The State of New Hampshire is set to dedicate its newest courthouse in Merrimack, NH. The new facility will house the district and family courts for this area. Keith P. Hemingway, Architect from Bristol, NH, who has designed three other new court facilities for the state, was charged with the challenge of designing a modern, technologically up-to-date court facility that fit in with Merrimack’s existing historic town buildings. The new courthouse sits on land donated by the Town and overlooks one of the town’s public parks.
Though the building was originally intended to be a carbon copy of a courthouse design used in other locations throughout the state, KPHA and Dana Abbott from the NH Bureau of Public Works felt that design would not fit with the existing historic colonial buildings in this location. The new design uses light colored brick, double-hung windows, shutters and a sloped roof with colonial trims to enhance the town center where the new facility is located.
The new 24,000 square foot, three story courthouse was constructed by TLT Construction Corporation of Wakefield, Mass. The new building has 4 courtrooms, with associated judge’s chambers, clerk’s office area, secure entry lobby, sallyport, cells and storage areas. Sited on a sloped site, the building takes advantage of the site contours by tucking storage and maintenance areas into the below grade basement level. Most of the courtrooms are on exterior walls and take advantage of abundant natural lighting. All areas have motion-activated energy-efficient lighting and ventilation controls. The entire building is designed for accessibility and security. The three main circulation paths-public, staff and prisoners-provide security and separation through the layout of the floor plans and electronic security systems.
Keith P. Hemingway, Architect also designed the renovations to the historic Laconia High School building to house the new Laconia Courthouse. Retaining and reusing many of the existing historic details while bringing the building up to current security and accessibility standards gives this beautiful historic structure new life and usefulness for years to come. Meridian Construction Corp. was the contractor for that project.