Wood Hall

The Law School's new building, Wood Hall, houses the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, the Natural Resources Law Institute, the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, the International Environmental Law Project, and the Environmental Law and Animal Law journals, in addition to numerous other Law School programs, offices, and classrooms.

This 40,000 square-foot expansion of the Boley Law Library has set a standard for sustainable building practices. "[I]n a city already leading the nation in sustainable building advocacy, Lewis & Clark is pushing the envelope of how the natural environment and the built environment interact," according to the Daily Journal of Commerce. The Sustainable Portland Commission and the American Institute of Architects designated Wood Hall as one of the ten buildings in the Northwest that exemplify "the latest and best in sustainable practices and technologies." The project achieved the rare "Silver Standard" of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Commercial building projects earn LEED points in the categories of building materials, construction waste, management, energy, indoor air quality, landscaping, ozone depletion, recycling, transportation, water quality and maintenance.

Occupying a very small footprint for a building of its size, the building is curved to match the curve of the hillside it sits on, providing both aesthetic appeal and minimal disturbance of native vegetation. The building includes an "eco-roof" with forest plants, to slow rain runoff and soften the appearance of the structure, integrating it with the surrounding Tryon Creek forest. Inside, building occupants enjoy a state-of-the-art energy-efficient heating and ventilation system, openable windows made of temperature-control glass, and an abundance of "daylighting" (use of natural light). The construction entailed use of as much recycled steel, aluminum, gypsum, carpets and linoleum as possible; the few trees cut down during the construction process became paneling and conference tables.

The building is named "Wood Hall" in honor of the late Erskine Wood, Sr. and his wife, Louise Wood, who provided a generous donation for its construction. The Environmental and Natural Resources Program wing will be named the "Bill Williamson Wing" in honor of the founder of the school's Environmental Law program, who retired last year.