7 April 2025

The most interesting bit of the #federalcourt building opposite flagstaff gardens are these little balconies that stick out, which I was told open off the judges chambers, to allow them to get out of their rooms to think in the fresh air. I also recall that it’s L shaped because they couldn’t building over the lower concourse of Flagstaff Station, but it might have been just the intention to have a grandish forecourt entry.

Designed project architect Paul Katsieris of @hassell_studio, it was completed 1999, and was the first big new court building for some time, so there was much discussion on what a court should look like. It ends up looking like a superior and varied office building, partly because the brief required many little rooms, but inside apparently there’s a long tall space appropriate for a public building – I could only find one blurry pic from 99, I didn’t try to go in. It’s all a bit grey on the outside, but enlivened by some terra cotta coloured bits, and the brightly coloured entry door, which pivots. I like it, though the L shape is the dominant impression, so it doesn’t seem to have a ‘front’.

Most photos Dec 2023

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