Moshe Safdie-designed Springfield courthouse gets a builder.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)

The U.S. General Services Administration has awarded a $53.3 million contract to Holyoke, Mass.-based Daniel O'Connell's Sons to construct a 162,000-sf Federal courthouse in Springfield, Mass.

Designed by Moshe Safdie and Associates, Somerville, Mass., the crescent shaped facility features a colonnade entry pavilion that spirals around ancient Copper Beech, Linden, and Black Walnut trees. The entryway leads to a grand stair that ascends to the courtrooms on the building's third public level.

Public spaces are formed by a series of layers to satisfy …