesn't leave as sour taste.

 

The Civil Courthouse would undoubtedly look better without the flying saucer / dome plopped on top at the insistence of one of the judges.  That said, it functions very well internally and came through Harvey pretty well - all as a result of lessons learned from the CJC, which has suffered operational problems since Day One.  Perhaps the dome can go back to Tralfamadore during a refresh.

 

CJC got clobbered during Allison, too (albeit without exploding plumbing on upper floors).  Fortunately the criminal courts had only moved in a month or two earlier, so they just moved right back into their previous quarters.

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5 minutes ago, mollusk said:

 

The Civil Courthouse would undoubtedly look better without the flying saucer / dome plopped on top at the insistence of one of the judges.  That said, it functions very well internally and came through Harvey pretty well - all as a result of lessons learned from the CJC, which has suffered operational problems since Day One.  Perhaps the dome can go back to Tralfamadore during a refresh.

 

CJC got clobbered during Allison, too (albeit without exploding plumbing on upper floors).  Fortunately the criminal courts had only moved in a month or two earlier, so they just moved right back into their previous quarters.

Functionally you are 100% correct.

 

Visually, the Civil Courthouse looks like it could be the Capital Building of Memorial City. Tack-a-rama. The Brown is the color of the giant leather Gallery Furniture couches the types of homes with rustic stars have inside of them (comfortable, yes, huge and ugly, also yes). The beige stucco arches perhaps inspired by the french country kitchen vent hood. The high contrast with the reflective glass is reminiscent of the 100% saturation & clarity images realtors take on HAR. The tiny useless columns... this thing is giant McMansion. 

 

Sorry Mollusk. Plenty of time to complain online during Covid.

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No worries, Mont - it is a McMansion, which is what you get when you've got a committee of people who've worked hard to live in McMansions driving the design decisions.  I was just picking out the design detail that grates my cheese even from a distance, and which could most easily go away (if you want to call something that gargantuan a "detail"). 

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