CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The new U.S. District Courthouse merges the formal with contemporary by integrating horizontal cut limestone and blast resistant glass, which makes up 40 percent of the building, and literally makes the eight stories transparent from the outside, as well as inside.

The five state-of-the-art courtrooms are unique because the windows allow natural light to illuminate the stone walls, which serve as a backdrop for the judge’s bench. There is a special proceedings courtroom, which is larger than the other four, but all are similarly designed with a wave-like ceiling for texture and limestone walls contrasting with cherry woodwork and furnishings – doors, jury box, judge’s bench, witness stand, and gallery area.

KCRG-TV9 took a tour with General Services Administration (GSA) and Ryan Companies of the 286,000 square feet courthouse Wednesday as the courtrooms were getting wired, carpet was being laid in some offices and a floor treatment, terrazzo – a mixture of aggregate and epoxy – was being spread on four floors in the public areas.

James Snedegar, GSA project manager, said terrazzo is used as flooring in most airports. The workers will grind the terrazzo and polish it by hand for a smooth, textured finish.

Brad Thomason, team leader with Ryan Companies, said the scaffolding, spanning the seven stories, will come down by the end of the month and the marble and stone staircase will soon be installed at the front of the building. The $160 million courthouse project is on time and will be completed in July, with court officials moving in the last week of October, he said.

The courthouse is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an internationally recognized environmental program, which certifies the building is energy efficient in every way, Snedegar said. There are different levels of certification that a developer can attain – certified, silver, gold, and platinum. “This courthouse is silver now but it’s close to gold,” Snedegar said. “There are only three courthouses in the country that are gold. Five are silver and four are basic or certified.”

The building’s architects also had to produce a structure not only beautiful in design, but also adhering to high safety standards.
Snedegar says he often gets questioned about what he calls “the glass curtain” referring to the north wall of the courthouse. The majority of the north side is made of glass giving a transparent view into the building. The project manager says, despite concerns from those curious about the courthouse, the glass is blast proof and ready for disaster. “There’s not one piece I can’t pay attention to,” Snedegar said. “People ask ‘How could that possibly perform well?’ and my answer is simple, it’s designed to perform well.”

Thomason adds after tragedies like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing architects were put to a higher standard of design. He said that’s also the case with this new courthouse. “It’s called progressive collapse,” Thomason said, “with Oklahoma City you lost one column and it dominoed. That can’t happen in this project.”

The two leaders add there are concrete barriers to keep cars from getting to close to the building and the structure is raised nine feet above flood level.



Chief Judge Linda Reade said the building will be an “attention grabber” from the moment one enters. Reade couldn’t join the tour because of a trial but wanted to share some thoughts about her new workplace. “There will be a winding marble staircase with a glass railing in the front for a spectacular ... very dramatic entrance,” Reade said. “It’s such a great space for the clerk’s office and probation. And all the courtrooms are fully handicapped accessible and ramps blend in with the design.”

Reade said she and the other judges participated in the design of the building. They spent a lot of time designing the sightlines in the courtrooms, so the jurors will have a perfect view in court.

The day of the tour, some of the 150 to 200 construction workers who are in the building every day started to wire the courtrooms with cameras for video conferencing and flat panel monitors in the jury box, which allow the jurors to view exhibits and evidence up close without any interference.

Reade said the best part about the new building is that it’s large enough to bring all the federal agencies together.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Iowa, U.S. Attorney’s, U.S. Marshal’s, Probation offices, GSA and the Federal Public Defender will be tenants. Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Tom Harkin and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Melloy, all instrumental in getting the project off the ground after the 2008 flood, will also have office space in the building.

Snedegar said there also will be room for additional tenants in the future and room to expand the courts area for the future.

Melloy, who was on the tour, said the courthouse will be a huge asset to the downtown area. “The transparency of the building was one of our goals, so anybody from the outside could see through the building to the other side (of the river view),” Melloy said. “It was a balance to have the transparency with security (required).”

Melloy said it’s unfortunate it took a flood to get a new courthouse built in Cedar Rapids but the majority of the new federal courthouses have been in border states because of immigration issues and the need for larger facilities. One exception was the last one built in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.