After sitting empty and underutilized for years, the former chapel and medical ward for Desoto County’s adult detention center has been converted into a juvenile courtroom and related administrative offices. Privacy and efficiency of transport to a court facility a few blocks away had become difficult to manage. The project makes it easy to provide safe, efficient, and secure transport to the new onsite courtroom. The courtroom aims to inspire improvement in the lives of the juveniles it serves, so the exposed CMU walls and lay-in tile ceilings were replaced with a modern installation of wood ceiling and wall panels.  To improve acoustics and create visual interest in the tall space, perforated acoustical wood panels were installed on a folded ceiling plane.

Photography: MELLON.STUDIO