The U Law School will kick off the new year by opening the doors to its new building.
The SJ Quinney College of Law’s new home has six different levels, open study space, an integrated law library, a cafe and other facilities. Robert Adler, dean of the College of Law, said the building will benefit both the law school and the university as a whole.
“It’s the [law school’s] first new home in half a century, and it’s more student-centric, with seven times more space for students,” he said. “It’s also the new gateway to the southwest corner of campus.”
Sara Kim, a second-year law student, said she liked the connections she could make in the old law school but didn’t like how it was separated from the rest of campus.
“Everything was so old and small, and it was just so far from main campus that we all just felt like we were packed in,” Kim said.
Adler said in addition to opening a new facility, the law school is shifting its focus to student development. One of the goals is to have smaller classes so students can learn through small groups and by direct interaction with faculty.
“It’s going to greatly enhance the ability to train law students and to engage the community and the rest of campus,” Adler said.
In addition to new facilities, the building aims to be more environmentally friendly. Alex Schwerdt, project manager with Big D Constructions, said the structure involves sustainable components, such as a system that reuses water within the building to control heating, cooling and plumbing. On the sixth-level terrace there are translucent solar panels.
There are also operable windows that can be opened and closed and are connected to a control so that when they open, the HV/AC unit turns off. Schwerdt also said the windows have a “bird glazing” with a spiderweb-type texture that reacts differently with UV ray spectrum that birds see to prevent collisions with the glass.
Kim said she not only likes the new law school because it’s newer and more structurally sound, but because it also provides a better atmosphere for her studies.
“It’s exciting to go see all the classrooms and see how different it is from the old building,” she said. “When you come in here, you just feel very professional.”
The building’s grand opening will be Tuesday, Sept. 1.
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