Thanks to HOK, we are now able to provide you a much larger rendering of the new Civil Courts Building in Downtown than the one that appeared elsewhere. Click the image above for a larger view.

A number of elements of the design come across much better in this larger rendering – the corner entrances, the large ground-floor windows, the plaza space backed by the large curved western facade – but perhaps the most interesting element, which did not come across very clearly in the smaller rendering and was not mentioned at all in the previous media coverage, is the appearance of two of the sculptures of Justice from the existing Civil Courts Building on the western facade.

The angelic sculptures are often assumed to have been added to the existing building in 1988, when it was remodeled to include a new fake facade with Richard Haas trompe l’oeil mural to try and match it more successfully to the Tarrant County Courthouse:

The sculptures are actually limestone, though, and have been on the building since it opened in 1958 in its original form:

It is very interesting to see that the HOK/HKS design for the new building looks to include at least two of the sculptures. Since the sculptures are considered by many (including us) to be the only things worth saving from the otherwise unfortunate existing Civil Courts Building, re-using them on a more attractive and appropriate structure would be a great move to let them get the attention they deserve. They really are quite lovely sculptures.

Thanks again to HOK for providing a larger rendering of the new building.