Lynn District Courthouse
Lynn, MA

The Lynn District Courthouse, built in 1972, has long been a dysfunctional facility that no longer meets the functional needs of a modern court.  Judges, public and detainees are forced to circulate in the building’s only elevator, a dangerous and unacceptable condition in a modern courthouse.  The building does not comply with current codes for safety, energy and accessibility.  The 41,000 sf space is inadequate for an active court such as Lynn.

Pre-pandemic, LWA was tasked with programming and designing a cost-effective solution that reused the existing building and incorporated a new addition.  After the spike in construction costs during COVID, the team was challenged to reduce the program while keeping the building as functional as the original design.

Working closely with cost estimators, DCAMM, and the Trial Court of the Commonwealth, we maximized reuse of the original building by maintaining original exterior materials and structure while gutting the interior.  A 22,000 sf new addition houses the entry, one of the four new courtrooms, a hearing room, support spaces and the judges’ chambers on a collegial top floor.

The new addition is appropriate for a civic building in Lynn, a city of brick, where the public buildings are light stone or masonry.  The new entry in the addition is open and welcoming and the addition is clad in a light brick, conveying its civic purpose.

With a new and clear circulation, the judges, detainees and public circulate separately, and finally come together in the courtrooms.  The judges park and enter from the secure lot in the rear of the courthouse.  The public enters from Essex Street through a purposely designed glassy and welcoming façade, and the detainees enter the sallyport in the secure van and are led to their cells in the basement awaiting trial.

The building is fully accessible and adaptable for modifications of use over time.  A generous entry for security leads to the public lobby – the interstitial space between the original building and the addition.  From here, there is access to the Clerk of Courts and Probation Department, a hearing room and public amenities.  The second floor houses the four courtrooms and on the third floor a collegial judges’ suite accommodates five chambers.  The basement houses the cell block and sallyport as well as support spaces.

The building will be fully upgraded to meet the new Massachusetts Stretch energy code with all new, high performing MEP systems and significant improvements to the existing exterior envelope with new insulation and upgraded glazing. Solar panels will be installed on the roof, and the building will be enrolled in a demand response system with the electrical grid, lowering its electricity use during peak energy times.  The renovated and expanded building should perform much better and be more comfortable than before.  The project anticipates reducing the EUI (energy use intensity) of the building to 30% of what it was before the upgrades.   Reusing the existing structure and exterior façade reduce landfill waste and reduce the carbon footprint of the construction.