Just Room? Architecture, Technologies and Spatial Practice of the District Law Court

The goal is to define how architectural and technological design of Swedish district courthouses relate to the everyday practice of law. Since 1960, district courthouses have been halved in number, privatised, doubled in size and adjusted to embrace new technology and prevent security risks. The project addresses the spatial and material aspects of these processes and aims to 1) explain what made it possible to decrease the number of courts and privatise the premises, 2) compare the architecture of court buildings in terms of explicit objectives and spatial practice 3) determine the effects of new technology on court space and 4) understand how security entered the building programs and affected the use, perception and layout of court space. The project aims to clarify the materialities of legal work and show how new spatio-judicial pract