The Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse is a courthouse at 401 West Washington Street in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Pursuant to , enacted by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, it is named after Sandra Day O'Connor, who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from September 21, 1981, to January 31, 2006.

Description

The building is home to the

United States District Court for the District of Arizona The United States District Court for the District of Arizona (in case citations, D. Ariz.) is the U.S. district court that covers the state of Arizona. It is under the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The District was est ...

, and also hosts Circuit Judges William C. Canby Jr.; Michael Daly Hawkins; Mary H. Murguia; Mary M. Schroeder; Andrew D. Hurwitz; and Barry G. Silverman of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. Built at a cost of $123 million and dedicated in October 2000, the building was championed by Senior United States District Judge Robert C. Broomfield. It was designed by architect Richard Meier,Santos, Fernanda (August 4, 2012).
"Where Indoors Can Become Too Much Like Outdoors"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (via the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

''). Retrieved August 6, 2012. with local executive architects of Langdon Wilson Architecture in Phoenix. The building is in Meier's signature monochrome style. Standing six stories tall, it encompasses more than . The building's public

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

features a six-story glass curtain wall on the north face, and contains a drum-shaped special-proceedings courtroom with a glass-lens ceiling, the work of James Carpenter, an American

light art Light art or The Art of Light is generally referring to a visual art form in which (physical) light is the main, if not sole medium of creation. Uses of the term differ drastically in incongruence; definitions, if existing, vary in several asp ...

ist and designer. There is no public parking.

Climate-control problems

Although part of the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

's initiative to bring design excellence to public buildings, the building has been plagued with climate-control problems with its evaporative-cooling system. Temperatures in the atrium have been known to reach in the summer, and the ceiling was open to

dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...

s, but now motorized louvers prevent infiltration during storms.

References

* Meier, R. & Frampton, K. & Rykwert, J. & Holl, S. (2004). ''Richard Meier Architect''. New York City: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. Page 174. . {{Authority control 2000 establishments in Arizona Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona Courthouses in Arizona Federal courthouses in the United States Government buildings completed in 2000 Richard Meier buildings

Description

Climate-control problems

See also

References