Law Courts (Vancouver) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Law Courts building is part of the landmark Robson Square

Robson Square

Robson Square is a landmark civic centre and public plaza of modernist concrete, located in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the site of the Provincial Law Courts, UBC Robson Square, government office buildings, and public space connecting the newer development to the Vancouver Art...

complex in downtown Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson

Arthur Erickson

Arthur Charles Erickson, was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Asian languages at the University of British Columbia, and later earned a degree in architecture from McGill University.-Biography:...

. The Law Courts building occupies the southern block of the three city block complex, provincial government

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

offices the middle block, and the Vancouver Art Gallery

Vancouver Art Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-largest art gallery in Canada and the largest in Western Canada. It is located at 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, British Columbia...

the northern block. The building is used exclusively by the two higher courts of the Province of British Columbia: the Supreme Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia. The BCSC hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. Including supernumerary judges, there are presently 108 judges...

and the Court of Appeal

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The British Columbia Court of Appeal is the highest appellate court in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The BCCA hears appeals from the Supreme Court of British Columbia and a number of boards and tribunals. The BCCA also hears criminal appeals from the Provincial Court of British...

Background

The project began as The British Columbia Centre, a provincial government project to replace the neo-Classical courthouse forming the northern of the three Robson Square blocks which now houses the Vancouver Art Gallery

Vancouver Art Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-largest art gallery in Canada and the largest in Western Canada. It is located at 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, British Columbia...

. The proposed 50-storey tower, at 208 metres (682 feet), would have been the tallest skyscraper

Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...

in the city (and taller than the Living Shangri-La, which holds the record as of 2011). In 1972 the provincial government of WAC Bennett was defeated by the NDP

NDP

- Political parties :* National Democratic Party, any one of many political parties of that name around the world* Nebraska Democratic Party, a political party in Nebraska, United States...

government of Dave Barrett

Dave Barrett

David Barrett, OC , commonly known as Dave Barrett, is a retired politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada...

. Just as the tower's construction phase was about to begin the plan was scrapped and Arthur Erickson Architects was commissioned to create a new design in 1973. The concept was revised into a "horizontal highrise", "B.C. Centre on its back." The inspiration for this has been credited both to the architect and to the government minister responsible for the courts. The building opened in 1980.

Architecture

The building is a 7-storey structure housing 35 courtrooms and is 42 metres (138 ft) in height. It is largely covered by a roof of green-tinted glass over a space-frame structure covering approximately 50,000 square feet (4,645 m2), more than one acre, of occupied space. The entry and public circulation spaces are open to this roof, forming a large skylit indoor public atrium. Access is directly from the street and by an upper-level walkway connecting to the Robson Square rooftop garden to the north, forming a three-block accessible-for-all roof integrated into the city core. Its innovative architecture and urban design have been recognized as one of the world-renowned landmarks of downtown Vancouver, incorporating "a style that remains connected to the surroundings, with a sensitivity for nature and the environment."

Erickson described his concept as: “This won’t be a corporate monument. Let’s turn it on its side and let people walk all over it.”

The tan-coloured concrete structure is exposed on the exterior and interior of the building. The other main exterior material is green-tinted glass. The late-modernist

Late Modernism

Late modernism encompasses the overall production of most recent art made between the aftermath of World War II and the early years of the 21st century. The terminology often points to similarities between late modernism and post-modernism although there are differences. The predominant term for...

geometric form and hard materials are softened by an extensive use of landscaping around the building, in a series of horizontal planters terracing up from street level into the large public indoor atrium, and on the rooftop terrace. The landscape design was undertaken in Erickson's office by landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

Cornelia Oberlander

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, OC is a Canadian landscape architect based in Vancouver, British Columbia. During her career she has contributed to the designs of many high-profile buildings in both Canada and the United States, including the Robson Square and Law Courts Complex in Vancouver, the...

. Incorporating trees and landscaping into a building was a new concept for Vancouver at the time.

Awards

The architecture and landscape architecture have received acclaim for excellence in design.

In 2011 the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada , founded in 1907, is a Canadian association representing over 3,600 architects, and faculty and graduates of Canadian Schools of Architecture.RAIC is the voice for architecture and its practice in Canada...

(RAIC) awarded its Prix du XXe siècle Award to the complex, describing the concept of a "linear urban park, importing nature into the city", as "a bold, contemplative work of urban design."

In 1982 the RAIC's awarded the Governor General's Gold Medal to the complex.

In 1979 The American Society of Landscape Architects awarded its President's Award for Excellence, noting the project's "extraordinary integration of landscape architecture with architecture".

External links

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