Courts donated timber to be re-purposed into public seating
The donated timber from other states and territories that furnishes the ACT Supreme Court will be retained and used to make public seating at the new courts precinct, a government spokeswoman has said.
The latest schedule from the new courts precinct builder Laing O'Rourke says construction of the new Supreme Court building was expected to be completed in September this year.
Refurbishment work at the existing Supreme Court building will start once the new build is complete.
The main structure of the old Supreme Court building will be maintained, as will its oval atrium space, a Justice and Community Safety directorate spokeswoman said this week.
The shell and position of courtrooms one and two will be kept but they will be renovated to match the design of the new building, while courtrooms three to six will be re-purposed to allow space for other agencies.
The territory said it engaged heritage consultants and key features of the building including certain materials, internal atrium geometry and the internal timbers had to be re-used, re-interpreted or preserved.
"As part of their winning bid Laing O’Rourke have undertaken to re-use the timber in log seating, provide an interpretation display to be designed in a free standing display cabinet as well as photographic elements to the side walls of the former Vernon Circle entrance to the Supreme Court building," the spokeswoman said.
The panelling and judge's bench in each courtroom were made with timber donated by the states and territories.
NSW donated red cedar, Victoria's donation was mountain ash, while Western Australia's donated wood was Jarrah, Queensland's silky oak, South Australia's red gum and Tasmania's blackwood.
Under plans for the new building, the donated timber from each court room will be pulled down and turned into public seating to be placed in the new precinct.
A conservation management plan in relation the ACT Supreme Court building was prepared by Philip Leeson Architects and approved by the ACT Heritage Council in January 2013.
The council provided advice on the project early on, council chair David Flannery said, which concluded that the scheme by Juris consortium was consistent with the policies set out in the plan.
Construction on the new building began in the first half of 2016. The infrastructure investment is more than $150 million.
The courts project was the ACT's first public-private partnership, with the Juris consortium, made up of Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction, Macquarie Capital Group Limited, Programmed Facility Management and Lyons Architects, which is expected to maintain the building over the next 25 years.
The ACT will pay the building off over that time, with the total project net cost put at $250.4 million in 2016 dollars.
The new Supreme Court will occupy the four-storey building under construction on Vernon Circle, and also a reconfigured section of the existing Supreme Court building.
It will include eight courtrooms - including five jury courtrooms - and has been designed to accommodate up to 10 courtrooms - including eight jury courtrooms - in future.
The refurbished Magistrates Court will have 11 courtrooms, all with audio-visual and remote witness capabilities. It will also have one new hearing room.