Cordoba Courthouse, Calle Isla Mallorca, Spain

Spain's rapid housing boom has created quite a few anonymous areas of drab concrete that the architects of the Cordoba courthouse are hoping to alleviate. The whitewashed city-within-a-city complex will be situated in Calle Isla Mallorca, and located at the edge of the city in a residential district shaded by nearby mountains.

The commission was awarded to architect / director Francine Houben of Mecanoo architects, Netherlands at the New Palace of Justice competition on March 2006 at a ceremony attended by the mayor of Cordoba, the city council, the consejeria de justicia and Spanish newspapers.

CORDOBA COURTHOUSE DESIGN

It will be constructed from mid-2009 to 2011 on an already empty plot by Grupo Ayesa from Seville, one of Spain's major engineering companies.

The client for the project is Consejería de Justicia y Administración Pública, Sevilla. The design phase has been completed and the project is at the tender phase. A team of about ten people are working with technical consultants including installations, structure and fire regulations.

The building will cover a space 48,000m², and will bring a new extension to the city. There are 2,000 different rooms, including public function rooms over the first two floors. All the functions related to justice are in one building as an aid to security. There will be 26 courtrooms, a forensic institute, public facilities, a ceremonial room for weddings, offices, a café, a car park and a prison on the lower floors.

The main materials are concrete, one of the most common materials for Spanish buildings, and steel. The architects are currently investigating the use of prefabricated panels which will carry some decorations and relief. Cordoba is one of the warmest cities in Spain so the architecture has to create a cool environment.

There are two possibilities with the panels; one is glass with a print, and the other is a perforated metal glaze to bring shadow to the façade. "We started working a lot in Spain with handmade things," says the leading architect of the Spanish project, Laura Alvarez. "The concrete panels are kind of special and extremely expensive. In Spain we always have more freedom in terms of shape," she adds.

The structure also features cantilevers made from concrete and steel. There will be a large square in front of the building to magnify the entrance.

ANDALUSIAN INSPIRATION

The layout continues the tradition of the way old Andalusian cities were designed, with terraced areas as a focal point and a main inspiration. Patios between the rooms and on the roof provide spaces for light and cooler air to circulate. Plant pots are dotted around the upper and lower patios and fountains are placed centrally.

The building is raised on a plinth and the entrance is via a large, sloping square, with the more communal function rooms such as courtrooms, wedding rooms and restaurants on the lower floors and the more inaccessible rooms such as secured offices on higher floors. The interiors are painted white, with high ceilings and dark floors.

In a reference to the old city of Cordoba, the façade is slightly perforated in the manner of traditional architecture and the fine filigree carvings help to diffuse light in the corridors and absorb heat. The perforated walls are continued throughout the interior and several facades are decorated with coloured ceramic panels.

Mecanoo is also working on developing an area of parkland near the site, in front of the town hall, which currently has two trees and a plot of grass. Building in Spain is quite a different experience to the Netherlands, says Alvares.

"It's really different – the processes are very different, and the timing is also very different. It depends on the client," she adds. "We have quite a public client – the administration of Andalusia – which is a private investment, so there's less hurry."

MECANOO ARCHITECTS

Mecanoo is an international team of 70 architects and designers. The company won the international competition in 2005 for La Llotja Theatre and Conference Centre in Lleida, which begins construction in October. A theatre in Catalonia is also under construction.

"It's going very well and we're hoping for a good result," says Alvarez. Mecanoo embarked on urban renewal in the 1980s with the phrase, 'May it also be beautiful', based on the sayings of writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and the aim of combining aesthetics and functionality.