Stylish design in the courtroom

Acoustic elements from Troldtekt’s tilt line design solution have been installed in Wuppertal’s district court building.

The impressive neoclassical district court building in Wuppertal (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), built around an inner courtyard and completed in 1854, is one of Germany’s oldest court buildings. Planned by Carl Ferdinand Busse, a student of the influential architect Carl Friedrich Schinkel and director of the Bauakademie Berlin, the building’s architecture was designed to reflect the transparency and openness of the judiciary.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a district court building was added to the complex, which is located on what is known as ‘Court Island’ on the Wupper river, followed by a six-storey new build in 2005.

The courtroom

One of the main rooms in the district court building – not least because of its size – is the courtroom. It was completely gutted by fire in 1943 following bomb attacks on the court building and was reconstructed in the postwar period, as was the entire courthouse. Further reconstruction and renovation work was carried out in 1971, and another extensive renovation took place in 2003 and 2004.

Tilt line as a design element

Since 1955 one of the most striking features in the modernised courtroom – which now meets all of the latest safety and media technology requirements – has been the large mosaic depicting The Judgement of Solomon by Wuppertal artist Adelheid Horschik, which hangs prominently on the white wall behind the judge’s bench.
Acoustic elements from the tilt line design solution have been installed along the side walls of the courtroom to create the optical effect of simulated spines of file folders. The natural-coloured elements artfully frame the brown doors and some of the flat screens. The matching radiators are discreetly set in small coves in the wall covering, which adds creative flair and style to the linear elements which structure the design of the room.