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The District Court in Lod – The District Court in Lod, completed in 2012 is located near the entrance to the city, along the main road of Zionut Blvd. the given site was already an urban center, with a shopping mall, an HMO center, and a public square, but the place lacked a clear border or signifier, thus making it unappealing and unused. The new courthouse had to balance the demands for it to stand out in the urban grid, but simultaniusely to maintain and rejuvenate the existing public place.
The building's 11,000 sqm, consists of 25 courtrooms, judges' chambers, intern rooms, public reception halls, and detention cells.
The linear design of the courthouse, stretching with the busy road beside it, creates a “Wall of Justice”, sheltering the public square and making the entrance path a gateway to it. The two facades of the building also correspond to the site. The road faces a heavier, two-tone stone cladded monumental facade. The south side on the other hand, has a lighter glass wall facade, with warm colored stone cladding, diffusing the public space of the courthouse with the public realm of the square.
Upon entering the building, after passing the security check, a double spaced corridor with the park continuing to the interior keeps the orientation inside the building. Throughout the courthouse, the public spaces are planned as double floors along the glass screen. This design, filling the hallways with natural light gives the stressful waiting areas a connection to the outside and to the rest of the building without losing the human scale and without overwhelming the viewer with a monumental space. The courtrooms also receive natural lighting through insulated high windows, giving the interior of the courtroom continuity
with the public halls, without interfering with the operation of the courtroom.
With a landmark status in the city, and a meeting place for the surrounding neighborhood, The District Court Building gives Lod a central place in the central region of Israel, without taking the local character from it.
Ammar-Curiel Architects - Dina Ammar graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion in 1970. She has been in private practice since 1977, and is currently a partner in a large scale architecture office.
Avraham Curiel graduated from the Technion in 1987, and is a partner in the same office. Between 2002-2004 he instructed architecture students in their final project, and since 2009 has been working as a consultant for the Ministry of Education.
Founded in January 1991, the office has since designed and executed many diverse projects: public, business, and commercial buildings as well as housing and infrastructure.
