DURING THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1974, TEAMS OF STUDENTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO CIRCLE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE SURVEYED HUNDREDS OF OLDER COURTHOUSES IN 13 STATES. NINE WERE SELECTED AS PROTOTYPES OF COMMON SPACE MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS. THE STUDENT TEAMS VISITED THESE NINE COURTHOUSES AND, ACTING AS PARAPROFESSIONALS IN CLIENT SITUATIONS, PREPARED COMPLETE FEASIBILITY STUDIES, WHICH ANSWERED QUESTIONS OF GROWTH, SITE AND SPACE PLANNING AND STRUCTURAL AND CODE PROBLEMS AND PROVIDED ROUGH COST ESTIMATES. CHAPTERS DEALING WITH DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS, CONSERVATION ISSUES, COURTHOUSE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, CREATING NEW SPACES, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A COURTHOUSE CONSERVATION PROJECT ARE BASED ON THE EXPERIENCES OF THE STUDENTS. A CASE STUDY OF THE SUCCESSFUL RENOVATION OF THE MARSHALL COUNTY (IA) COURTHOUSE IS INCLUDED. A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND GUIDES TO DESIGN, PRESERVATION, AND PLANNING RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS AND COURT AND COURTROOM RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)