Allard Hall

Aerial view of Allard Hall.

Allard Hall is the main building for the Peter A. Allard School of Law[1] at the University of British Columbia.[2] The building is located at UBC's Point Grey campus in the University Endowment Lands in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Allard Hall first opened its doors in the fall of 2011, becoming the newest purpose-built Canadian law building in 30 years.[3] It is now one of the world's leading centres for legal education and research. Its faculty engages in research with national and global reach and provides students with some of the most extensive and innovative curricular opportunities of any Canadian law school. The law school offers strengths in many fields, including business law, international law, environmental and natural resources law, and indigenous legal issues, to name a few. Graduates have gone on to leadership positions in a broad range of spheres, from the legal profession, to government, public interest organizations, business and academia.

History and construction

In 1976 construction began on the Curtis building, named for the Faculty's founding Dean, George F. Curtis, who died on October 23, 2005. The Curtis building housed the Faculty until May, 2009. The Curtis building was demolished in 2010 and a new building, Allard Hall was constructed on the same land.[4] Allard hall was designed by Toronto-based Diamond and Schmitt Architects in collaboration with CEI Architecture.[5] Construction of Allard Hall included overcoming several challenges. Allard Hall needed to be built to withhold the weight of its huge library collection. As a result, concrete slabs had to be strong. The design was successful, and when not in use, the library shelves can be hand-cranked together to conserve space.[6] During construction the old library was kept intact in order to provide space for the library collection and for students to work and study. Once Allard Hall was completed, the remainder of the Curtis building was demolished.[5]

Fundraising

Allan Houser's sculpture "Legends Begin" donated by Peter A. Allard, QC.

The Faculty had been working to secure the funds for a new building since the mid-1990s. The Law Foundation of British Columbia laid the foundation for the project by committing two separate matching fund grants totaling $12 million for the building campaign. Major gifts by leading law firms and graduates along with hundreds of contributions from alumni and friends were key to the campaign’s success.[7] On July 13, 2011, UBC announced a significant gift from law alumnus Mr. Peter A. Allard, QC. As of July 2011, Mr. Allard's $11.86 million gift was the single largest donation to the Faculty and one of the largest donations ever to a Canadian law school. In making his donation, Mr. Allard stated “Ever since my days at UBC, I have possessed a strong belief in the enduring and transformative power of a legal education, and I believe this profession provides for the long term greater good of society.”[8] Mr. Allard’s gift also established the Allard Prize for International Integrity, and created an online historical faculty archive, the Allard School of Law History Project.[8] In addition, Mr. Allard donated a sculpture by Native American artist Allan Houser entitled “Legends Begin,” which is displayed on the 4th floor Terrace Lounge in Allard Hall.[7] Recently, Mr. Allard donated a number of art pieces by photographer Fred Herzog, who captured images of people and scenes of Vancouver's urban landscape in the 1950s and 60s.

Private fundraising for the building totaled nearly $35 million, making the campaign the most successful private fundraising effort in history for a Canadian law school building. The University committed the remaining $21 million toward the building's $56 million cost. In honour of Mr. Allard's generosity, the Faculty named its new building Allard Hall.[9]

Official opening of Allard Hall on September 23, 2011.

Official opening

On September 23, 2011, UBC welcomed close to 300 students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends to the official opening ceremony of Allard Hall. The program

included remarks from the Chief Justice of Canada, the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin (McLachlin's speech); the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, the Honourable Steven Point (Point's Speech); UBC President Stephen Toope (Toope's speech); and the two major donors to the building project, Allard and the Law Foundation of British Columbia (LFBC Sasges' speech). (Allard's speech is also available in French, Spanish and Chinese. You can also read his interview on ethics with the Legal Eye).[9]

Building description

As of September 2013, the four-story and 141,000 square foot building houses approximately 562 J.D. students, 113 LL.M. and Ph.D. students, 47 faculty and 42 staff. Architect Don Schmitt stated that his vision was "to create a new forum for teaching law in the 21st century. The existing building was concrete, divided into small spaces, not connected; each was their own silo. The new building opens up the interior and is more connective, bringing different law years and faculty and research together in a collaborative environment".[5] The main feature of the building is the Franklin Lew Forum. The architect describes this space as at the "common crossroads" that "all paths lead to". This space can be opened and closed to accommodate groups as well.[5] The classrooms come with webcasting technology as well as video displays.[9] The classrooms were designed to allow more back and forth discussion between students and teachers.[10]

The multi-purpose Franklin Lew Forum at Allard Hall.

The Law Library is another important feature of the law school. The library is three-stories tall and has a mezzanine overlooking the middle floor. One of the main features of this space was to incorporate natural light, of which there is plenty.[5]

Also important to the building was the creation of intentional outdoor spaces. These were designed by landscape architect Nastaran Moradinejad of Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg. The objective behind her creation was to incorporate aspects of Musqueam heritage by utilizing the theme of the river grass. A water feature is situated on the north side of the building which serves as a space for contemplation.[5]

Water feature at the north side of Allard Hall.

Sustainability

Many sustainability initiatives were factored into Allard Hall’s construction and it was designed to meet GOLD LEED certification. Many elements worked towards achieving this goal. A Geo-exchange system harvests heat energy in the earth for use in the building; occupancy sensors, light dimming and switching give users greater control to minimize power consumption; a high emissivity roof, a courtyard, and enough natural light to reduce artificial light reliance.[5]

Artwork at Allard Hall

Allard Hall provides students and faculty with an inspiring setting for the study of law. Part of that setting includes creating space for visual art of demonstrable excellence by artists of significance. The Faculty has a particular interest in art which explores the role of law in securing justice, freedom and equality. Here are some examples of artwork in Allard Hall.

Awards

Allard Hall has received a series of awards and recognition for its design. Some of these include:

About Peter A. Allard, QC

Peter A. Allard, QC graduated from UBC with a BA in history in 1968. He received his LLB in 1971. Mr. Allard founded the law firm Allard & Co. and currently runs the investment firm Peterco Holdings Ltd. Mr. Allard established the Highbury Foundation in 1993 which lends support to medical communities in Alberta and BC. The Highbury foundation has also made donations to post-secondary institutions in Western Canada.[7]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allard.ubc.ca/
  2. ↑ https://www.ubc.ca/
  3. ↑ , "Allard Hall", Peter A. Allard School of Law.
  4. ↑ , "Law School History", Allard School of Law.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Award, August 2011 Edition, Allard School of Law UBC, Van't Haaff, p. 69
  6. ↑ , Jean Sorensen, "New University of British Columbia law building expected to open in August", Journal of Commerce, July 27, 2011
  7. 1 2 3 , Heather Gardiner, "UBC Alumnus Donates $12 Million to Law School", Canadian Lawyer Magazine, July 13, 2011.
  8. 1 2 , "Peter Allard donate $11.86 million to UBC Law", Financial Post, July 13, 2011.
  9. 1 2 3 , Gerry Bellett "UBC unveils new $56 million law school", Vancouver Sun, September 23, 2011.
  10. ↑ , James Bradshaw, "UBC law school gets donation worth amount $12-million, Globe and Mail, Sept 6, 2012.
  11. ↑ , "UBC Allard Hall Faculty of Law Building", CEI Architecture, 2011.

Coordinates: 49°16′12″N 123°15′11″W / 49.27°N 123.253°W / 49.27; -123.253

External links

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