The entire ceiling of the Georgia Supreme Court is being replaced after part of it fell to the floor.
The court is part of the $131 million Nathan Deal Judicial Center that officially opened in February 2020, bearing former governor Deal’s name. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke at the building’s dedication ceremony, calling it a “magnificent architectural achievement.”
Gerald Pilgrim, the deputy executive director and chief of staff for the Georgia Building Authority, said the damage was discovered last Friday morning during a routine inspection. He said the cause of the damage is under investigation.
“Part of the plaster came down. It does not appear to be anything to do with the rain or any kind of roof leaks that we’re able to determine at this time,” he said. “We’re not sure if it was just the materials that were originally installed, if it was just through the heat and humidity.”
Pilgrim said the entire building had been inspected and no other issues were discovered. He said the whole courtroom ceiling is being replaced as a precaution. The cost of repair is not yet known.
The damage and repairs have not interrupted court proceedings, Pilgrim said. The courtroom is due to be used for oral arguments on Aug. 20 and 21. Pilgrim said the ceiling should be replaced by then.
“We hope to have it all cleaned up and ready by next week,” he said.
The judicial center, on the old Georgia Archives Building site along Capitol Ave in downtown Atlanta, also houses Georgia’s Court of Appeals and Business Court. It was one of the state’s most expensive building projects.
Encompassing 224,000 square feet, the six-story center features Georgia marble Ionic columns, bronze handrails, terrazzo flooring and furniture made by state prison inmates. It is Georgia’s first state building dedicated entirely to the judiciary.
“It is expected to last a century,” the Georgia Building Authority stated in an online blog about the center’s opening.
The courtroom of the state Supreme Court is on the center’s sixth floor.
