Class Report - 2/28




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.