Law Commons^™

The Quadrangle Isn't Square

About the Buildings

Many of those who visit and admire the Law Quadrangle assume that it was modelled by architects York and Sawyer on some existing complex of buildings at Oxford or Cambridge. While the Law School's buildings are in the tradition of English Gothic used at other institutions, they are unique and very much more varied in style and use of ornamental detail than is apparent to the casual observer. A recent descriptive evaluation of the Quadrangle written for an architecture class at Michigan by student Paul Weller demonstrates that the buildings are not only original designs but also "tend to represent …