The Design for Courtyard Building in Vanuatu

This is the design for courthouse building for the Government of Republic of Vanuatu. This design has been delivered by Whitefield McQueen Irwin Alsop (WMCQIA), who has won an international design competition to deliver a courthouse building design. This building’s worth just under A$32.5 million. It will be built on the existing courthouse site. The previous timber colonial courthouse was burnt down in 2007.

This building design is influenced by the social, lifestyle, and cultural aspects of the Melanesian people. The design also physically addresses the environmental requirement demanded by a tropical and seismic environment.  The shelter and cross-ventilation are used throughout the design to create comfortable spaces. They’re similar with traditional building types. WMCQIA designs the space to achieve a sense of openness and transparency, but still provide the necessary security associated with a typical court building.