SMU's New School of Law Building

Overview

Singapore Management University (SMU) broke ground on its new School of Law building on 20 January 2014. The new building will be a distinctive landmark that will contain state-of-the-art facilities used both to enrich the learning experience of SMU law students as well as involve others within the legal fraternity who are important stakeholders of the University.

Standing at the junction of Armenian Street and Canning Rise, the new 23,000-square-metre building - about the size of 52 basketball courts – will be ready by 2017. A key feature of the new building is the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, named in memory of the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo, wife of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The 2,200-square-metre Law Library will be fully equipped with modern technology wired for legal research in the 21st century. Also housed within the new building will be the David Marshall Moot Court, the SMU Pro Bono Centre, and other research centres.

The new School of Law building will nurture a greater sense of belonging and identity.

"Future generations of students of the SMU School of Law will have classes in this new building. Books will be read; friendships will be forged; eminent lawyers and leaders of the legal profession will be born. If, and when they look back on this day, they might wonder how the law school ever functioned without its own building."

(The Honourable Attorney-General Mr Steven Chong, S.C., who was the Guest of Honour at the ground-breaking ceremony held on 20 January 2014.)

The new building will foster closer ties among students, alumni and the law fraternity.

"SMU city campus already enjoys close proximity with the law courts, being less than a kilometre from the Supreme Court. We are also near the offices of many of our partners in the legal fraternity. The new building, with its inclusive facilities, will further promote these links and engagement as it will provide an ideal location for students, alumni and the fraternity to meet and interact… The project team and architects have also done a good job in incorporating design elements that will bring students and faculty closer to the lush nature that embraces the new building. These sustainable and inclusive design elements are an extension of the current SMU campus design, and stand true to the essence of SMU being both a global city university and integral part of the local environment and community."

The new building will inspire the next generation of lawyers.

"We believe that the new School of Law building must have the power to inspire. In fact, the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library will be the inspirational heart of the School of Law. The library is strategically placed at the high point of the site next to Stamford Green and is expressed architecturally as a sculptural form to represent an ‘inspirational beacon’ that seeks to illuminate the lives of SMU’s law students. It will be symbolic of a ‘moral compass’ to remind students of the importance of dignity, truth and justice in society."

(Dean of SMU School of Law, Professor Yeo Tiong Min)

The SMU School of Law, which proudly welcomed its first cohort of 116 students in August 2007, now takes in about 180 students per year. The School will see its 10th intake of students and seventh batch of alumni in 2017, the year in which the new building is slated for completion.

The Architecture, Design and Green Features

Distinctive and eco-friendly in architecture and design

  • Designed by MKPL Architects Pte Ltd, the new building will be a symbol for inspirational learning. It will facilitate innovation in learning with flexible teaching spaces to support collaborative learning, inter-disciplinary work, intellectual exchange and social interaction. The architecture of the new building is deliberately contemporary in expression, while integrating with the architecture in the historical district in which it stands.
  • Designed to meet BCA’s Green Mark Platinum standards, the new building will boast many sustainable features that will bring about maximum energy savings. Through the implementation of passive design elements coupled with innovative green technologies, the building is designed to reduce energy consumption, whilst achieving the desired occupant comfort.
  • Some of the key ‘green’ features include a central atrium that promotes natural ventilation through the stack effect, a vertical green wall that will reduce the urban heat island effect, high-velocity low-speed fans that will bring about greater thermal comfort to non air- conditioned space, usage of green concrete that consumes less natural resources through material replacement, as well as a well-shaded external façade and a high-efficient central air-conditioning system to reduce energy consumption.

Creating a global City University of the 21st century

  • The new building will also contain a myriad of social and informal learning spaces in the form of a café and through the re-purposing of circulation spaces, which allow learning to take place virtually anywhere on campus. Another interesting feature of the new building is the ‘Student Commons’ located on the roof, which incorporates a mix of student club rooms and open-air terraces equipped with outdoor seating and social facilities.
  • The new building respects the urban fabric of the Civic District and builds upon the porosity of the city campus to further promote engagement with the community. For example, a 24/7 public pedestrian access is provided between Armenian Street and Stamford Green which will play a major role in linking up Fort Canning Park with this part of the city. Along this route, users are able to experience and catch interesting glimpses of the activities of the city campus through the Social Terrace and Activity Plaza. The building also blends in seamlessly with the existing Stamford Green to capitalise on the rare accessibility to open greenery within the Central Business District.

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library

  • The Kwa Geok Choo Law Library is named in memory of the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo, wife of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

  • The 2,600-square-metre Law Library will have seating capacity for over 500 users, and will be fully equipped with modern technology and wired for legal research in the 21st century.

  • The Law Library will be a rich depository of knowledge resource and will provide comprehensive collection coverage to support the teaching and legal research needs of the SMU School of Law. It has the capacity to hold 50,000 print volumes. It will focus on developing several special collections on topics such as Commercial Law, Dispute Resolution and Islamic Law.

  • The Kwa Geok Choo Law Library and the Li Ka-Shing Library will together provide access to over 90,000 electronic resources, including e-books, e-journals and databases, catering for multidisciplinary research and interests. The two libraries will also provide seamless access to information services and resources to the entire SMU community.

Milestones

Ground Breaking Ceremony (20 January 2014)

Topping Out Ceremony

KGCLL Dome Structure Completion

Construction Stage (13 June 2014 - 12 December 2016)

Aerial View

Aerial View From the Junction of Armenian Street

Site Visits

School of Law Building Facilities

The Exterior

School of Law (Aerial view)

School of Law (Aerial view)

School of Law

School of Law
(View from Stamford Green)

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library 
(view from Stamford Green)

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library 
(view from Stamford Green)

Lower Roof

Lower Roof, School of Law

Graduate Study Lounge, Lower Roof

Level 5

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 5

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 5

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 5

Level 4

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 4

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 4

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 4

Function Lounge, Level 4

Sky Terrace (The Courtyard), Level 4

Level 3

Learning Commons 24-7, 
Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 3

Learning Commons 24-7, 
Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 3

Learning Commons 24-7, 
Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 3

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 3

Kwa Geok Choo Law Library, Level 3

Group Study Room, Level 3

Seminar Room, Level 3

Seminar Room, Level 3

Group Study Room, Level 3

Level 1

David Marshall Moot Court, Level 1

David Marshall Moot Court, Level 1

David Marshall Moot Court, Level 1

David Marshall Moot Court, Level 1

Level B1

SMU Hall, Basement 1

SMU Hall, Basement 1

SMU Hall, Basement 1

100 Seater Seminar Room, Basement 1

Level B2

Meeting Room, Research Centre, Basement 2

Achievements & Important Events

Award Obtained

BCA Design and Engineering Safety Excellence Award – June 2017

SCDF Fire Safety Design Excellence Award – November 2017

BCA Green Mark Platinum Stage 1 Letter of Award – November 2017

Award Participation

BCA Construction Excellence Award – October 2017

URA/DSC President Design Award – October 2017

Important Events/Visits

Visit by CDAC Chairman in Nov 2016

Kajima Celebration Lunch on 16 Dec 2016

Visit by SMU President on 3 Jan 2017

Visit by Kwa Geok Choo Committee Group on 19 Jan 2017

SMU State of University Address 2017

Date: 8 September 2017
Addressed by: SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer

Official Launch of SMU Pro Bono Centre

Date: 6 October 2017
Guest-of-Honor:
Mr Chan Sek Keong, former Chief Justice and current Senior Judge at the Singapore Supreme Court
Mr Tan Chong Huat, RHT Rajan Menon Foundation Chairman

Societal Leadership Summit 2017 (ASEAN50)

Date: 6 October 2017
Guest-of-Honor: Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan