rummet och r ä t te n 611 complement to the long-term perspective, special focus will be put on three time periods: the turn of 1800, the turn of 1900 and the 1950s, respectively, with each period forming a separate chapter in the thesis. When the law came into force, the formulation of the paragraph on courthouses did not refer to awide-spread building custom.At the time, most courthouses were both perceived and built as large buildings.The wording in the provision in question reveals that the court’s activities required more than one room and was thus based on a conception that implied more than a court session house.The legal provision not only established the idea of a purpose-built and separate courthouse, it also constituted the initial step towards an idea of a courthouse which included different functional zones. By the turn of 1800, about one third of all judicial districts that decided to build a dedicated courthouse chose to correspond with the Superintendent’s Office in regards to the design. In comparison with the inhabitants of the districts, the architects paid more attention to the communication issues within the layout, but on the whole the different participants expressed the same conception of a courthouse. Although there was no singular building type, the range of spatial configurations and architectural elements applied was limited.The design concept was not an innovation founded on the articulated needs of the district court, but rather appears to be a result of the application of traditional construction methods and a small number of established form conventions.These conventions were identical with the classicist principles that characterized the residences of public officials, which had begun to emerge in the late 17th century as an effect of official standard drawings.The choice of already established forms should not be considered arbitrary. Associated with the abodes of public officials which at times served as reception rooms, the Taking shape. Courthouses by the turn of 1800
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