Law Courts, Public square in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Law Courts is a seven-storey courthouse in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the southern block of the three-block Robson Square complex. Designed by Arthur Erickson, it is 42 metres tall, holds 35 courtrooms, and is covered by a green-tinted glass roof over a space-frame, sheltering a skylit indoor public atrium reached directly from the street and from a rooftop walkway.
The complex was completed in the late 1970s, replacing earlier plans for a tall tower that would have dominated the skyline. Architect Arthur Erickson shifted the design toward a broad, horizontal structure that sits closer to the ground and fits into the surrounding city.
The building is used exclusively by British Columbia's two higher courts, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Its name comes from that function, and the skylit indoor atrium is open to the public as part of Robson Square. Architect Arthur Erickson described the concept as turning a corporate monument on its side so people could walk all over it.
The square is easy to reach on foot from central Vancouver, with several transit stops nearby. Visitors can walk freely through the open areas and terraces, but access to the courtrooms inside the building is not open to the general public.
The ramps connecting the different levels of the complex are known as 'stramps', a word invented by combining 'stairs' and 'ramps'. The landscape around the building was designed by Cornelia Oberlander, who was among the first to bring trees and plants into a courthouse setting in Vancouver.
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