01 Wedge
To address the severe shortage of trial facilities and improve the challenging working conditions at the Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court, the court plans to construct a comprehensive public building. This new complex will integrate the trial court, litigation service center, execution command center, information center, and police support center on the southwest plot adjacent to the original site.
02 Project Overview
Located in the heart of Changzhou’s urban and administrative center, the project site sits at the junction of the old and new city sectors near the railway station. The site faces the old court building at the street corner. To the west, the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity railway acts as a boundary, while major city roads and rail transit stations lie to the east and south, channels of heavy pedestrian flow. The planned land spans approximately 19.5 acres with a total construction area of 43,778 square meters and a maximum building height capped at 75 meters.
△ Location Analysis
Confronted with a complex urban context, the design team distilled three key elements: planning coordination, urban imagery, and site relationships.
From a district planning perspective, the focus is on managing connections and coordination with adjacent cities and buildings. Regarding the urban interface, the design aims to create a significant node and a prominent façade along the north square axis of the railway station. In terms of site relationships, the team studied how to harmonize functional complementarity and traffic demands between the new and old court buildings in a staggered layout.
03 Planning Layout · Interior vs. Exterior
The court is a specialized state institution exercising judicial authority. Beyond functioning as an administrative office, it serves as a public venue where citizens seek justice, protect their rights, and receive legal education.
Consequently, the court belongs not only to law enforcement personnel but also to the general public. Considering the site’s conditions and the building’s unique judicial character, the design team divided the site into two distinct zones: an exterior public space and an interior private area.
The exterior, facing the city’s main roads to the east and south alongside the old court, is designed with broad, outward-facing forms to create an open legal culture plaza. This space serves as a welcoming and transparent public area, showcasing a high-quality civic image.
Internally, the design faces a residential area to the north and planned administrative land to the west. This private zone, dedicated to offices and detention facilities, offers a secure, peaceful, and comfortable environment.
The seamless integration of these exterior and interior spaces results in a clear, safe, comfortable, and efficient layout that energizes the urban fabric.
04 Form Generation · Jade-Like Clarity
The court building symbolizes the abstract ideals of the rule of law made tangible through legal systems, connecting national order with the public. It can be envisioned as ‘solidified justice.’ The design aims to embed judicial principles into the architecture, inspiring the public’s respect for law and fairness through powerful symbolic imagery.
Departing from traditional temple-style court designs, the team chose a square courtyard form inspired by the emblem’s “balance” and the “white jade square seal.” This approach reflects the enduring Chinese legal tradition, symbolizing clarity and fairness akin to polished jade.
Blending modern simplicity, openness, and accessibility with dignified symmetry and a strong square outline, the building captures the solemnity of national judicial institutions. It heralds a new era of courts aligned with the modern values of “justice for the people” and the rule of law.
05 Spatial Structure · Three-Dimensional Layout
The design employs a vertical, three-dimensional layout optimized for functional openness and pedestrian flow. The ground floor houses convenient services such as litigation and petition centers, complemented by the open legal plaza at the corner and a transparent “side hall” facing the city, fostering strong public engagement and reducing the judiciary’s perceived distance.
The trial courts form the core of the building, occupying the main functional area. Larger courts are located on the second and third floors, while smaller courts are concentrated from the fifth to the tenth floors.
To align with the recent implementation of a judge staffing system—where independent judges work alongside support staff—the design accommodates 90 small trial courts arranged in a “front store, back factory” model. This setup allows all 90 judges to conduct court sessions simultaneously, maximizing judicial resources on the frontline of case management.
The fourth floor includes a digital information center, a salon, and a sky garden, providing space for future digital court innovations and offering staff high-quality leisure areas.
The building’s core tube shear wall structure eliminates columns on the exterior, creating transparent corner cantilever spaces. This design enhances natural light and the working environment for judges, while also helping to ease the stress of involved parties.
06 Streamlined Circulation · Safe and Efficient
The court building requires a highly organized structure to coordinate public legal activities with tightly controlled trial zones. Efficient, clear, and secure circulation paths for the public, staff, and involved individuals were essential to unify the principles of justice and convenience while serving internal personnel.
Following the “inside-outside” planning concept, public entrances for ceremonies, case filing, and petitions are located on the east and south external façades. Judge and logistics entrances are positioned on the internal west and north sides, with a security checkpoint separating these zones.
Vertically, dedicated elevators serve judges, the public, and freight, with escalators in side courtyards for circulation. The detention unit is discreetly integrated, featuring an independent elevator connecting the basement directly to the second and third-floor courtrooms. Anticipating more accessible and open courts in the future, a public legal education tour route has also been incorporated.
△ Visitor Circulation
07 Landscape Design · Harmonizing Motion and Stillness
Landscape zones follow the architectural planning scheme. The southern image display area features gray tones, regular paving patterns, and calm water surfaces. Modern design techniques reinterpret traditional high court walls and steps to evoke a sense of ceremony and solemnity.
A legal element wall in the eastern residential area and an elevated pedestrian walkway create distinct internal and external zones, separated by greenery to maintain coherence without interference.
The western and northern internal traffic and green areas combine parking with landscaped lawns and small recreational spaces, cultivating a quiet and refined atmosphere for staff.
08 Interior Design · Bright and Upright
The interior design continues the integration of architecture and landscape. Featuring cool-toned materials, the spaces are bright and solemn. The design emphasizes rigor and geometric clarity, using strong lines and layered spatial arrangements to express the court’s rationality and fairness.
09 Conclusion
Jianhe Architecture has extensively explored government building design in recent years, developing a language rooted in practicality, efficiency, and the dignified simplicity essential for such institutions. This project reflects their commitment to order, fairness, and transparency, emphasizing a design approach that serves the public interest.
Technical Drawings
Project Information
Project Name: Construction of Trial Business Building for Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court, Jiangsu Province
Owner: Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court, Jiangsu Province
Building Size: 43,778 square meters
Design Date: December 2022
Design Team: Chen Tao, Zhu Qixiang, Chen Ming, Shi Feng, Chen Lei, Wang Bicheng, Wu Xuanyi
Landscape Design: Ma Bin, Sun Zhenyue, Li Na
Interior Design: Tang Shijie, Yu Xingyang
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