Moshe Safdie’s vision for the United States Courthouse in Springfield Massachusetts included a complex system of cable hung curtain wall, horizontally framed curtain wall, and fully integrated skylights.  Light wells serpentine throughout the building, and an asymmetrical concave skylight highlights the building entry. 

Safdie has turned to Architectural Glazing Technologies time and again to execute some of his most challenging projects.  The US Courthouse includes a unique blend of aesthetic and performance requirements including:

An inverted cable-hung curtain wall system
The most unique characteristic of the courthouse design is that the cable-hung structure is mounted on the outside of the building, while the glass is hung on the inside. AGT designed custom wind-load anchors machined from stainless steel.  The curtain wall system is constructed of an aluminum clad, custom steel T framing system designed and engineered by AGT.    The installation of the anchors was closely coordinated with the contractor to mount the anchors to pre-cast imbeds, with pre-located, threaded rods.  The resulting system supports the dead load of the glass structure entirely by stainless steel rods hung from the ceiling, allowing it to “float” at floor level.

A structurally glazed “Judge’s Reflection Room”
One particularly striking feature of the building is a structurally glazed, cantilevered glass perch, designed as a place of solitary reflection.

Integrated skylights
The concave skylight at the entry pavilion sets the architectural tone for the building, with its asymmetrical shape and seamless connection to the horizontally-framed curtain wall which surrounds it.  The entire pavilion was designed to meet the deflected geometry of the steel subframe, which resulted from the asymmetric shape of the design.