Raising the Roof

by Page McKee, Hardin Construction Group, Inc., 1380 West Paces Ferry Rd., N.W., Atlanta, GA 30327,
Dale York, Lane Bishop York Delahay, Inc., 716 S. 30th St., Birmingham, Alabama,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1995, Vol. 65, Issue 3, Pg. 66-68


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

For years, the Mobile County government contemplated placing both county and city governmental services under one roof. Although there were many obstacles -- political, financial and land ownership -- the three-member county commission believed the most forward-thinking, efficient way to create needed space would be to house both entities in one facility. The selected design -- by Harry A. Golemon, FAIA, and Mario Bolullo, FAIA, in association with Frederick C. Woods, AIA, and Associates -- is a $58 million, 547,000-square-foot facility paid for by the county, with space leased by the city. The Mobile Government Plaza is functional and aesthetically pleasing: it accomplishes both governments' objectives in a facility that mixes the traditional elements of civic architecture with new elements representative of the city's port, ships and industry. Covering an entire square block in downtown Mobile, the Plaza actually includes two buildings -- a nine-story courtroom building and a 10-story administration structure -- separated by an enclosed public plaza. This area, underneath a skylit atrium, is an aesthetically pleasing space that allows the public and visitors to obtain easy access to the facility and surrounding businesses from nearby parking areas.

Subject Headings: Urban areas | Roofs | Public buildings | Parking facilities | Local government | Government buildings | Buildings

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