Wellington Supreme Court

The new Supreme Court in Wellington, New Zealand was designed by Warren and Mahoney Architects to meet judicial needs for the next 100 years. The two-story building sits on a stone plinth within a shallow pool of water. The exterior is surrounded by eight-meter-tall bronze screens that depict the leaves and branches of the Rata and Pohutukawa trees, as well as provide security, shelter, and solar control. The distinctive new courtroom is an orb clad inside with silver beech timber panels that uses mainly timber joinery. The spiraling diamond pattern was influenced by the Kauri tree cone, with the idea of the court as the seed of a new tradition in New Zealand law. The adjacent old High Court Building was also restored as part of the project, with the new Supreme Court designed to have an architectural and symbolic relationship to it.