That concrete is more than an architectural flourish: It’s the exterior wall of the 17-story tower that has been the law school’s home since the 1960s. This fall, the tower will be closed for renovation as classes shift to the five-story state-of-the-art structure wrapped around a portion of its base, built to complement the design of the original architect, Josep Lluis Sert.
Inside are state-of-the-art classrooms with tiered seating and video-recording capability; there are wooden locker rooms on each floor and myriad conversational nooks intended to encourage interaction between students and faculty. A café and commons area offers floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Charles River.
The Redstone building is the signature component of a construction project that will include refurbishing the tower, and for which the school is raising $40 million, according to its website. The campaign had netted $38.4 million as of June 30, with $18 million given by Redstone, executive chairman of CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc.
A dedication ceremony will be held in the atrium of the new building, designed by Cambridge, Mass.-based architectural firm Bruner/Cott, at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, according to the website.
BU Law is also targeting $15 million for scholarships and financial aid, $10 million for professorships and faculty support, $8 million for academic programming and $7 million for its Law Fund, according to the website.
With classes under way in the Redstone building, construction workers will dismantle the interior of the law tower and begin refurbishment to accommodate the 21st-century needs of its users.
New electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems will be installed, along with larger bathrooms, according to the website, and all windows will be replaced with thermally insulated units to conserve energy.
Contact James Langford at (646) 722-2624 or james@lawdragon.com.