1.0 Presentation
The class was tasked to put together a presentation
for our NuLawLab colleagues Kevin Costa, a NU law student, and Dan Jackson the
NuLawLab coordinator and member of the MA Bar Association. The information
presented included information on the issues behind housing in today’s society,
general information on the processes of court from an architect’s perspective,
information on the physical court house itself and moments of possible
intervention throughout the court.
1.1 Group 1 – Housing Issues
Ben, Omar, Tyler, Craig
Some of the main issues of housing stem from
several deficiencies in the economy and housing policy. Issues we found include
but are not limited to, income differential, costs of housing, lack of actual
affordable housing, and government intervention in housing through redlining
and gentrification.
The group also briefly discussed the book “Evicted”
by Matthew Desmond and how it relates to the topics we are talking about in the
class discussions as issues that are contained in the housing process.
1.2 Group 2 – Court Process
Sarah, Sacchia
Many of the most viewed documents relating to
housing court and housing in general were presented with the purpose to draw
out problems that can be seen within the language and presentation of the documents
selected including the notice to quit, summons and complaint, execution of
judgement, notice of appealand notice to vacate.
The group also presented some resources that can
be utilized by both tenant and landlord to help with most parts of the court process
and access to information. There are both public and private resources that people
can seek out to help with any legal support including NOLO, National Housing
Project, Boston Tenant Coalition, and the Lawyer of the Day Program.
1.3 Group 3 – Court House
Brian
Brian presented some background information on
the Edward T. Brooke Courthouse including building plans and the process of
circulation throughout the building while highlighting major points of access and
the main program of the building. He also talked about spaces that seem to work
well throughout the building as well as those that do not such as the main call
room for cases on eviction day as well as the space within the courtroom itself.
1.4 Group 4 – Areas of Issue
Katya, Gizelle, Mackenzie
The topics of user vs. space and user vs. process were
discussed in relationship to the actual function of the courtroom and how well
it is used by the people who are either using the space for the first time
compared to those who use it every day. Spaces such as the security checkpoint
just inside the entrance of the building and the space for the lawyer of the
day program were discussed as places or nodes of confusion or points of chaos.
As for user vs. process, things such as the kiosks meant for easy communication
and easy way finding as well as the main info desk that remains unmanned and
does not provide the easy information communication that it was proposed to do.
1.5 Group 5 – Reactions to Court
Mykayla, Brody
Some class-wide conclusions were drawn as points of
discussion and as lead-ins for the next portion of the class where we must
iterate multiple design ideas based on our observations made on our trips to
the courthouse. While drawing conclusions to our general observations, we also
have some architectural based observations about the general space and function
of the building as a public government building and how it can be improved
through a range of scales from providing more entry space for the security
checkpoint to simple wayfinding methods.
2.0
Questions
Some questions arose from our law
colleagues that we had both answers and more questions about as well.
Q: “Is there an intercom?” A: Yes,
but it is muffled and only gets used on occasion; there is a telephone in most
rooms in the courthouse and there is typically a record of where all court
officials are at a given time throughout the day so it is easier to contact
court officials through a telephone call.
Q: “Is there a greeter?” A: Other
than the security guards, no. The budget was cut for staffing those positions.
Q: “Why is there a difference in
success of mediation vs. court hearings?” A: The mediation rooms are used to
settle disputes outside of the courtroom, and see a much higher rate of
success, upwards of 85% resolution without a court hearing. We can speculate
that mediation provides a more relaxed setting where disputes can be discussed
on a more casual level than inside a courtroom where there is an overwhelming
sense of formality.
3.0
The Rules
The class broke down into 4 groups
of 3-4 people each and began talking about the goals and methods of achieving
goals through installation in the courthouse. Each group was asked to write
down a series of goals and rules to follow and use as guidelines when moving
into the design phase of the class.
4.0
Moving Forward
The class is moving into a very iterative design
process, coming up with multiple designs ranging in
different scales in an
attempt to fix an issue that we have observed in the courthouse or in the
process
of housing, we determine the problem to which we want to find the
solution.