Page 32 - Briefcase Volume 36 Number 2

of the $10 million needed from alumni and friends of the school which demonstrates to lawmakers the alumni-
backed support behind this campaign before the legislature convenes in January 2019. As part of strategic planning
efforts in Phase 1, the Houston firm of Facility Programming and Consulting was retained to assess goals, resources,
needs, image and other factors that will be used in the final design. Phase 2 will continue to seek support of alumni
and friends while seeking legislative support. University leadership has designated construction of a new law facility
as a top building capital priority, pending success in meeting the Phase 1 goal. The third phase calls for additional
fundraising to ensure the building meets or exceeds expectations, with groundbreaking set for 2021.
“The Law Center has approximately 12,000 alumni in the Houston-area, representing a significant percentage
of the lawyers practicing in a wide variety of fields in the Houston area,” said Bill Jackson ’92, president of the UH
Law Center Foundation board and chairman of the building committee. “Like the city and our legal community,
the Law Center already has nationally recognized programs in areas such as Energy & Environmental Law, Health
Law, International Law, Intellectual Property and Tax. With the new law building, we have an opportunity to create a
convening space for legal scholarship and thought leadership in these practice areas that are so critical for our alumni,
our local businesses and our law firms.
“As University of Houston law alumni, it is imperative that we commit now to fund the construction of this building
for the future of the Law Center, for Houston and for our legal community.”
As currently envisioned, the new 170,000-square-foot facility will be built south of the existing building on the site
of the student parking lot between the Law Center and University Lofts. Visible to commuters from both I-45 and
Spur 5, the new addition to the campus “skyline” will implicitly market the Law Center to those commuters. Its main
entry will face west, adjacent to a plaza and pedestrian walkway that will connect the Law Center to the entire campus.
A student and clinic parking lot directly to the west will complete the complex.
In focus groups, faculty, students, staff and alumni suggested a variety of improvements they would like to see in the
new building, including:
• State-of-the-art technology
• Architecture and overall aesthetics befitting a top tier law school
• Natural light (54 percent of the existing, bunker-like facility is below ground.)
• Additional student space for study and social interaction; flexible classrooms for greater interaction between
faculty and students
• Front desk to welcome and direct visitors; open foyer for special events and to serve as student gathering spot
• Improved layout and traffic flow
• Modern library with fewer stacks and more space to study
“Current plans surpass all those items outlined in the survey and will result in a truly world class facility,” Baynes
concluded. “The power to make this happen is in each of our hands.” ■

This rendering was provided by BRAVE / ARCHITECTURE.

To learn more about the law building campaign, please contact Magda Herrera, Senior Director of
Advancement, at mmherrer@uh.edu or 713.743.3719.

32 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW CENTER