170,000 sf
10 court rooms
3 jury court rooms
Childcare facility
Holding facility
LEED certified

An Ingenious Repurposing of a Former Warehouse

Cook County Circuit Court had reached a crisis point delivering a safe building environment for domestic violence cases.  Victims, perpetrators and judges were all sharing the same circulation paths within the existing facility.  Cook County adopted a long range plan to build a new courthouse. Rotholz led the team in searching for a new courthouse location and then led the project development.  A former 1900’s Sears warehouse was selected. Through an ingenious design solution, natural light was captured and reflected along the northern face of the building.  A 4-story atrium structure was added expanding the overall building footprint and created an architecturally significant and safe public entrance.  By employing a clearstory design feature at the atrium roof, sunlight is captured from the south and reflected on the north side of the building.  Separate circulation paths were created for victims, perpetrators and judges. This was the first LEED certified project to be constructed by Cook County.

Rotholz led the Development Management Team for Cook County Capital Planning
Architects: Booth Hansen Associates, Campbell Tiu Campbell, and Folgers Architects
Contractor: George Sollitt / Oakley Joint Venture