The primary driving force behind the design of the Chatham County Courthouse was restoring the original fabric of the Oglethorpe plan as much as possible. What began as a significant challenge, resulted in a unique design that maintained the intricacies of the local landscape. The floor plate of a 155,000-square-foot contemporary courthouse would not have been viable on a singular block of the original Oglethorpe plan. As a result, the design team chose to bifurcate the building, resulting in a straddled building across York Lane, which recreated negative space. This was accomplished by locating the courtrooms to one side of the lane, while placing all the support functions on the other side. Internal bridges link the two sides together. To further restore the Oglethorpe plan, York Street and State Street were reconstructed. Due to security concerns, these streets will be restricted to pedestrian traffic only.

Once the massing concept was established, the design team drew architectural and design inspiration from the area’s most prominent civic spaces, relying heavily on the City Hall building for exterior material selection. The completed building and surrounding site improvements mark the edge of the city’s historic district and serve as the gateway to downtown Savannah.