Seats of justice
Understanding of symbolism, comfort, function and space has informed our design for furnishing the Supreme Court of Justice

We played a central role in the development of the three courtrooms, the legal library and furniture for the judges’ chambers.

The court was opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 16 October in the renovated Victorian Gothic splendour of the Middlesex Guildhall in London’s Parliament Square. At the ceremony, our managing director, Luke Hughes, explained in person to the Queen how the project evolved.

Our design ethos is driven by function and practicality. Working with Japanese designer Tomoko Azumi (see side panel), we have created a visually restrained aesthetic, with materials chosen for their robustness and ability to age gracefully. In the Library and Courts 1 and 3, American black walnut tones with the existing joinery, while European oak reflects the more modern character of Court 2.

As specialists in library design, we were able to draw on our previous experience for other legal institutions, notably the Supreme Court in Edinburgh, Institute of Criminology Library in Cambridge and the Law Library at Christchurch, Oxford.

Buildings have very little function until you put the furniture in, but what furniture you put in can completely transform the way that the building looks, feels and works. It is invariably a challenge to define (let alone design) the minimum furniture that is necessary to make any building function well.
Luke Hughes

Judges, advocates and the public all sit at one level (reflecting the court’s collegiate form of legal debate, as opposed to the adversarial combat of the lower criminal and litigious courts) so the furniture had additionally to be finely tuned to the space constraints of the original building shell.

As a furniture designer, I am particularly sensitive to proximity and comfort levels. Comfort is not just about whether you have a soft chair to sit on; it’s also about the ability to maintain audibility, eye-contact and body language without being distressed by the lack of space between you and your colleagues. Luke Hughes

Using a series of models to inform design, the layouts were refined to create spaces that optimised disability access as well as function and comfort for others. “Making these spaces relevant to the 21st century is not only a challenge but also a real pleasure,” adds Luke.

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