Estates

Professor Square - Law Workshop

Location: Level 1, School of Law, 5 to 9 Professor Square, Glasgow, G12 8QH
Zone: 2

Project Overview:

The Law Workshop project helped to create a “home on campus” for all Law students, colleagues, and School collaborators. The School of Law wanted to create a learning community where activities such as collaborative learning, development of professional legal skills, clinical legal education and cross-disciplinary teaching and research could all thrive, both online and in the physical Workshop space.

The project works included: 

• Updating furnishings, facilities, and layout to improve visual presence and flexibility for users. 
• Bringing the Law Workshop space in line with modern legal teaching, research, and scholarship. 
• Preserving the tradition of leather-bound case reports and celebrating the visual presence of the ‘law library’ as an inspiration for legal scholars, the school aims to situate innovation and creativity within the space.
• Development of a community space to support the ongoing focus on enhancing the learning experience for students, supporting research, and engaging with individuals, groups and stakeholders who are both internal and external to the school. Supported by the development of online services and tools which complement the physical space and resources.
• Shifting the access and entrance to a more open and accessible site
• The creation of a Law Clinic in the present student common room represents a successful partnership between The School, Rape Crisis Scotland, and The Scottish Government. The ‘Emma Ritch Law Clinic’ will be the first of its kind in the UK.
• Ensuring the Law Workshop space is open and externally facing to give physical effect to the schools’ commitment to social justice, access to law and the schools place as a civic institution. Create a welcoming space for external partners in experiential learning, social justice collaborations and public legal education. 
• Refurbishment of rooms within 3 Professor Square, to enhance utilisation and improve the PGR student experience on campus. Refreshing the existing spaces on level 1 and 2 of the building to support hybrid Workspace for the School of Law’s PGR Students.

Project Benefits

• Accessibility:
  New accessible entrance and reception spaces will better support disabled students
• Student Experience:
  Enhancement of this facility will provide the school with the ability to significantly develop its clinical legal education and its student support and learning space.
  The new Law Clinic will be the first of its kind in the UK. This is supported through collaboration with Rape Crisis Scotland and The Scottish Government. The ‘Emma Ritch Law Clinic’ will provide unique ‘real world’ teaching opportunities.
• Collaboration: 
  Students will have opportunities to collaborate with each other, staff, and wider community groups.
• Space Efficiency:
  The enhanced common areas will be available to host events. 
• Learning & Teaching:
  Law library facilities are a point of differentiation amongst Law Schools in Scotland and beyond. Modern, fit for purpose facilities will support student recruitment at all levels (UG, PGT (inc. Diploma), PGR). 

Construction Start Date: August 2024
Construction End Date: March 2025

Project Costs: £1,894,000

Themes Addressed by Project:
Accessibility, Space, Learning & Teaching, Research, People, Staff & Student Experience, Custodianship