The Rabinowitz Courthouse is a five-story, 128,000 sf facility on the riverfront in downtown Fairbanks. The structure is a dynamic assemblage of three interlocking architectural forms. The typical floors are 7-inch-thick, 2-hour-rated composite systems. This increased slab thickness also addressed sound and vibration control concerns. Standard framing uses wide flange steel for both the floors and roof. This was chosen both for cost and constructability considerations. A concrete shear wall system was chosen for the lateral force resisting system due to the lack of vertical continuity for steel brace frames at the interior of the building, visual obstruction of steel braced frames at exterior walls, the expense of a moment frame system, and the efficiency of using concrete walls to provide fire protection at the stair and elevator towers.
