District Court Extension, Alingsås, Sweden, by Tengbom

In extending the district courthouse of Alingsås to incorporate two further court rooms, Tengbom decided to emulate the scale and gabled silhouette of the extant late-19th-century building. However, rather than proceeding in a straightforwardly mimetic manner – the cause of an earlier design being rejected – the architects chose to clad the entire envelope in zinc. This was applied in panels of irregular width, revealing the hand-crafted nature of the technique. The interiors and furnishings are of wood with zinc accents recalling the facade, and the courtrooms themselves occupy the upper storey up to the roofline, giving these spaces impressive volume. This was insisted on by the designers, who ameliorated the potential difficulties arising from such a decision with the aid of acousticians.