Case Study | Justice: Okaloosa County Courthouse

An evaluation of the existing 1950’s Okaloosa County Courthouse determined that the building’s 30,982 sf actually needed 44,338 sf to achieve 2016 maximum operational efficiency. Architectural space and staff programming assessed and defined 20-year needs for the future courthouse, which included a total of 80,826 s.f. and a projected staff increase from 74.5 to 102. The initial project scope for addition and renovation ultimately changed to new construction due to limitations of the existing building and the discovery of environmental contaminants too cost-prohibitive to mitigate.

The final design provided a three-story building with two-story wings to offer greater flexibility in courtroom design and increased collaboration by having all judges occupy suites on the same floor. This innovative design groups four courtrooms around a central holding area, with judicial suites and hearing rooms on separate floors, which is atypical of traditional court setups having judicial suites associated with specific courtrooms. The new courthouse exterior design was developed from historic references that personify the judicial philosophies of Okaloosa County. Containing 79,000 s.f., the new building was completed in 2018 for a construction cost of $25,000,000.