SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for Building Additions or Adaptive Reuse,
Honor Award

University of California, Berkeley, School of Law for Renovation and South Addition with Ratcliff

Photos by Tim Griffith

Click on image(s) above for larger view.

Goals of the addition for the Berkeley Law School were to reconnect with the university and the community by reinvigorating the school’s profile as a premier law program; advance the academic mission; provide a vital school and academic hub; and unify existing and new elements.

Working closely with faculty, administrators and university planners, the design team developed a four-phase plan updating and clarifying existing buildings while creating a strategic and iconic centerpiece to unify the campus.

The concept goal viewed the project as an environment of diverse and memorable programmatic and spatial experiences, reinforced by the formal building components that create them. Skillful organization of space within limited confines solves multiple problems and enhances a sense of community and shared space.

The jury commented, “ . . . they did a beautiful job of landscaping, bringing you inside . . . created urban transparency with access, how they got light into building was uplifting . . . slope works well . . . they brought life and activity of building out . . .”

Every detail was planned with function and aesthetics in mind using beautiful, sustainable and reasonably priced materials. Transparency and light guided design elements. Adaptive reuse of existing facilities establishes a valuable model for the future.

Taking advantage of scarce land by placing two full floors below grade, the building preserved open space, respected, and improved the adjacent elevation of the original building.  The addition appears as a transparent pavilion that defines a new entry to the school.

“The project is extremely successful because it seamlessly melds old and new, creating a sense of coherent space the law school never experienced before. The overall design has had a powerful impact the life of the school‐‐100% for the better,” says Kathleen Vanden Heuvel, associate dean, capital projects and adjunct professor of law.   

Project Team: University of California, Berkeley, School of Law with Ratcliff; also Hargreaves Associates; Rutherford & Chekene; Sherwood Design Engineers; Taylor Engineering; Huey Engineering; O’Mahony & Myers; Auerbach Glasow French; Loisos + Ubbelohde; Smith Fause & McDonald; Propp + Guerin; TEECOM Design Group; Webb Design; Pitfield & Associates; Simpson Gumpertz & Heger; Simon & Associates; Underwood & Rosenblum; Emily Borland Specifications; Davis Langdon; Hunt Construction Group