Augusta-Richmond County Judicial Center & John H. Ruffin, Jr. Courthouse

The new Augusta-Richmond County Judicial Center in Georgia consolidates the Superior, State, Civil-Magistrate, Juvenile, and Probate courts functions of the County into one 180,000 SF courthouse. CGL led the design in partnership with Turner Associates (Atlanta) and the Woodhurst Partnership (Augusta).

CGL’s services included court and staffing needs assessment, space programming, and lead building design, which was being executed with the goal of a model judicial facility setting a new standard for Georgia courthouses. The courtrooms implement state-of-the-art technology to make the judicial process more efficient and accessible.

The new judicial center is built in a part of downtown Augusta adjacent to the federal courthouse and a new federal bankruptcy courthouse, and is two blocks from the main business corridor. The site enhances an area of the city that is in need of economic stimulation. It simultaneously creates a zone marked by dignified government buildings, both county and federal.

The judicial center houses flexible spaces for easy reconfiguration of court support spaces to meet the courts’ ever-changing needs, and is designed with a logical plan for future expansion.