New courthouse in downtown Las Vegas seen as symbol of justice, democracy

CARSON CITY — Yohan Lowie had a vision when he set out to design a new courthouse in Las Vegas to house the southern offices of the Nevada Supreme Court and Nevada Court of Appeals.

It would be one-of-a-kind, awesome to look at, and a symbol of the principles on which justice and democracy were founded.

"This is the first courthouse for us to build and it was a great honor to be involved in it," Lowie said.

The 26,100-square-foot building will feature marble and stone from the around the world, custom-made chandeliers, gold leaf, copper, bronze and stained glass.

"It's a little jewel box," he said.

Lowie, his designers and artisans will travel the globe looking for just the right materials to grace the halls of Nevada's newest courthouse in downtown Las Vegas.

Stone will come from Greece, Italy and Spain. Limestone from Israel. And some rock from Minnesota. Lowie plans to go to Eastern Europe to find just the right crystal for the chandeliers.

"What we are trying to do is build a building as they were 200 years ago," Lowie said.

"We're going to build the chandeliers for it," he said, and "harvest" the materials for the flooring.

Nevada symbols also will be incorporated in the artwork. Everything will be custom made.

Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled Tuesday at the site, the corner of Clark Avenue and South Fourth Street. The goal is to have the building ready for business by late next year.

"Hundreds of people will be working on the project and we will deliver it in 14 months that we have in front of us," Lowie said. "This is a very unique project for us, for our company, and probably any company in the world."

The project is being developed by LV Land Company LLC, which is managed by Frank Pankratz. The company is a member of the EHB Companies brand, which has developed such projects as Queensridge Place and Tivoli Village. Lowie is a principal of EHB.

Lowie estimated the cost at somewhere around $20 million. The building will be privately owned by LV Land Company, and the court will pay $640,000 in annual rent.

The Supreme Court and new three-member Appeals Court, which was approved by voters in November, now operate out of Clark County's Regional Justice Center when they are in Las Vegas. Court officials said the rent payments on the new facility will actually save about $400,000 over the next decade and give the court more room.

Lowie said he came up with a conceptual design within days. After that, it was eight months conferring with Chief Justice James Hardesty and state officials on a final design.

His goal was to represent the ideals of law and democracy through Neoclassic architecture, derived from the architecture of ancient Rome and Athens.

"Neoclassic architecture was the foundation of law and democracy in the world," Lowie said. "They are as old as law itself, those types of buildings."

A dome and stained glass in the center of the building represent the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Solid marble columns are a nod to the current U.S. Supreme Court, while the rotunda and interior of the courthouse represent the original Supreme Court inside the Library of Congress.

"When you're dealing with material that is that heavy, it's very complex type of work," Lowie said.

While the style of architecture is from centuries past, the courthouse will be equipped with "space age" technology for communication and energy systems.

It is also being built to achieve a gold or platinum LEED rating for green energy efficiency, he said.

"It may be the only LEED gold state supreme courthouse in the country," Lowie said.

Besides chambers for Supreme Court justices and Appeals Court judges and office space for staff, the building will feature a 72-seat courtroom where oral arguments will be conducted.

The courthouse will be next door to the historic Fifth Street School and the U.S. District Court building, a towering, contemporary structure. Lowie said he wants the new building to command respect and awe.

"We had to make it so unique to stand on its own as a piece of architecture," he said.

"That was the intent — to build something so extraordinary that you know you are looking at something special."

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.