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New Quinte Courthouse dishes out serious energy-efficient-style justice

September 5, 2013 - A new, energy-efficient courthouse is open for business in downtown Belleville, Ont. Construction of the Quinte Courthouse for the County of Hastings was completed in July 2013, with court operations beginning in late August.

September 6, 2013  By  Anthony Capkun


Located at 15 Bridge Street West, the new facility consolidates Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice services. Crown attorneys, courts administration, the Victim Witness Assistance program, the Hastings County Law Association, Adult Probation and Parole, Children’s Aid Society, Legal Aid Ontario, the John Howard Society, Salvation Army, and mental health workers are now being housed in a single facility.

The courthouse was designed and built to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard. Its signature feature is a 360-m2 green roof, which was incorporated into the building design to improve energy conservation and stormwater runoff.

Other features of the Quinte Courthouse include:

• A system that modulates and measures airflow to keep the temperature and humidity levels in the building consistent and comfortable.
• A design that takes advantage of natural light wherever possible to reduce electricity use.
• Low-flow water fixtures and housekeeping practices that reduce water consumption.
• Motion-sensitive lights in courtrooms, interview rooms, meeting rooms, training rooms, and boardrooms.
• motorized blinds that lower automatically as sunlight increases to the reduce cooling load.

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