Federal Court of Justice, Karlsruhe

Due to its exposed location in the middle of the city centre, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe has been struggling with space problems for years: The seven court buildings, some of which are listed monuments, over which the highest German court for criminal and civil matters used to extend, are no longer sufficient.

For this reason, the Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben (BImA) commissioned the Landesbetrieb Bundesbau Baden-Württemberg with the new construction of the east building, with the Karlsruhe State Building Authority as the responsible building authority. Among other things, two new courtrooms and offices are to be created, which will blend harmoniously into the overall appearance of the existing buildings and still fulfil the representational tasks of a supreme court.

Source: www.bundesimmobilien.de

Construction work began in autumn 2022 and is expected to cost around 85 million euros.
Modersohn supplied a total of 300 so-called impact frames for the windows as well as other customised joining structures for the new building, with a total order volume of 1.7 million euros.
The unit weight of a single frame was around 340 kilos, the total weight of all joint constructions around 150 tonnes.

The frames were manufactured from material 1.4571 (austenitic steel, standard stabilised).

The design by Stuttgart-based architects h4a, Gessert und Randecker Generalplaner GmbH emerged as the winner of the realisation competition initiated in 2016 with a total of 25 participants.
In line with this concept, a monolithic structure made of light-coloured exposed concrete is being built on the site of the former BGH car park. With its clearly structured façade and uniform window openings, it embodies simple elegance and presents itself independently, but also respectfully towards the existing listed buildings.

During the planning phase, the focus was on good orientation and the creation of a friendly working environment. The latest technical standards as well as structural sustainability and energy efficiency were given top priority. For example, the building's own photovoltaic power generation on the roof surface and feed-in to the building's own grid are just as much a part of this as a rainwater retention area in the BGH garden.
Completion is expected to take place at the end of 2025, with operations commencing in the course of 2026.

Source: www.bundesimmobilien.de