Palace of Justice
In 2006, an international competition was held for the Palace of Justice, in Córdoba, Spain. Mecanoo won, but due to economic instability the project was delayed ? but now things have started to move again, and the project is due for completion in 2017.
For centuries, the moors occupied of the Iberian peninsula, leaving a lasting impression on its most southern territories, particularly on Andalucia. Thus, Córdoba is a city of deep moorish and islamic traditions ? and it is in this genealogy that the Palace of Justice attempts to integrate itself.
photography by © Fernando Alda
The project could be said to consist of a single, large block that is intersected by courtyards that sometimes extend to the outer perimeter of the building. The chromatic scheme of the building is coherent with this volumetric logic: the outside is white, and the inside of the “subtracted” courtyards is gold-colored.There is one thing one can?t acuse Mecanoo of doing is of not being determined –  there is a certain decisiveness in designing a block-wide building, whose spaces are created through a subtraction of volumes. Inner courtyards are typically moorish. In this building, their function has to do with providing ventilation and illumination to the inner parts of the building, while also serving as an outdoor space that?s sheltered from the outside world. They also feature palm trees that are inserted into big, golden vase-like containers. Yet, it could be...