Cost:
$44,792,000

Size:
255,000 sf

Completion:
2002

The newly constructed University of Maryland School of Law, now known as the Nathan Patz Law Center, is designed in a neo-traditional, collegiate gothic architectural style that compliments both the architecture of adjacent historic Westminster Hall and the surrounding urban context. The building communicates humanistic values and traditions of permanence and academia - important values to both the School and University. The L-shaped building occupies an entire city block and with Westminster Hall, forms a landscaped courtyard protected from the street. Primary features of the building include: 3 moot courtrooms; seminar rooms; classrooms with capacities up to 150 students; faculty, student and administration offices; law clinic; student services; lounges; and a law library. The main entrance on Baltimore Street is marked by a tower and opens into a five-story atrium, illuminated from a skylight overhead, connecting all major circulation paths in the building and providing a direct connection to the courtyard. A holistic and humanist approach to architecture coupled with a commitment to the principles of sustainable buildings, formed the basis for the design of this building. The building was recipient of the 2002 Smart Growth Award by the State of Maryland.

The Thurgood Marshall Law Library contains over 400,000 volumes of legal material and serves as a selective depository for federal government documents. The 87,000 sf facility provides a critical research center for the School, providing abundant print and electronic resources. Students are able to plug in at any table or carrel in the Library’s many study areas, reading rooms, group study rooms and lounges. The Library's Technology Assisted Learning Center has the cutting-edge V-net control system, which allows the instructor to see what is on all 32 student computer monitors in order to interact individually with a student or project any monitor onto a large screen in the front of the room for group learning.

The School of Law building contains over 2.1 million linear feet of wire cabling and 2,700 network data ports making it the most technology advanced building on campus. All classrooms are equally equipped with the latest audiovisual and computer presentation technology allowing any classroom to accommodate a variety of teaching and learning styles. This technological power allows the School to participate in conferences, meetings, and symposia worldwide from any classroom or seminar room. All classrooms utilize an infrared technology which transfers any white board or easel writing wirelessly into the network. The system records the process of the class to be accessed later by students via the Internet.

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