Short-listed competition entry
In 2001, Billard Leece was short listed in an architectural design competition for the Latrobe Valley Police and Court complex, conducted by the Department of Justice and the Victoria Police.
The complex will comprise six courts including Children’s, Magistrates, County and Supreme Courts, a Sheriffs Office and a Community Correctional Services Office; and a 24-hour Police station. Our twin objectives were the cohesiveness of the broader judicial precinct - by using a shared palette of materials - and to provide the Police Station and Courthouse with separate identities.
Because of their functional relationships, both building types have a tendency to be tightly bundled plans. We cut into, and pulled taut the planning relationships to provide landscaped courtyards, light walls and double-height public spaces for all users. Skylights facing east are also used to provide natural light to interiors. The apparent, random placement of skylights also articulates the roofs cape of both buildings. The mass is more like a linear extrusion with courtyard slots cut along its length. The courthouse architecture breaks down the building mass by expressing definable elements of the functional brief helping the public identify its various functions as separate. In contrast the police building is more robust with a more singular massing.
