Architizer A+ Award for Polk County Historic Courthouse

The Polk County Historic Courthouse has been honored with a Special Mention in the 2025 Architizer A+ Awards in the Institutional: Government and Civic Buildings category.

The Architizer A+ Awards is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and products. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life. Typically, five finalists in each category are selected and are featured on Architizer’s website based on excellence in form and function in more than 100 categories.

The restoration of the Polk County Historic Courthouse accommodates the functional needs of the Fifth Judicial District while also preserving the defining characteristics of the 1906-Beaux Arts Classical style structure. The first phase of the project, completed in 2015, included repairs to the exterior as well as all new exterior lighting. Interior renovations were the final phases of the overall master plan, which included a Justice Center and Criminal Courts buildings, both of which are complete.

Justice, dignity, and safety are the main drivers for use in the new building. Though the majority of cases involving detainees and criminal cases occur in the Criminal Courts building, the historic courthouse provides security in much the same way. The modernized layout allows courtroom use to be more flexible. This allows the state to schedule and hear more cases with fewer courtrooms. It also creates spaces for the public and lawyers to hold conferences in private which didn’t previously exist.

The restoration and preservation of the historic courthouse bring the century-old building back to life by uncovering and restoring much of its original details and architecture. This project situates the building for its next century of service.

The courthouse also was honored with an AIA Honor Award in 2024, an AIA Justice Facilities Review Award in 2023, and a Merit Award from the Illuminating Engineering Society.