Why do so many law schools/buildings look like crap? Forum

[notaznguy]

I've visited Stanford, Boalt, USC, Loyola, and UC Hastings. All of their law school buildings look like crap, except for UCLA's. The hell? Why? lol

The interior looks great and the libraries and facilities are terrific, but on the outside, I swear they all look like prisons. USC's Gould School of Law building looks so out of place on the USC campus where everything is made of brick. UC Hastings looks like...well it looks like it fits right perfectly in the Tenderloin. Stanford's law building looks like a prison building on the campus too and it looks out of place compared to the Spanish architecture of the campus. Boalt also looks like a prison in the middle of the campus. Loyola looks like...a bunch of WTF random art pieces thrown around.

UCLA's looks decent. That is all.

Maybe it's just the California schools that all look like prisons? Are they trying to train lawyers to get used to the fact that all courthouses also look like shit?

[DocHawkeye]

Wait until 1L. Not only will it look like a prison, it will also feel like one.

[romothesavior]

Most of the ones I visited were pretty good. Vanderbilt, Michigan, and WUSTL were all very nice. UIUC's law building kinda sucked.

[Danteshek]

I am sorry your culture is not developed enough to appreciate Frank Gehry's work.

[Opie]

Iowa looks like the Death Star. There are maps on the wall that really look like it.

[Danteshek]

U Maine probably takes the cake for ugliest law school.

[duckmoney]

BU is the ugliest. Why is this even a debate?

[cinephile]

I believe the explanation for ours is that the university (not the law school) is responsible for maintenance of the exterior. They do intend to improve it, but it's difficult to do while also holding classes here, which means first they have to build another building, move classrooms there, then renovate the tower.

[Danteshek]

U Maine probably takes the cake for ugliest law school.

[law4vus]

U Maine probably takes the cake for ugliest law school.

The abomination that is BU Law begs to differ.

[law4vus]

Actually, ew. Maine Law may be uglier. It's not so much the design, but that the building looks like shit and not well maintained. Puke.

I even thought GW was bad. Shit looks like Hogwarts now by comparison.

[Opie]

Did Saruman the White design these places?

[Opie]

--ImageRemoved--

U of Iowa's Boyd Law building.

[notaznguy]

U Maine probably takes the cake for ugliest law school.

The abomination that is BU Law begs to differ.

I took a picture of it at night too.

[TrojanHopeful]

People's College of Law anyone?

--ImageRemoved--

[anewaphorist]

Hahaha, thank you for this thread!! Really has me laughing. Let's see if I can contribute. How about the academic Elysium known as Georgia State College of Law?
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[Opie]

I had seen the People's College of Law pics on here before and never looked it up. I always assumed it was in a third world socialist country or something. Turns out it's in LA, so chalk that one up to the W column.

[TommyK]

I had seen the People's College of Law pics on here before and never looked it up. I always assumed it was in a third world socialist country or something. Turns out it's in LA, so chalk that one up to the W column.

I always assumed they only taught paralegals. Do they grant JDs as well? So hard to keep track of the non-aba-accreditted law schools.

Also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture

[Opie]

I had seen the People's College of Law pics on here before and never looked it up. I always assumed it was in a third world socialist country or something. Turns out it's in LA, so chalk that one up to the W column.

I always assumed they only taught paralegals. Do they grant JDs as well? So hard to keep track of the non-aba-accreditted law schools.

Also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture

Apparently they do a 4 year PT JD, but only 10% bar passage according to wikipedia.

I kind of like some of those Brutalist buildings... I may have to look more into this. /architecturenerd

[FlightoftheEarls]

I am sorry your culture is not developed enough to appreciate Frank Gehry's work.

This thing is, I am certain you were being entirely serious when you wrote this. Good god you say some of the douchiest and most pretentious things.

[T00L]

Answer to OP: 70s architecture. Concerning the universities that are beautiful all around with a shit law building, you will in most cases find that their law school was born in the late 60s/early 70s.

USC, W&L, hell even UVA (minus the front facade that im pretty sure was added later (everyone thats visited UVA has driven past the business school wishing that quad was the law quad))

[005618502]

Answer to OP: 70s architecture. Concerning the universities that are beautiful all around with a shit law building, you will in most cases find that their law school was born in the late 60s/early 70s.

USC, W&L, hell even UVA (minus the front facade that im pretty sure was added later (everyone thats visited UVA has driven past the business school wishing that quad was the law quad))

+1

[Nobody]

They were all built in the seventies. Lots of schools have cool old buildings that used to be the law school, but they're really small, and so when the school expanded they just put up some modern box that now looks horribly dated.

[law4vus]

They were all built in the seventies. Lots of schools have cool old buildings that used to be the law school, but they're really small, and so when the school expanded they just put up some modern box that now looks horribly dated.

That sounds like MY school!

[TaipeiMort]

I had seen the People's College of Law pics on here before and never looked it up. I always assumed it was in a third world socialist country or something. Turns out it's in LA, so chalk that one up to the W column.

I always assumed they only taught paralegals. Do they grant JDs as well? So hard to keep track of the non-aba-accreditted law schools.

Also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture

Apparently they do a 4 year PT JD, but only 10% bar passage according to wikipedia.

I kind of like some of those Brutalist buildings... I may have to look more into this. /architecturenerd

The mayor of LA is an alumni of People's College of Law.

Someone actually did a photoessay of the building:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=86431