Las Cruces U.S. Courthouse

CGL performed programming, judicial planning, and design services for the new 205,000-square-foot federal courthouse in downtown Las Cruces, New Mexico. Selected after a vision design competition, the striking new image for the courts refers to its dramatic setting at the foot of the Organ Mountains.

Composed primarily of district and magistrate courts and chambers, with associated support space, the building is designed as a LEED Silver rated building, with numerous passive and active features to mitigate its environmental impact. Its public face is designed to be open and inviting to the public, yet provide state of the art resistance to blast and other possible security threats.

The massing approach frames the spectacular mountain views between two split halves of a stone “geode” that opens to expose the public spaces to the community and to the view.