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Present: Karen Breslawski, Matthew Bronski, Taya Dixon, Jack Glassman, David M. Hart, John Hecker, David Kelman, Kathryn Kurleuski, Meghan Hanrahan, Michael Joyce, Richard L'Heureux, Ryan Maciej, Katie McLaughlin, Krista McFadden, Henry Moss, Ivan Myjer, Maia Brindley Nilsson, Trish Palmiere, George Perkins, Elizabeth Randall, Susan Schur, Malcolm Smiley, Laurie Soave. Sara Wermiel, and Tim Withers 1. Historic Courthouses and Today's Courts - Richard L'Heureux, Mass. CCP Richard L'Heureux, of the Commonwealth's Court Capital Projects (CCP) Planning, Programming & Design office, discussed the Trial Court's current facilities requirements and how historic court buildings could be adapted to meet these needs. The Trial Courts have their own facilities division, which Richard represents. It is similar to the state's other facilities arm: the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM). Both offices deal with building design, construction, and maintenance (and DCAM handles leasing). But DCAM controls the funds. Courthouses from the 19th and early 20th centuries are important civic monuments but don't meet modern needs - notably, for security and accessibility. The principal design guidelines for contemporary courthouses, developed by DCAM and CCP, are 1. Separate circulation and restrooms for three streams: the public, court staff, and detainees 2. Single point of entry 3. Busiest functions on the lower floors; courtroom and private areas on the upper floors Another, new directive calls for courtrooms to have natural light. Apart from design issues, most Massachusetts courthouses were rundown when the state began to take them over in the 1990s. Up to that time, counties had responsibility for courthouses, and they neglected maintenance. The state inherited a stock of dated and derelict buildings. Nevertheless, with enough money and creative design, many old buildings can be renovated so that they meet nearly all CCP's requirements. Richard presented a couple examples where this has been achieved. The first example was Lawrence Superior Court, built 1859, 1902. In 1981, a fire gutted the 1859 section, and the building languished for many years. A renovation in the early 1990s (Perry Dean Rogers|Partners Architects) included adding a floor in the burned section that, along with rearranging uses, provided enough room to meet the new requirements. Circulation was separated among the three streams, what Richard called a "layered bar scheme." The detainee space connected directly with criminal courtrooms. Civil courtrooms needed only public and staff access, so could be located away from the detainee circulation. The project included wood finishes to the rooms that recalled the millwork of the original building, giving the space a warm and comfortable feel. The next example was the West Roxbury District Court, built in the 1903s and renovated around 1994-5 (Elkus/Manfredi Architects). This project involved additions to the rear and side of the building. The large rear addition was set off from the original building by a glass link, which contained corridors and stairs. The envelopes for the additions were yellow brick, like the original building, but with glass at the top. The side addition contained a new courtroom; clerestory windows at the top of the room allowed its occupants to feel connected with world outside. In response to a question about what determines the size of a courtroom, Richard said that a National Center for State Courts publishes design guidelines, which his office follows. The courtroom itself is largely determined by the size of the jury and thus the jury box, since the visitors' section must be outside the area with the jury box. Also, CCP has been trying to make courtrooms more wheelchair accessible by installing ramps. In general, 15,000 square feet of ancillary space is needed for every courtroom. State courts are not as strict about exterior security as are the Federal courts. To accommodate the media, and avoid a jumble of cables at high-profile proceedings, CCP puts large outlets outside. And because some court visitors consider every bush or nook a suitable hiding place for guns, knives, and drugs, CCP suppresses foundation plantings. 2. New products and services: Henry Moss asked committee members to report their experiences with new products and services, good and bad. 3. Boston Preservation Alliance Campus Heritage Planning Symposium: Henry announced this event, which will be held Oct. 18, 2007 at the BAC, with some distinguished speakers including Paul Byard, who heads Columbia University's Historic Preservation Program. 4. HRC tour: Mark your calendars for the Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth tour: Saturday, Sept. 22. This tour, organized exclusively for the HRC, will enable participants to learn in the field about dating 17th - 19th century buildings through traditional construction methods. Kim Alexander, Jim Garvin, Richard Candee, Ric Detwiller, and David Hart will be our guides. And while you're in Portsmouth, check out the many exhibitions in town: *Portsmouth Athenaeum: "Adolphus W. Greely: Abandoned in the Arctic" exhibit runs to Oct. 13. Open T, TH, Sat. 1-4 pm; look for a book on John Samuel Blunt's Portsmouth area sketches and paintings, The Sketchbooks of John Samuel Blunt.; www.portsmouthathenaeum.org *Portsmouth Historical Society (at John Paul Jones House), 43 Middle Street. "Coming of Age on the Piscataqua: John Samuel Blunt's Views 'From Nature,'" to October 31st, open daily 11 am to 5 pm; 603.436.8420; see www.PortsmouthHistory.org *Wentworth-Gardner House, Wallace Nutting interpretation and exhibit, to October 15. Open Tues. through Sun. 12:00 noon to 4: Admission is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for children; see at www.wentworthgardnerandlear.org A primer on timber construction will be presented by Ric Detwiller at the September 13th HRC meeting. David Kelman noted that dendrochronology is leading to re-dating buildings in Deerfield that had been dated according to style.
8: 00 a.m., Thursday, 13 September 2007 The Architects' Building, 52 Broad Street, Boston, Fifth Floor Featuring Ric Detwiller, David Hart and friends "Understanding and Dating Construction of 17th-19th c. Wood Dwellings in New England"
Henry Moss, Matthew Bronski, and Sara Wermiel co-leaders and scribes
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