Faculty of Law, University of Sydney by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)

When Sydneysiders think of the words ‘Sandstone University’, they think of Sydney University: its beautiful Neo-Gothic Grand Hall and Oxford-esque Main Quadrangle, designed by Edmund Blacket from 1854-62, are treasured landmarks for the city, and one of the reasons students love to study at the institution. But until very recently, students and staff in the University’s Law Faculty were located off-site at the University’s Phillip Street campus, half the city away in a brutalist CBD tower block. They missed out on the beautiful atmosphere and architecture of the main campus, so the announcement that a new Law Faculty building was to be built on the main campus was greeted with much enthusiasm, and there was a great eagerness to see its construction completed.

The pressing issue on the architecture side of things was how this new building would fit in with the existing classical elements that give this Sandstone University its title. As it turns out, there was no need for concern: the new Faculty of Law building, while very

definitely 21st Century, is just as beautiful as its Neo-Gothic surroundings (and a phenomenal improvement on its Phillip Street predecessor).

The result of an international competition in 2003, Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp’s (fjmt) new Faculty of Law is uncompromisingly modern – a motif of sheer glass and bold timber typifies its public persona – however, it is also carefully scaled and positioned with the existing buildings in mind, and the timber expresses a material empathy towards the sandstone surrounds. A system of subtlely curved and vertical timber louvres sandwiched between glass panels are integral to the building’s passive environmental control, but also create contextual harmony and aesthetic warmth. The operable timber louvres providing an ever-changing display of transparency and reflection.

Thanks in part to fjmt’s perpetual ambition to create a ‘sense of place’, the outdoor areas surrounding the Law School are just as important as the faculty offices, faculty library, and teaching complex within. A vast landscaped forecourt serves as an integrated public domain: an informal sunlit place that ends in a wide stairway down to Victoria Park, which also becomes a new entry bridge integrating campus and park. The forecourt also provides the social hub for the Law School: an outdoor informal meeting place, designed to foster a collegiate atmosphere of gathering and exchange of ideas. Something that was sorely lacking at the old campus.

Fjmt had worked previously with the University of Sydney, and so had an intimate knowledge of the history and geography of the space. They understood that the chosen location forms the geographic centre of the University (as opposed to the formal ‘centre’ at the Main Quadrangle) and recognised the significance of making the courtyard an extension of the Wilkinson Axis: the central spine first proposed in 1920 by the University’s inaugural Professor of Architecture. They also knew that this site would best take advantage of the city outlook to the east and campus views to the west, while from afar, emphasising the role of the Law School as an immediately integral part of the main campus.

And yet, although the new building acts as a sort of beacon on high, it does so without the light pollution that one might associate with such highlyglazed feature architecture. This project was intentionally designed to minimize light spillage, so no beam of light is directed beyond the site boundaries or upwards to the night sky, without first purposefully illuminating some interstitial surface.

The east-west orientation also necessitated – or inspired, depending how you look at it – the building’s key aesthetic and sustainability feature: that triple-skin glass-sandwiched timber louvre façade. Other passive environmental solutions include high thermal mass, high performance glazing, thermal insulation, natural ventilation, night purging, and the natural winter heating effect of the sun. These systems are augmented by mixed mode and displacement air conditioning; and high efficiency lighting with individual control and occupancy sensors, to minimise the impact of what is a very long-term, high capacity, high-use building.

Outside, a new water catchment system collects water from the public spaces along Eastern Avenue and the Law building itself, treating it in a series of bioretention pits within the landscape. This water is then combined with roof water and stored in tanks for reuse as greywater for toilet flushing, and subsoil irrigation of the water sensitive plantings and newly pedestrianised landscape.

Expansive glazing; a high, open aspect with parkland vistas; and natural timber louvres that respond to the daily movement of the sun, the new Sydney University Faculty of Law Building is an astounding contrast to the mid-city brutalist highrise (and underground lecture theatres) of the past Law Faculty. Not to mention an attractive contribution to the University’s architecture in its own right.

The wait, it seems, was well worth it.

PHOTOGRAPHY: John Gollings

1. The new Law Faculty building is a truly dramatic departure from the ‘sandstone university’ archetype that surrounds it, yet is sensitive to the nearby Fisher Library and the proportions of the Neo- Gothic main buildings. 2. The building serves as a gateway to Victoria Park: a far cry from the old Law School Campus, in an office tower in the middle of the Sydney CBD. 3. Extensive glazing creates a “noobstacles” connection between the indoor and outdoor environments, and are also essential to the passive thermal management of the building. 4. The interior spaces are designed for a high traffic load of law students, but at the same time imbue the space with creativity and openness. 5. The new building includes a brand new faculty library with ample space for quiet study.