The LA Federal Courthouse Wins Another Award

We are proud to announce that a project The Conco Companies provided concrete services for has won another award.  The LA Federal Courthouse in downtown LA was recently recognized as a “Gold Winner” in the category for Best Sustainable Project by the LA Business Journal‘s Commercial Real Estate Awards.   Last year the Courthouse also won the “2016 Outstanding Achievement and Excellence in Concrete Construction” award presented by the Southern California ACI chapter.  In addition the project was selected to compete at the national level at the 2017 ACI National Convention.

Referred to as the “Cube” for its unique cantilevered shape, the 631,000 sq. ft. courthouse was designed and built to earn LEED Platinum certification. The general contractor on the $350 million project was Clark Construction and the architect was Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM).  The building’s high efficiency systems include a 1,200-ton central utility plant with a 130-ton heat recovery chiller.  It also features a 250 KW roof-mounted photovoltaic array of solar panels.  A large skylight brings in natural light and the building’s exterior has “pleats” that maximize daylight penetration and minimizes solar thermal gains.

The building’s innovative design allows the cubic volume to “float” over the stone base and is considered to be one of the safest structures against bomb threats or earthquakes. The 10-story Courthouse sits on a 3.6-acre site and includes 24 courtrooms and 32 chambers for judges along with jury assembly facilities and offices for U.S. Marshals.

SOM describes the Courthouse design as “using traditional architectural elements such as processional steps, grand public spaces, and enduring materials like limestone to achieve a strong civic identity.”  The project broke ground in 2013 and judges and staff started moving into their new offices in September, 2016. 

The Conco Companies are a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western U.S.  We got our start in the Bay Area in 1959 by offering clients the best value on a wide range of concrete services and products.  Since that time, we have taken a leading role as one of the top concrete contractors in the region. We have four regional offices serving California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Colorado.