Kent County Courthouse
Grand Rapids, MI
This large building houses numerous courtrooms, jury deliberation rooms, judges’ chambers, and both restricted and public hallways in two court towers. Since the site chosen for the courthouse was originally that of the Old Grand Rapids City Hall, special attention has been paid to the building’s exterior materials. The brick colors and textures echo nearby historic buildings, while well detailed curtain walls provide visual balance and convey that this is a 21st century structure. The pattern of the exterior brickwork alludes to the rural land patterns of the surrounding county. Three brick colors were selected and developed into 4’ x 6’ panel patterns made up of two alternating bands of color. This provides the building with three distinct but subtle panel patterns that are expressed randomly on the west façade of the building. The same three brick colors are expressed differently and more traditionally on the east façade which reflects the more typical office-like function behind. Due to these subtle uses of brick, the building’s appearance changes more than most buildings as the sun slowly moves across the sky.