Fentress Inc. conducted a functional assessment of the Henderson County Courthouse in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The assessment included focus groups and interviews with subject matter experts from the court and all county tenants housed within the facility, as well as independent research on regional demographics and a comprehensive architectural evaluation. During the focus groups and interviews, workload, staffing, and space trends were identified, and projections for future needs were discussed at length. Fentress used this input as well as the conclusions drawn from research and analysis to develop workload, staffing, and space projections for the court and related components 30 years into the future.
The existing facility was assessed utilizing CORE, Fentress’ proprietary evaluation tool. The assessment covered six key areas: space standards, space functionality, security, building condition, building systems, and technology. The baseline data generated by the CORE tool helped identify areas of need, and the results of the CORE tool evaluation were combined with the results of the group and individual sessions, along with the supplemental research and analysis to develop and evaluate design alternatives for a renovation, annex, or new courthouse project.
