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Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr.
U.S. Federal Courthouse
Miami, Florida

This 15-story Federal Courthouse required significantly enhanced security design due to its importance within the judicial system.

This downtown Miami courthouse consists of 578,000 square feet, with an additional 54,000 gross square feet of secured parking. The project provides 16 courtrooms, court clerk’s office and offices for U.S. Marshal’s Service. A secure underground tunnel connects to the existing courthouse and jail. Construction of the $120 million facility was completed in 2005.

Significant blast resistance was required for the building. The criteria included hardening of the building exterior and the design of the primary post-tensioned concrete structure for progressive collapse as specified by the GSA Security Criteria. The superstructure was designed to withstand the loss of critical structural members and selected concrete columns were provided with steel jackets to resist blast loads. The building was also designed for a Category 5 hurricane.