Birinci kat planı / First floor plan
1- Yapı giriş köprüsü / Entrance footbridge
2- Giriş kontrol noktası / Entrance checkpoint
3- Giriş holü / Entrance hall
4- Mahkeme salonları / Courtrooms
5- Toplantı odası / Meeting room
6- Koridor / Judicial corridor
7- WC
8- Mevcut binaya açılan köprü / Bridge to the
administrative wing
Giriş kat planı / Ground floor plan
from the quarry are used as an aesthetic device. The use
of Kanfanar sandstone was continued on the stairs and
entrance ramp entering the interior of the building as
flooring. This extensive application by Koller is seemingly
intended to emphasize the weight and importance of the
court building giving it a level of character that was not
realized in the generic modernism prevalent in the existing
Socialist era building. In fact Koller replaced the common
ceramic tiles found in other public buildings of the civic
center of Pécs with this deliberate use of stone that also
has the added function of matching the façade of the older
building where ceramic tiles were replaced with a new
cladding of large slabs of beige stone (Méskö) in Koller’s
earlier restoration project.
Entrance to the whole court complex is now realized
through a “stone bridge” at the entrance of the Extension
building, giving it further symbolic and functional
importance in the newly created complex. Composed of
four angled blocks, the Extension consists of courtrooms
on the upper entrance floor and offices, garage and
technical facilities below. These blocks are conceived and
designed on 5 sides to include the view of the roof from
the 10-story older court tower building. This emphasis
on light and views is the other dominant characteristic of
Koller’s architecture indicating the building’s modernist
pedigree. On the terminal end of the building facing the
tower a glass façade is matched with a glass covered
bridge between the Extension and the tower building.
There is also the distinct lighting strategy provided by the
skylights integrated into the roof of the Extension that
importantly are visible from the upper floors of the tower.
It is here, in this roof, that Koller integrates the past
history of the site as stone tiles from the original terrace
were laid vertically in an open structure, resulting in
a lively geometry of stone, glass and concrete.
The interior of the courthouse contains many design
details emphasizing light a sense of solidity. Slat windows
visible on the façade and a skylight puncture the spacious
corridors leading to the courtrooms. Once in the courtrooms
there are no direct visual sight lines to the exterior instead
ingenious skylights flood the room with indirect sunlight
from above complemented by a cascading group of vertical
round lighting fixtures. Matched with the wood paneling
the interior design of the Courthouse Extension has a
modern yet established design identity in line with a
contemporary idea of a courthouse for the newly advancing
civic society of Hungary.
Giriş kat planı / Ground floor plan
1- Teknik hacim / Technical facilities 2- Garaj / Garage
3- Arşiv odaları / Archives 4- Depo / Storage
5- Koridor / Corridor 6- Mevcut binaya açılan koridor
Corridor to the administrative wing
TEMMUZ - AĞUSTOS 2013 / JULY - AUGUST 2013 • NATURA 79