Sundt has completed the John M. Roll United States Courthouse in downtown Yuma, Ariz. The landmark federal courthouse construction project replaces an outdated facility and pays tribute to its namesake, Justice John M. Roll, a federal judge who was killed in the January 2011 attack on former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson.
The two-story, 57,000-square-foot building includes two courtrooms, judges’ chambers, detention cells, and administrative areas for the United States federal courts and U.S. Marshals Service.
Its design emphasizes sustainability – the project is pending LEED Gold certification – and a clean, modern aesthetic. Locally sourced sandstone and masonry, installed by Sundt’s own crews, cover the building’s exterior. “Living walls” of vines were planted on steel trellises to shade windows and fans were installed for maximum ventilation. In the entryway, a 10,000-square-foot canopy made of photovoltaic panels provides shade while generating up to one quarter of the building’s electrical needs.