In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our Architrivia.

An integral part of the landmark Robson Square complex, the slanted glass roof of the Law Courts building forms an immediately recognizable downtown silhouette. With Arthur Erickson's patented use of concrete evidenced throughout the complex, the seven-storey structure houses 35 courtrooms for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal of the Province of British Columbia. The green-tinted roof covers 50,000 square feet of occupied space, creating a large skylit public atrium that maintains a connection to the outside. And while the building seems like it's always been destined for this parcel of downtown property, previous plans called for something substantially different in scale.

The Law Courts building, image retrieved from Google Street View

A provincial government initiative to replace the neo-Classical courthouse at the northern end of Robson Square spurred a proposal called the British Columbia Centre, a 50-storey tower which at 208 metres, would have been the tallest building in the city. When the NDP government of Dave Barrett unseated WAC Bennett in 1972, plans were almost immediately scrapped. In doing so, the old courthouse — now the Vancouver Art Gallery — was spared demolition. Arthur Erickson was then retained to create a new vision for the property, one designed in harmony with its surroundings. The following year, the firm conceptualized a "horizontal highrise", "B.C. Centre on its back." In describing his vision, Erickson noted: "This won't be a corporate monument. Let's turn it on its side and let people walk all over it." 

Inside the skylit atrium of the Law Courts building, image by Flickr user Joe Mabel via Creative Commons

With a publicly accessible rooftop garden stretching across three blocks, the sharp orthogonal concrete beams and posts of the building are softened somewhat by additional landscaping measures around the building, where horizontal planters terrace from the street into the indoor atrium. While judicial proceedings may seem intimidating to the average person, the transparency of the sloping glass roof serves as a welcoming link between the public and the court of law.

The terraced elevation of the building is enveloped in greenery, image by Flickr user under_volcano via Creative Commons

The building has received critical acclaim since its opening in 1980, with praise by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada directed towards the linear urban park and importation of nature into the city. One of Erickson's finest works, the complex was a pioneer in the seamless integration of greenery in Vancouver building projects, an architectural trend that only gained popularity in the following decades.