A Righteous Structure

Designated to be a welcoming hub for visitors and an optimal educational environment, the contemporary design of the new UBC Faculty of Law building truly raises the bar.

A true scholarly collaboration from the very beginning, the UBC Law building design team delivered an innovative structure meeting the university’s need for a state-of-the-art faculty that does justice to the entire community it serves.

In the Fall of 2011, the UBC Law faculty and students moved into their new home – a 141,000 sq ft modern research and educational facility designed to LEED Gold standards.  With a focus on connecting with legal communities globally, the new Law building features a modern library, high-tech classrooms, large forefront lecture theatres, as well as new office space and a cutting edge moot court.

From the early stages of the project, the entire design team worked collaboratively to provide a flexible structural design meeting the heavy load demands of its library collection, as well as optimally showcasing the facility’s aesthetic objectives. Structural systems modelled in REVIT by RJC enabled seamless coordination from the project’s start to finish among all team members. 

Sleek steel stairs, with supports only at floor levels, echo the modern architectural design embodied in neighbouring UBC buildings. Long spanning reinforced concrete beams and three storeys of continuous glazing allow an abundance of natural light to flow into the moot court, strengthening the building’s connection with the campus outside.

Using a two-way floor plate system, RJC reduced the need for conventional beams and slabs, leading to lower construction costs and achieving the architect’s open space concept. In some areas, columns were completely transferred out to create large spaces for lecture halls, providing maximum opportunity for architectural expression.  The east wings of the third and fourth floors were engineered to accommodate expected heavy files, with the capability of converting the third floor to compact file storage space in the future.