Blast analysis and review of new courthouse with glass curtain wall to ensure compliance with GSA Security Criteria. Design-build. 407,000 sf.

Weidlinger Associates provided blast engineering services for the Lloyd D. George US Courthouse and Federal Building, one of the first new federal office buildings to be designed according to standards developed by the GSA after the Oklahoma City bombing. The building was the first in the country to use full-scale testing to determine a curtainwall’s resistance to blast loads. The glass curtainwall was tested at DoD’s Large Blast Thermal Simulator in White Sands, New Mexico. The curtainwall integrates vertical and horizontal connections, and the laminated glazing is attached to the frame with silicone for greater flexibility. The building also features finely detailed aluminum panels with sun screens. The design exceeded security criteria, developed to protect 370 federal workers plus visitors from flying glass fragments and debris and to ensure that the building envelope remains intact. Heightened security was achieved without compromising architectural goals.

The Courthouse contains ten courtrooms and judicial chambers for the US Magistrate Court, as well as district offices of two senators and offices for the Clerk of Court, pretrial services, US Marshals, and US Attorney. The building, which anchors one end of the downtown civic mall, also includes a ceremonial proceedings courtroom, library, conference rooms, and jury assembly area. The 185-foot-high limestone and precast structure sits on a raised plaza forming a grand civic space. The plaza is covered with a metal canopy supported by a 160-foot column. A three-story public rotunda with glazed roof provides secured entry.

Completion Date: 2002
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Owner or Client: General Services Administration (GSA)
Prime Consultant(s): Cannon Dworsky