Olathe, Kansas, USA

Designed by Fentress Architects in partnership with Treanor HL, the seven-story building that houses the Johnson County Courthouse is a state-of-the-art facility with 28 courtrooms for civil, criminal, family, and other specific needs, as well as spaces for jury assembly and the district attorney.

Johnson County Courthouse has recently been awarded a 2023 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The building is designed to capture daylight while providing connections to nature.

The location in Olathe’s downtown helps shape a dynamic new core that supports the surrounding community’s needs while catalyzing growth and economic vitality.

The three-block master plan connects the current County administration building to the new Courthouse and a new public plaza along the spine of Cherry Street in downtown Olathe.

The new green space and public plaza directly outside the Courthouse’s main entrance is the focal point of the greater downtown area, providing attractive open spaces and views of nature within an urban setting.

The county plans to use the green space and plaza to host various community events such as art festivals and concerts.

The Courthouse is designed to serve all functions of the Tenth Judicial District Court, District Attorney, and supporting spaces.

The Tenth Judicial District Court includes criminal, civil, family, veteran, probate, and child in need of care courts along with high-volume traffic and small claims.

A curved limestone wall marks the Courthouse’s main entrance.

Its shape is reminiscent of a covered wagon, an homage to the European immigrants who settled the American prairies.

The building’s limestone was all sourced in Kansas, grounding the structure in tradition while the overall patchwork design evokes aerial views of the region’s farmlands.

Throughout the Courthouse, glass works as a functional and symbolic design element.

It allows ample daylight to flood every interior space, and its clarity signals an equally transparent justice system.

Visitors are greeted by a new concept for courts, known as the Emporium of Justice. Artwork created by Benjamin Ball and views of exterior green spaces highlight the space.

The high-traffic court and jury spaces are immediately adjacent to the lobby, fostering efficient circulation.

Technology is embedded throughout, with features like Wi-Fi in each courtroom to allow the jury, counsel, and judges to access digital evidence and documents. In the corridors, digitized court dockets help simplify wayfinding.

As the building form is generated from internal program spaces, the exterior materials are similarly representative.

Circulation spaces on the inside are depicted as glass on the outside, symbolic of the idea of transparency of government, and to provide daylight appropriate to public spaces.

The judicial suites are represented as architectural precast concrete with punched window openings, allowing for more privacy for the judges and their staff.

The jury assembly rooms become an accent element on the west wall, represented by metal panels accented with glass.

Finally, the Emporium of Justice and lobby spaces are represented as a grand stone wall accented with punched openings that reflect the civic nature of the building while providing an exciting and interesting play of light within the lobby.

The Courthouse is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification and was designed for a 75-year life cycle to accommodate Johnson County’s expected growth of 10,000 residents per year.

In addition to its status as a forward-thinking facility, the Courthouse is a key piece of the revitalization of Olathe’s downtown core.

Project: Johnson County Courthouse
Architects: Fentress Architects
Architect of Record: Treanor HL, Inc.
Landscape Architects: TreanorHL, Inc.
Urban Planners: Civitas
General Contractor: JE Dunn Construction Group
Owner’s Representative: Newmark Zimmer
Client: Johnson County
Photographers: Bill Timmerman, Randy Braley Photography