We craft solutions that inspire people and create positive environmental, economic, and social change.
Our approach to design is fueled by diverse perspectives, taking into account, global, regional, and local trends to inform adaptable spaces that meet the needs of today’s law students and well into the future.
Contemporary schools of law provide a wide variety of flexible learning environments. They are technologically-advanced, they support simulationbased education, and they enable experiential and group learning. They support new programs that provide new opportunities for students. The changing expectations of the legal marketplace demand that law schools develop the skills that lawyers will need tomorrow: collaborative, teambased professionals increasingly equipped with techniques of management and IT.
Law schools need multipurpose environments and outreach spaces to facilitate connections with alumni and with the legal, legislative, university, and surrounding communities. These spaces need to operate as dynamic hubs that engage diverse communities for the advancement of law and policy. Productive work environments for expanding clinical programs should be integrated as well as collaborative laboratory-like spaces for incubation and acceleration.
At Perkins&Will, we develop careful thought leadership to inform our processes and to guide our planning. Our mission-centric approach embraces the use of analytic tools. We have created a benchmarking database which allows comparison with relevant law schools, placing anticipated program needs in context and facilitating understanding of program emphases relative to space requirements. We also bring the results of a three-year research project led by Tom Butcavage, which evaluates data collected for three new law school buildings and provides insight into the attributes of innovative learning environments that most impact student engagement.
Our well-informed process includes the preparation and presentation of fund raising materials to donors and project advocates. For example, the innovation that we drove through the SJ Quinney College of Law project helped to attract a foundation that aimed to create lasting community change. And we are currently collaborating with a donor on design concepts for a new Trial Advocacy Center for the University of California, Hastings College of Law’s new building.
San Francisco, California
Client: UC College of the Law, San Francisco
Size: 350,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2023
Partners: Greystar , Build Group, Strada
― WHAT IT IS
The new “Academic Village” will contain appellate law and trial advocacy centers and an innovation hub concentrated on emerging legal technologies.
Washington, DC
Client: Georgetown University
Size: 30,000 square feet
Multiple phases
Completion Date: 2020-2023
The two-story transparent lobby provides spaces to arrive, socialize, listen, and gather
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Georgetown Law School is embarking on a comprehensive renovation to leverage the benefits of more engaging learning and outreach environments.
Georgetown University, McDonough Hall Renovations
Client: University of Cincinnati, College of Law
Size: 118,500 square feet
Completion Date: 2022
Cincinnati, Ohio ― WHAT IT IS A renovation and expansion designed to emphasize the student experience and promote student success.
University of Cincinnati, College of Law, Linder Hall
The variety of settings— technology-rich flexible spaces suited to individual study and collaborative research with easy access to multimedia resources—will meet the research, training, and learning needs of faculty and students.
Clockwise from Top Left: Student study and break areas; Moot courtroom/auditorium, Main expansion atrium connecting to terrace and quad.
Brooklyn, New York
Client: Brooklyn Law School
Size: 220,660 square feet
Completion Date: Ongoing
This vibrant intellectual community is located within blocks of the nation’s busiest courts, law offices, and government agencies. It has been designed to merge the programmatic needs of the school with real estate opportunities.
Washington, DC
Client: George Washington University
Size: 38,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2013
Sustainability: LEED Silver
― WHAT IT IS
The Law Learning Center sets the stage for a new six-story building. Mainly below-grade, the Center includes seminar rooms, a moot court, lounge, and office space for the student journals.
Law schools currently offer new programs focused on business, management, and IT skills development.
Perkins&Will is a national leader in the design of facilities for business education.
Berkeley, California
Client: University of California, Berkeley
Size: 74,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2017
Sustainability: LEED Platinum ® , TRUE Platinum Zero Waste Certified
― WHAT IT IS Chou Hall represents a new focal point for the Haas campus and is devoted entirely to student learning and interaction, where classroom and digital learning work together to foster community.
Chou Hall is the country’s greenest academic building, having earned TRUE Zero Waste certification at the highest possible level along with a LEED Platinum certification for its energy efficient design.
Springfield, Missouri
Client: Missouri State University
Size: 99,000 square feet
new: 38,000 square feet
renovation: 61,000 square feet
Completion Date: 2017
Awards: Public Recognition Award, AIA Springfield, 2018
Partners: Dake Wells Architecture
― WHAT IT IS The Student Success Center includes executive education classrooms, a Think Tank laboratory, a financial markets lab, and a variety of group study areas and multi-purpose meeting rooms.
Kent, Ohio
Client: Kent State University
Size: 158,400 square feet
Completion Date: 2021
Partners: Signet
― WHAT IT IS Transformational new college of business focused on community, transparency, flexibility, and resilience with a P4 design/build delivery.
Since 1935, we’ve believed that design has the power to make the world a better, more beautiful place.
Since 1935, we’ve believed that design has the power to make the world a better, more beautiful place. That’s why clients and communities on nearly every continent partner with us to design healthy, happy places in which to live, learn, work, play, and heal. We’re passionate about humancentered design, and committed to creating a positive impact in people’s lives through sustainability, resilience, well-being, diversity, inclusion, and research. In fact, Fast Company named us one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture. Our global team of 2,700 creatives and critical thinkers provides integrated services in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and more. Our partners include Danish architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen; retail strategy and design consultancy Portland; sustainable transportation planning consultancy Nelson\Nygaard; and luxury hospitality design firm PierreYves Rochon (PYR).
For more information, contact: highereducation@perkinswill.com