Embracing the curve of Queens Park Crescent as it rounds the corner northwest of Ontario's parliament, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law is taking on a more prominent presence as the $37.5 million expansion of the Jackman Law Building nears completion. Adding 66,000 ft² of space to the faculty, the new structure's steel skeleton is now fully clad in a combination of stone cladding, dark-tinted glazing, and limestone fins, with much of the facility now open to students as construction wraps up.

Looking west from Queens Park Crescent, image by Craig White

Designed by Hariri Pontarini and B+H, the new building includes a 210-seat lecture hall, along with seminar spaces, a student lounge, food services, offices, and a central gathering space known as the Law Forum. Meanwhile, the renovated Bora Laskin Library is now open, overlooking Philosopher's Walk from the faculty's lower level. Serving as a student hub, the expanded library space has already seen its first exam period come and go, with study spaces and meeting rooms home to busy students. 

Looking northeast, the Bora Laskin library has opened on the lower level, image by Craig White

Structurally completed at the end of last year, the expanded faculty's building envelope and interiors are now in the final stages of construction. In recent months, the final limestone panels have been added to the structure's vertical brise soleils, which cut cooling costs by minimizing excess sunlight. 

A closer look at the cladding, image by Craig White

As the project approaches its final stages, B+H Architects' landscaping program will begin to take shape this Spring. Sod, trees, and shrubbery will be planted in the coming months, and the construction is set be completed—with move-ins and deficiency repairs as the final stages of the process—later this year.

The limestone panels have a richly textured appearance, image by Craig White

Targeting LEED Gold certification, the highly lauded project received a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 2013. We will make sure to keep you updated as the project nears completion, and one of the University's most highly anticipated new facilities takes shape.

Looking northeast from the foot of Philosopher's Walk, image by Craig White