The Public Defender’s Office was a two-story renovation of the Old Augusta Library in downtown Augusta, Georgia.  The existing site contained two buildings that had to be completely demolished: one 1500 sq.ft. masonry building and a 6000 sq.ft. abandoned house.  The first steps in this renovation involved demolition and asbestos abatement, installation of the new roof, and cleaning the exterior of the building.

The Public Defender’s Office was modeled with a modern industrial style.  The scope of work included new offices, an entrance lobby with reception area, the preservation of the monumental front staircase and the addition of a glass guardrail system, consult rooms with special sound insulation in the ceiling and walls for confidentiality, training rooms, an elevator, conference rooms, and open office space. The second floor contains a huge archive room with an integrated computer system used to convey the exact location of hard copy case files among the shelves. In addition, the original garage in the back of the building was converted into a full mock courtroom. This mock courtroom is the only one in the circuit.