When Statsbygg and the Norwegian Court Administration plan new courthouses, it’s not just about square meters. It’s about safety, logistics, legal certainty, and the proper use of public funds. At the same time, designing courthouses is a challenging task. Many user groups have different needs, and activities within the buildings also vary throughout the week.
Previously, the planning of new courthouses was based on space guidelines for courthouses, empirical data, and user input. However, there was some uncertainty regarding capacity, and this is particularly important when designing large courthouses.
Statsbygg and the Norwegian Court Administration therefore conducted a comprehensive space survey in the courthouses in Stavanger, Drammen, and Mysen to establish a more reliable factual basis for usage. Using sensors, the actual use of meeting rooms, courtrooms, holding cells, and visitor traffic was recorded over a period of six months.
“The data from the sensors provides an accurate picture of usage and has given us new and valuable insights into the use of our buildings that we would not have obtained otherwise,” says Arnstein Fikkan, Head of Real Estate at the Norwegian Court Administration.
The project documented a discrepancy between perceived capacity needs and actual needs. The survey also revealed other findings:
The actual utilization rate of space, particularly workspace, was in some cases quite low.
The use of courtrooms and, in particular, meeting rooms was lower than expected. Although the rooms might have seemed “fully booked,” the data showed that they stood empty for parts of the day. This is a classic example of how booking data does not equate to actual usage.
“The space assessment in this project showed us that we have potential for space savings in future courthouse projects and opportunities to make better use of courthouses through technology and improved planning,” says Miriam Sandaa Hagen, project manager for early-phase consultingprojects at Statsbygg.
Instead of designing many large meeting rooms, future courthouses can be designed with fewer and smaller rooms, tailored to actual use. This enables significant savings in construction costs and environmental impact, which is important to Statsbygg. At the same time, operating and maintenance costs can be reduced, which is important for the Norwegian Court Administration.
Furthermore, the data can contribute to:
Improved logistics for court proceedings
More accurate room sizing
Although the project focused on courthouses, the lessons learned are relevant to all large office buildings, universities, hospitals, and other public buildings. Experience clearly shows that organizations almost always overestimate how much space they need when decisions are made without actual usage data.
“We provide public sector organizations with the tools they need to create flexible, modern, and sustainable buildings based on actual usage data,” says Henning Bodin, COO of BLDNG. In this project, we have also played a major role in interpreting data to optimize the workplace for the client.
By moving from assumptions to facts, businesses can plan more accurately, reduce costs, and simultaneously improve the user experience.
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