Courthouses often convey a sense of solemnity and civic importance. Judges don traditional black robes, while attorneys and litigants wear formal business attire. Signs admonish visitors “Quiet: Court in Session” to preserve the sense of decorum. But this decorum can be quickly shattered by a...

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) has gained momentum in recent years and has been widely adopted by planners, architects, and security professionals for the design of buildings, sites, parks, and urban renewal projects. The CPTED model emphasizes designs that encourage positive...

During recent courthouse space programming efforts, the attorney/prisoner interview room has been a hot topic. Historically, the attorney/prisoner interview room, if one even exists, has been located in the basement within the central cellblock. While it is certainly appropriate to locate interview...

When we think of landscaping around a courthouse, or any building for that matter, we usually consider only the aesthetic value the landscaping provides. After all, greenery can really enhance the look of a building, and who wants a bare building rising from an expanse of dirt or concrete? However,...

CPTED (pronounced “sep-ted”) stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. It was developed in the 1970s from an earlier 1960s' concept for urban planning and renewal known as "defensible space." Since then, it has become more widely adopted by planners, architects, and security...