Contra Costa County DA Office Interior

Location: Martinez, CA
Owner: Contra Costa County
Completion: Fall 2007

Working with a steering committee and responding to input from numerous department leaders, we were able to design a building that addressed the needs of the varied departments, successfully bringing together staff that had been previously housed in five separate buildings. With 5,000 square feet of new construction, the building includes a lobby, large community room, two-story high law library, conference spaces, staff lounges, and office space for 165 employees. We ensured that the new building addressed some unique programmatic needs such as a separate and secure entrance to bring prisoners into interrogation rooms, security issues in a building where law enforcement officers are sometimes armed, and a safe and comfortable area for children who are involved in domestic violence matters. We also focused our design on strengthening the image of the District Attorney’s office and expressing the formality of its role in the County’s justice system.