1 Jul 2013

Visitors to the Bernalillo County Courthouse enjoy daylit, open spaces and striking views of the Sandia Mountains. They don’t see the sophisticated technology that keeps them safe and comfortable – and saves tax dollars – by integrating multiple building functions. The courthouse combines pleasant public areas with secure and efficient workplaces for judicial staff, while isolating both from detainees in the holding areas and jail.

A courthouse is a complex building: It must accommodate daily visitors, judges and their staffs, and people being detained – while keeping those groups separated. And it must operate efficiently to conserve tax dollars. Bernalillo County met those challenges with a new 8-story, 24 courtroom, 272,000-square-foot courthouse, which opened in August of 2001.