Story

Mekus Tanager designed several bankruptcy courts in Ohio, which is part of the GSA’s Region 5.

The facility in Dayton, Ohio was an abandoned building which had originally been a post office.  The old post office building was purchased by an architectural firm who rehabbed it for their offices and eventually sold it back to the federal government.  We were able to utilize some of the existing architectural elements which remained from the building’s original form as a post office.  For example, processing windows were converted to in-take counters.  The large amount of two-story space, which was used by the architect’s offices as loft office, was ideal for conversion into courtrooms, which require enough vertical space to accommodate the judge’s bench and witness stands.

The court in Columbus, Ohio was a complete renovation and remodel of a 5-story former department store.  Like the project in Dayton, there had been a second owner before the government acquired the space, who had used it for office space.  The ceiling and many columns had been covered, and were uncovered and restored by us in an effort to transform this space into a dignified federal building.  The first floor was converted into an in-take area, and the mezzanine level was reused for offices.  The three courtrooms and chambers were designed for the top floor so that the roof could be raised to create the required vertical space.

The Cincinnati, Ohio court was designed inside an office building.  Height was an issue because the ceilings could only be minimally raised, and there was no two-story space.  We made use of special lighting and the building structure to place the bench in the best possible situation.  The elevator, which previously ran down to a loading dock had to be redesigned as a secure elevator for the judges.