ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan Board of Regents today approved the first major instructional expansion for the top-ranked Law School since the final component of the iconic Law Quadrangle opened nearly 75 years ago.

The regents’ vote formally approved the Law School’s plans as well as its choice of Hartman-Cox Architects of Washington, D.C., in association with Michigan-based Integrated Design Solutions, as architects for the expansion and renovation, which has an estimated total project cost of $102 million. The firm has extensive experience designing buildings consistent with the Collegiate Gothic style of the historic Law Quad.

“Legal education at Michigan is unlike that of any other American law school, and it is due in no small part to the environment of the Law Quad—one of the University’s signature spaces,” said President Mary Sue Coleman. “I’m delighted to see this project move forward in the hands of an architectural firm with the vision and experience needed to enhance such a significant campus landmark.”

The project calls for construction of a new $80 million building complementing the existing Law Quad and adding classrooms, faculty offices and clinical spaces. The building will rise on the south side of Monroe Street, just north of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The remainder of project costs will go toward building a new Law School Commons, on the south side of the existing quad between Hutchins Hall and the Legal Research Building, with group study spaces and gathering spots designed to blend into the classic spaces that make the Law Quad a unique and beautiful educational environment.

During the project the Law School will also replace the gray metal siding on the Legal Research Building book stacks on Monroe Street, and on a pedestrian walkway connecting that building with Hutchins Hall.

Representatives from the Law School’s faculty, administration, and student body have spent several years determining what types of space the school needs. Because the number of students has more than doubled since the Law Quad was built, and the total number of faculty has quadrupled, classroom and faculty office space was high on the list of needs.

But teaching methods have also undergone revolutionary changes since the 1930s&$8212;the traditional law school model, with its lecturer holding forth at the front of an auditorium, has given way to smaller classes. Furthermore, the growing complexity of the law means Michigan Law offers four times the number of courses offered when the Law Quad was built—and in marked contrast to those long-ago classes, the vast majority today have fewer than 50 students. Classroom space in the new building will be tailored to address those changes, as well as the huge technological advances that have taken place since the 1930s.

Also planned for the new building are specialized areas for the Law School’s clinical program, which prepares students for the hands-on reality of legal practice. Because students enrolled in the nine legal clinics in the programs deal with real clients in the real world, clinical spaces are expected to mirror modern law offices by including, for example, such facilities as client conference rooms.

And the new Law School Commons will be a student-centric hub of activity for the Law School’s more than 1,100 students, two-thirds of whom live away from the Quadrangle. The Commons is designed to become a central gathering place for students and faculty whose enthusiasm for discussion and debate can’t be confined to the classroom alone.

The project will be paid for with gifts from private donors, the proceeds from University investments, and the resources of the Law School itself. Hartman-Cox, in conjunction with Michigan-based Integrated Design Solutions, is scheduled to begin the design process immediately.

“This crucial expansion will enable the Law School to continue providing its students with the best legal education available anywhere,” said Evan Caminker, Law School dean. “As we look back on 150 years of legal education at Michigan, we can rest assured that these spectacular new spaces will enable us to bring the law to life for generations of students to come.”

Related Links:

• More on the campaign for the Law School