Order in the court
Jefferson Parish judges to get more functional building

By Sam Barnes

Judges for Gretna's Second Parish Court will no longer have to use public restrooms and maneuver through public waiting areas once a new $7 million court building is completed in October.

The court currently shares facilities with other government agencies in the Jefferson Parish Government complex, which puts the judges in some awkward situations.

Mike Carbo, site superintendent with general contractor Woodrow Wilson Construction Co. Inc. of Baton Rouge, said the new, 67,155-sq.-ft., three-floor court building will include three similarly-sized courtrooms with private access from the judges' chambers.

The building, situated across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, will also have enhanced security measures.

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"We're only 'building out' two of the floors, with the third floor remaining a shell until it's needed," Carbo said. The building is made of heavy-gauge steel and enhanced electrical and mechanical systems to accommodate future additional floors.

Carubba Engineering Inc. of Metairie and Rozas-Ward AIA Architects of New Orleans designed the building.

"Design-wise, the detail framing in the courtrooms will be impressive," said Roy Carubba, owner of Carubba Engineering. "There are barrel vault ceilings and the rear walls behind the judges' benches are canted."

Carubba said the millwork provides another aesthetic feature in the 150-person courtrooms.

"All of the millwork must be sequenced, meaning at every elevation the grain must be vertically and horizontally continuous," he added. "The staining of the wood must also be uniform."

A high-tech audio-visual system will be installed in the courtroom as part of a separate contract late in the project and will include projectors, dropdown screens, computer controls and laptop portals.

"The controls will be located in the court reporter's area within the courtrooms, but the judges and attorneys will have the opportunity to plug into the system to run presentations," Carbo said.

Tile is used extensively elsewhere in the building, predominantly in the building's two-story entranceway atrium.

"The abundance of tile in the 27-ft.-tall atrium walls will create a striking feature in the entrance," Carbo said. "We're also placing tile on the floors and grand stair case." Carr Stone & Tile Inc. of New Orleans is supplying the tile, which was manufactured in Europe and the United States.

"They're using 12- by 24-in. tile for the walls and the floor tile has distinctive aesthetic patterns," he added. Other lobby work requires some decorative crown molding around the transaction counters.

When work began in May 2003, demolition of an existing parish building had been completed and the site cleared as part of an earlier contract.

"The site was actually at grade so we were able to pour directly on top of that," said project manager David Broussard. "We drove piles flush with the existing grade, which was at the bottom of the building's grade beams and pile caps."

Boh Bros. Construction Co. LLC of New Orleans drove 800 composite piles made up of 60-ft.-long timber piles and 10-ft.-long concrete-filled metal cans.

Due to the site's proximity to the Mississippi River, the contractor needed approval from the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers before driving piles.

"The corps checked the river stages before issuing a permit," Broussard said. "If approaching 15 ft. of flood stage we would have had to stop, but that never happened."

After the foundation was in place, Metropolitan Erection LLC of Kenner began erecting heavy-gauge structural steel supplied by Superior Steel Inc. of Baton Rouge.

"We started pouring concrete in November for the 5-in.-thick elevated slabs," Broussard said. The 3,000-psi concrete is reinforced with wire fabric.

A significant amount of electrical conduit had to be installed in the slabs because much of the ceiling space is occupied by more than 2,500 ft. of mechanical ductwork.

"Since the mechanical room is located at the point of entry into the building a lot of duct is necessary to service the building," Carbo said. Atlas Blowpipe & Sheet Metal Works of Metairie installed the duct.

Putting more electrical conduit into the slab meant more "layout-intensive" concrete pours.

"Ferguson's Electric of New Orleans had to identify the location of every wall prior to doing rough-ins," Carbo said.

Mechanical components of the building will connect to an existing central plant about 700 ft. away. Five new air-handling units will help transport the air.

Exterior construction is highlighted by a large curtainwall system on the two sides of the building with views of the Mississippi River.

"The river-view sides have a three-coat cement-based stucco system and a substantial glass curtainwall system installed by Orleans Glass," Carbo said. The more expensive 1.5-in.-thick cement stucco is "a little stronger and a little more secure" than synthetic stucco, he added.

The remaining two sides are made of painted concrete block installed by AA Masonry of New Orleans. About 28,000 CMU blocks are necessary for the walls and two 12-man holding cells inside the building.

Other work includes the construction of four elevators shafts for four public elevators, a prisoner elevator and a judicial elevator. There will be a small private parking area under the first floor with about 12 parking spaces for the judges and administrative staff.

Once completed, the building will also have administrative offices, judges' chambers, Clerk of Court offices and both criminal and civil contempt of court offices.

"There will be bulletproof glass and metal detectors, as well as central commands in two locations," Carbo said. "These will all be tied to Jefferson Parish Central Command about two blocks away."

Useful Source:

For more information about the Second Parish Court, go to: http://www.jpclerkofcourt.us/2ndparish_court/Main.asp