A new walking path for the Faculty of Law

The walking path follows the shortest distance between the two buildings. At the entrance to the parking lot, the Faculty logo (the UM logo and ‘Law’ in white letters on a red square), designed by Thomas Soplanit, welcomes visitors.

Over the last three years, new elements have been added to the buildings that are on both ends of the path. The idea is that buildings should be more than a space for students and staff. They should visually represent their function. The Oud Gouvernement is a great example of how its original function as the seat of the Provincial government is articulated by the building’s architecture.

We want to spatially represent our community. In the newly designed board room, four all-male portraits (on loan from the Province of Limburg) were replaced with textile panels inspired by Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss (1908). The four lavishly decorated panels represent diversity by showing a variety of colours, fabrics, and structures, while still forming one harmonious work of art. This is in line with how the Faculty likes to see itself: diverse in many ways, yet one community of students, scholars, and support staff. We also named tutorial rooms after landmark cases and famous jurists and opened common rooms for staff and students to meet. The walking path is the perfect connector of our two Faculty locations, creating a true Law Campus in the heart of the city.