If you’ve walked past the front of Osgoode Hall Law School lately, you will have noticed that it is surrounded by exterior hoarding covered with a brightly coloured banner bearing the word “Bird” every few metres.
For the first time since Osgoode’s building renovation and expansion got underway in September, the entire law school is closed to the public.
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| Above: Sealed and soon to be delivered, the Osgoode Hall Law School Building enters the final stages of its renovation and expansion. The building is closed to the public and will reopen in late August. |
The classroom wing, which had been the only section of the law school to remain open during the fall and winter terms, closed on April 10 and won’t reopen until late August.
Osgoode students, whose classes finished earlier this month, have been writing exams last week and this week in the Technology Enhanced Learning and Accolade West buildings. “We appreciate the University’s cooperation and assistance in providing classrooms for exams and the infrastructure for laptop use,” said Helen Huang, Osgoode’s executive officer.
Peter Lee, assistant director of operations for Osgoode, said the following demolition and construction work would be undertaken by Bird Construction Company in the classroom wing over the next four months:
- A major overhaul of Room 207 is underway.
- Windows will be cut into the walls of Rooms 104, 106, 204 and 207 to allow for more natural light.
- A ramp will be built in Room 104 that will make the instructor’s area wheelchair accessible.
- Automatic door openers will be installed on one door of every classroom to make the classrooms more accessible.
- Replacement of the existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning system will be completed this fall, as well as the installation of a new sprinkler system in all of the classrooms.
- A major renovation to the east-facing main entrance of the law school will also be started soon.
- Polished concrete flooring will be installed in the corridors outside the classrooms.
- Renovations will be made to the Materials Distribution Centre.
The next four months will see dramatic changes to the law school building that will have a very positive impact on Osgoode students, Lee said. “The work that we’re doing now will completely change the student experience in the classroom. Students will find the classroom wing brighter and more open, and the entire area will be revitalized.” New furnishings in the classrooms will add to the transformation.
Once this work has been done, the contractors will turn their attention to the construction of a one-storey addition above the Osgoode Hall Law School Library and will continue renovating faculty and staff offices in the building.
The entire building renovation and expansion project, which will cost $50 million, is expected to be mostly completed by next spring.