Law Courts (Vancouver)

Last updated August 27, 2024

The sloping glass roof of the Law Courts, behind Robson Square in the foreground, as seen from the Vancouver Art Gallery RobsonSquare.jpg — The sloping glass roof of the Law Courts, behind Robson Square in the foreground, as seen from the Vancouver Art Gallery

The Law Courts building is part of the landmark Robson Square complex in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. The Law Courts building occupies the southern block of the three city block complex, provincial government offices the middle block, and the Vancouver Art Gallery the northern block. The building is used exclusively by the two higher courts of the Province of British Columbia: the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

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. The proposed 50-storey tower, at 208 metres (682 feet), would have been the tallest 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 government of Dave Barrett. 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",^[1] "B.C. Centre on its back."^[2] The inspiration for this has been credited both to the architect and to the government minister responsible for the courts.^[3] The building opened in 1979 with a ceremony on September 6 featuring Lord Denning^[4]^{[ circular reference ]}.

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.^[5] 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."^[6]

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."^[7]

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 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.^[8] The landscape design was undertaken in Erickson's office by landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander.^[9] Incorporating trees and landscaping into a building was a new concept for Vancouver at the time.^[10]

Awards

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

In 2011 the Royal Architectural Institute of 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."^[11]
In 1982 the RAIC's awarded the Governor General's Gold Medal to the complex.^[12]
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".^[13]

Related Research Articles

A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water management, sustainable design, construction specification, and ensuring that all plans meet the current building codes and local and federal ordinances.

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada displays world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. As well as being a major tourist destination, MOA is a research and teaching museum, where UBC courses in art, anthropology, archaeology, conservation, and museum studies are given. MOA houses close to 50,000 ethnographic objects, as well as 535,000 archaeological objects in its building alone.

Arthur Charles Erickson was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied at the University of British Columbia and, in 1950, received his B.Arch. (Honours) from McGill University. He is known as Canada's most influential architect and was the only Canadian architect to win the American Institute of Architects AIA Gold Medal. When told of Erickson's award, Philip Johnson said, "Arthur Erickson is by far the greatest architect in Canada, and he may be the greatest on this continent."

The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a 15,300-square-metre-building (165,000 sq ft) adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Francis Rattenbury, the building the museum occupies was originally opened as a provincial courthouse, before it was re-purposed for museum use in the early 1980s. The building was designated the Former Vancouver Law Courts National Historic Site of Canada in 1980.

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander LL.D. was a German-born Canadian landscape architect. Her firm, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Landscape Architects, was founded in 1953, when she moved to Vancouver.

H. Peter Oberlander, was a Canadian architect and Canada's first professor of Urban and Regional Planning.

Bing Wing Thom, was a Canadian architect and urban designer. Born in Hong Kong, he immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with his family in 1950. His paternal grandfather originally immigrated to Vancouver in the 1890s and his father was born in New Westminster before moving to Hong Kong after being unable to practice as a pharmacist in Canada.

Robson Square is a landmark civic centre and public plaza, 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 Gallery.

Bruno Freschi is a Canadian architect and an officer in the Order of Canada, known for his role as chief architect for Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Some of his notable works include Science World in Vancouver, the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby, and the Staples Residence in Vancouver.

Zeidler Architecture Inc. is a national architecture, interior design, urban design, and master planning firm with four Canadian offices located in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria.

The C. K. Choi Building is an educational building on the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) known for its sustainable design features. Named for businessman and philanthropist Dr. Cheung-Kok Choi, the building houses UBC's Institute of Asian Research. The architecture of the building implements Asian motifs.

The architecture of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver area consists of a variety of modern architectural styles, such as the 20th-century Edwardian and the 21st-century modernist styles. Initially, the city architects embraced styles developed in Europe and the United States, with only limited local variation.

Eva Matsuzaki is a retired architect and first former female president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). Eva immigrated from Latvia to the United States and later developed her career living in Vancouver, Canada. In 1998, she established her own firm known as Matsuzaki Architects Incorporated along with her husband, Kiyoshi Matsuzaki. Matsuzaki is a founding member of Vancouver's women in architecture support network and is involved in environmentally sensitive and sustainable building design.

BattersbyHowat Architects is an architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design firm based in Vancouver, Canada, with a second office in Edmonton. The practice was founded in 1996 by partners David Battersby and Heather Howat.

D’Arcy Jones is a Canadian architect and the founding principal of D’Arcy Jones Architects (DJA), a studio practice based out of Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. DJA's portfolio consists of completed and ongoing projects focusing greatly within their local area of British Columbia while some reside as far as Ontario, Washington, California, and Switzerland. D’Arcy Jones Architects focuses mainly on small scale boutique residential homes, many of which have brought national and international recognition for the practice.

Saucier + Perrotte Architectes is an architectural firm based in Montreal, Quebec. The firm was founded in 1988 by architects Gilles Saucier and André Perrotte, and is known for designing institutional, cultural and residential projects.

Geoffrey Massey was a Canadian architect and urban planner noted for his modernism-inspired architectural works. He was known for his partnership with architect Arthur Erickson that produced notable designs including the Simon Fraser University, and MacMillan Bloedel Building. As an urban planner, Massey was known for his contributions toward pedestrian-friendly densification of Vancouver and development of Granville Island in the city.

Natalie Telewiak AIBC, M.Arch., LEED AP is a Canadian architect.

Susan Herrington is a Vancouver-based landscape architect. She is a Professor in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, where she teaches in the Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design, and Architecture programs and served as the chair of Landscape Architecture (2016-2020).

References

↑ The Independent, 19 June 2009. Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ Emporis. ^[usurped] Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ It's Vancouver, but not as we know it, Vancouver Sun, June 3, 2008. Archived June 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ Tom Denning, Baron Denning
↑ Arthur Erickson, Media Centre Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ Architectural Institute of BC, Architectural Heritage of Vancouver. Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ Erickson's biographer Nicholas Olsberg, quoted in Remembering architect Arthur Erickson. Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ Sylvia Hart Wright: Sourcebook of Contemporary North American Architecture: From Postwar to Postmodern, p27. Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ Cornelia Oberlander: An Oasis in the City, writing in Landscape Architectural Review, June/July 1981. Archived 2010-05-29 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ An Interview with Arthur Erickson and Stephen Hynes, by Jay Currie and Michèle Denis. Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ Architecture Canada, RAIC Prix du XXe siècle 2011 award. Archived 2011-11-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-01
↑ RAIC Honours & Awards Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Goethe journal. Retrieved 2011-10-01

External links

49°16′51″N123°07′25″W / 49.2808°N 123.1236°W / 49.2808; -123.1236

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] The Independent, 19 June 2009. Retrieved 2011-10-01

[2] Emporis. ^[usurped] Retrieved 2011-10-01

[3] It's Vancouver, but not as we know it, Vancouver Sun, June 3, 2008. Archived June 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-01

[4] Tom Denning, Baron Denning

[5] Arthur Erickson, Media Centre Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-01

[6] Architectural Institute of BC, Architectural Heritage of Vancouver. Retrieved 2011-10-01

[7] Erickson's biographer Nicholas Olsberg, quoted in Remembering architect Arthur Erickson. Retrieved 2011-10-01

[8] Sylvia Hart Wright: Sourcebook of Contemporary North American Architecture: From Postwar to Postmodern, p27. Retrieved 2011-10-01

[9] Cornelia Oberlander: An Oasis in the City, writing in Landscape Architectural Review, June/July 1981. Archived 2010-05-29 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-01

[10] An Interview with Arthur Erickson and Stephen Hynes, by Jay Currie and Michèle Denis. Retrieved 2011-10-01

[11] Architecture Canada, RAIC Prix du XXe siècle 2011 award. Archived 2011-11-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-01

[12] RAIC Honours & Awards Archived 2014-05-02 at the Wayback Machine

[13] Goethe journal. Retrieved 2011-10-01

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]