Elevating Legal Education
Eric E. Hotung International Law Building and Scott K. Ginsburg Sports and Fitness Center
Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
The Law Center brings together programs and services, and forms a new academic quadrangle.
The Eric E. Hotung International Law Building and Scott K. Ginsburg Sports and Fitness Center represent Georgetown University Law Center’s vision to create a cohesive, connected, and globally focused urban campus. The space brings together the Law Center’s internationally oriented programs, faculty, and students within a unified, purpose‑built environment. The resulting buildings create a quadrangle, now known as Eleanor Holmes Norton Green, improving circulation and creating opportunities for informal gathering.
The Hotung Building’s original program consolidated Georgetown’s international and graduate programs, previously dispersed across multiple buildings, into a single, highly visible home. The new facility included faculty offices, administrative suites, student organization spaces, classrooms, seminar rooms, and a variety of collaborative environments designed to encourage interaction among students, scholars, and visiting practitioners from around the world. The flexible design has allowed the space to adapt to the Law Center’s changing needs; the programming has flexed to also include offices for key student services and organizations.
A signature feature of the building is its moot courtroom, modeled on the U.S. Supreme Court. This space anchors the academic mission of the Center, providing a venue for international law competitions, symposia, and experiential learning that prepares students for cross‑border legal practice.
The building’s massing and material palette takes contextual cues from its neighbor, with a sleek steel and glass exterior that offers a dramatic counterpoint. Transparency and light were central design priorities. Generous glazing, open circulation paths, and strategically placed gathering spaces create a sense of openness and accessibility, reinforcing the building’s role as a crossroads for global dialogue.
Scott K. Ginsburg Sports & Fitness Center: A New Center for Student Life
The Ginsburg Center expanded the Law Center’s student life offerings with a comprehensive recreation and wellness facility that supports the physical, social, and mental well‑being of the campus community. The building includes fitness studios, strength and conditioning spaces, multipurpose rooms, and amenities designed to accommodate the demanding schedules of law students.
Its placement opposite the Hotung Building was intentional: together, the two buildings balance academic intensity with opportunities for wellness and community building. The Ginsburg Center’s active program animates the new quadrangle, drawing students into shared spaces and strengthening the sense of campus cohesion.