The NMU Law Building is located on the South Campus of Nelson Mandela University to the east of the Embizweni Building. The new building although free standing, is linked to the existing faculty housed in the adjacent Embizweni Building first floor and will become the face of the Faculty of Law. The existing architecture of the campus is rooted in modernist architecture and expressed as concrete art forms set in a nature reserve. Recent additions to the campus have incorporated red face brickwork. The proposed building relates to the original aesthetic through form and mass expressed through the use of red face brick used in recent additions.
The Design Process was informed by two main aspects; how does the building relate to its urban context, its response to a large public square and the adjacent post-modern (Embizweni) building and 2) how does the Faculty of Law function over two buildings (the adjacent Embizweni and the new building). The existing faculty is located on the first floor of Embizweni Building and linked to the new building via an existing staircase between the buildings. Floor and wall finishes in the existing faculty have been carried over into the new building but expressed in a contemporary manner thereby strengthening the link between the buildings.