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circulation spaces are open to this roof, forming a large skylit indoor public atrium. Access is directly from the street and by an upper-level walkway connecting to the Robson Square rooftop garden to the north, forming a three-block accessible-for-all roof integrated into the city core. Its innovative architecture and urban design have been recognized as one of the world-renowned landmarks of downtown
Vancouver, incorporating "a style that remains connected to the surroundings, with a sensitivity for nature and the environment."
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122:. Just as the tower's construction phase was about to begin the plan was scrapped and Arthur Erickson Architects was commissioned to create a new design in 1973. The concept was revised into a "horizontal highrise", "B.C. Centre on its back." The inspiration for this has been credited both to the architect and to the government minister responsible for the courts. The building opened in 1979 with a ceremony on September 6 featuring Lord Denning.
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The building is a 7-storey structure housing 35 courtrooms and is 42 metres (138 ft) in height. It is largely covered by a roof of green-tinted glass over a space-frame structure covering approximately 50,000 square feet (4,645 m2), more than one acre, of occupied space. The entry and public
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geometric form and hard materials are softened by an extensive use of landscaping around the building, in a series of horizontal planters terracing up from street level into the large public indoor atrium, and on the rooftop terrace. The landscape design was undertaken in
Erickson's office by
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The project began as The
British Columbia Centre, a provincial government project to replace the neo-Classical courthouse forming the northern of the three Robson Square blocks which now houses the
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In 1979 The
American Society of Landscape Architects awarded its President's Award for Excellence, noting the project's "extraordinary integration of landscape architecture with architecture".
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The tan-coloured concrete structure is exposed on the exterior and interior of the building. The other main exterior material is green-tinted glass. The
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Erickson described his concept as: "This won’t be a corporate monument. Let’s turn it on its side and let people walk all over it."
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the northern block. The building is used exclusively by the two higher courts of the
Province of British Columbia: the
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The sloping glass roof of the Law Courts, behind Robson Square in the foreground, as seen from the
Vancouver Art Gallery
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The architecture and landscape architecture have received acclaim for excellence in design.
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Sourcebook of
Contemporary North American Architecture: From Postwar to Postmodern
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In 1982 the RAIC's awarded the
Governor General's Gold Medal to the complex.
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Architectural
Institute of BC, Architectural Heritage of Vancouver.
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Architectural
Institute of BC, Architectural Heritage of Vancouver
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Great Buildings Online - images and architectural drawings
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Architecture Canada, RAIC Prix du XXe siècle 2011 award.
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An Interview with Arthur Erickson and Stephen Hynes
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23:Main entry from Hornby and Nelson Streets
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403:Map of Law Courts in downtown Vancouver
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315:Retrieved 2011-10-01
304:An Oasis in the City
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104:skyscraper
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64:Vancouver
362:Archived
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