Passing judgement : the interaction between local and federal design review

Abstract

How do local design review processes affect the design of federal buildings? By law, the federal government is only required to consider local ordinances, but, nevertheless, it sometimes chooses to engage in the local design review process. This study looks at why the federal government makes the choice to participate in a local review, what factors influence that decision, and how that design review is likely to affect the design of the federal building. Since the 1990's, the Courthouse Construction Program of the General Services Administration has been actively building and renovating federal courthouses in the downtown of cities throughout the United States. Four federal courthouses, located in Portland, OR; Boston, MA; Concord, NH; and Santa Ana, CA, were chosen as case studies. These cases represent four different attitudes toward design review ranging from a legally binding design review to no design review at all. In each case, it was determined that factors other than the local jurisdiction's zoning ordinance influenced whether the federal government allowed a local design review to occur. The local jurisdiction's commitment to urban design, the state of the local economy, and the politics of the courthouse design group all contribute to the decision to involve the local government in a review of courthouse design.