Stop 6 of 6
Law Grounds
A New Academical Village
Audio guide — Stop 6: Law Grounds (3:01)
The narration follows the text and image descriptions on this page.
Clay Hall today forms the Law School’s iconic entrance, but initial designs for connecting Brown and Slaughter Halls in the 1990s looked nothing like it. There was no hall at all. After the Business School’s departure from Slaughter, the Law School began plans to connect the two buildings and create an Academical Village for law on North Grounds. In this first draft, architects Williams & Dynerman proposed a walkway to unite Slaughter and Brown.
In the end, the Law School built Clay Hall, creating a Jeffersonian façade and a central entryway to bridge Slaughter with Brown. Clay Hall’s white columns, red brick, and pyramidal roof evokes previous law buildings, blending tradition with the modern designs of the 1970s. Hugh Stubbins & Associates completed the renovation in 1997, adding Scott Commons, Spies Garden, and Holcombe Green. These final connections united the Law School into a single quadrangle, creating the Law Grounds we know today.
Proposal for an interconnected Law Grounds by Williams & Dynerman, drawn by Dick Chenoweth, 1992, UVA Law Library.
Image description
A colored architectural rendering of the Law School viewed from above and slightly in front. Brown Hall and Slaughter Hall are linked by a long, covered arcade rather than the Clay Hall building visitors see today. The arcade frames a landscaped plaza with pathways, lawns, and plantings.
In the proposed Law School plan, notice:
- A covered walkway, or pergola, connected Brown and Slaughter Halls. Architects designed this arcade to reference the UVA Lawn.
- The building had two sets of front steps. The diverging stairways provide a stark contrast to today’s Clay Hall entrance.
- This plan emphasized landscaped public space. The plan eliminated the former front traffic circle to create a new beautified plaza, now Holcombe Green.
- Can you find the Jefferson statue? This statue now stands in the courtyard by Admissions. The 1992 plan here placed the Jefferson statue by an entrance.
What was built
Aerial view of the David A. Harrison III Law Grounds, 1996, UVA Law Library.
Image description
An aerial photograph from 1996 showing the Law School after the completion of major renovations that created the contiguous Law Grounds. Brown Hall, Slaughter Hall, and Clay Hall form a unified composition around landscaped courtyards and green spaces. Walkways connect the buildings into a connected quadrangle, while gardens and lawns soften the geometry of the architecture. The image demonstrates how separate structures were transformed into the cohesive Law Grounds of today.
Audio guide — Closing (0:31)