Reimagining Fraser Hall: Design for a New Era of Science Learning at the University of Minnesota

Fraser Hall’s reopening this Fall represented more than the renovation of a historic building; it embodied a rethinking of how students at the University of Minnesota learn science. Designed by the award-winning Minneapolis-based architecture firm VJAA, in collaboration with BWBR, executive architects, the project has transformed the 1928 law library into a modern hub for undergraduate chemistry. The reimagined Fraser Hall supports active, inquiry-based learning and will provide a welcoming, collaborative environment for thousands of students from nearly every college on campus.

At the center of this transformation over the past decade is Jennifer Yoos, architect and president of VJAA and now department head of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design at the College of Design. Known for her thoughtful, research-driven approach, Yoos brought a unique perspective to the project that bridged the University’s design leadership and its academic mission. Her work on Fraser Hall connects past and future—honoring the building’s historic roots while creating a space that reflects today’s dynamic and interdisciplinary model of education.

Fraser Hall is a historic landmark and part of an original campus master plan created by American architect Cass Gilbert. How did your team honor its architectural legacy while creating a modern, state-of-the-art environment for chemistry students?

Cass Gilbert’s original master plan for the UMN established strong axial and spatial connections between the campus and the Mississippi River; a sense of procession along the Mall, and cross-campus connections to the river. 

The renewed Fraser Hall restores many of those ideas that had been obscured by additions over time, while reinforcing a strong and cohesive campus edge viewed from the riverfront. As you approach the new main entry to the East from the Mall, you can now see through the building and main student commons to the river gorge. The labs and student “perch” study spaces at the ends of the north corridors also open directly to river views, the campus knoll, and the downtown skyline.

The massing and material strategy responds to a series of datums along the site and articulates three datums, the base forms a plinth for the more open commons/collaboration level, and finally, an upper volume of lab spaces overlooks the river.  The campus edge elevation along River Road is similarly composed of a series of material datums—with their limestone or cast stone bases and fenestrated brick upper volumes.  

We were particularly interested in the vertical textures and rhythms in the historic structures in the traditional mall, from the intimate scale of column fluting, as well as the depth of layered facades. You can see this in the development of embossed corrugated textured copper shingles stacked between vertical battens and layered shading systems on the facade, including references to the historical “fluting” geometries in the aluminum louvers.

Importantly, the original Fraser Hall was actually a multi-part building: the original 1928 library and reading room headhouse, and later additions, including the stacks, that lacked architectural quality and had degraded over time. We restored the original headhouse and entry, removed deteriorated additions, and reused salvaged brick to rebuild the historic façade once it became exposed again.

One of the most exciting spaces in the building is the South Stair Tower, which features a 5-story integrated glass artwork by Dyani White Hawk, a Minnesota-based Lakota artist who opened a solo show at the Walker Art Center that coincided with the building's opening. The art is such an important part of the building's experience, and it also inspired our selection of interior colors and finishes for the project. 

It was developed in a collaborative process between Chemistry faculty and students, the design team, and the German glass company Meyer of Munich, which developed the glass panels with Dyani and her team, and MG Mcgrath, who coordinated them with the exterior glazing systems and also developed all of the exterior metal elements.

The building supports hands-on, collaborative, inquiry-based learning. How did you translate these evolving teaching methods into the building’s design? What features encourage curiosity, teamwork, and connection among students?

Chemistry education has changed over the years from teaching students to learn processes to teaching them to become problem-solvers, to collaborate and design their own processes. The discipline is central to a UMN education and 5,000 students use it annually. Our intention was to create a building that visibly supports that culture and creates community for undergraduate students and faculty.

The first floor brings together commons, study and tutoring spaces in an active public zone that’s visible from Pleasant Avenue and River Road. The new courtyard reinforces student life along Pleasant, especially as you approach from Smith Hall, where the department has long been centered. As you approach from the street you see all of the activity and students studying on the window benches on the upper levels and in the new collaboration spaces.  

The labs themselves are central to collaboration. They line the river edge with expansive views, and the main north–south circulation corridor shares that same daylight. A carefully calibrated louver system balances transparency with solar control from the west and east. Integrated access from the labs needed safe and secure chemical storage on each level and secure routes to bring chemicals in safely. 

Breakout spaces for collaborative learning and group study were also important, and like the commons level on the first floor are the most visible spaces from the main corridor on each upper level. These collab spaces are open and glassy and act as an entry area to the labs with convenient lockers for students while also bringing in daylight from the corridors.

Fraser Hall has long shaped the East Bank skyline. How did your design ensure the building remains recognizable while signaling its new role as a hub for undergraduate science education?

Location was a critical factor. The site is prominent from every direction—including the Mall, Pleasant Avenue, River Road, and from across the Mississippi. There is no side of this site that is not impactful. Five thousand undergraduate students will use this facility to take courses annually, so it needs to be welcoming and visible from all directions. 

The original 1928 building is also on-axis as you approach from Northrup Mall, so the desire was to maintain the view of the original building with its entry as it had been seen from Campus. We preserved and restored the headhouse and entry and removed the 1950’s additions and law library stacks. The brick that was removed was salvaged and reused to restore the areas of the original building that were destroyed by the previous additions and were once again visible.

Along East River Road, the massing and copper-toned brick help Fraser blend with the campus palette seen from the Washington Avenue Bridge, while also resonating with the stainless steel of the Weisman Museum and the glassy facade of Bruininks Hall. We wanted it to resonate with historic and contemporary elements of the campus.

Historically, buildings on Pleasant backed away from the river. Fraser now helps form a cohesive river edge—improving paths, lighting, grades, and circulation, and treating the river-facing elevation as a visible gateway for campus life.

The new commons, tutoring center, and study areas make student activity visible to the campus community. Why was openness and connectivity important, and how does it enhance the student experience?

The chemistry department faculty and leadership wanted the discipline of chemistry to be centered on new ways of learning but also about creating a strong and inclusive campus community where students would feel welcomed and encouraged to interact. Every approach to the building reveals student life—collaboration, tutoring, study, and informal gathering. Along River Road, the commons and tutoring center overlook the river with labs above. From the Mall and Pleasant Avenue, long glass corridors are animated with students studying on built-in window benches and at group tables. Even the heating vents were integrated into seating so that the benches stay warm in winter.

A new entry across from Walter Library creates a transparent, student-centered volume with views to the river and a landscaped courtyard activating Pleasant. The goal was simple: students should see themselves reflected in the life of the building, and feel welcome from the moment they arrive.

Fraser Hall aims for an 80% reduction in energy use and carbon savings. What innovations in materials, systems, or construction made this ambitious goal possible in a historic renovation? 

The project was designed and modeled to meet SB2030 requirements for an 80% reduction in EUI and carbon savings. The design team, which included Dunham Engineering, worked with Xcel Energy's Energy Design Assist program, and the project exceeded modeled energy expectations.

Materials and adaptive reuse were key:

• Major portions of the existing structure were kept and repurposed.
• The historic reading room became an organic chemistry lab, reducing the need for entirely new high-ventilation spaces.
• Salvaged brick from the demolition of the law library stacks was used to restore and replace exterior facades destroyed in the 1950’s.
• New exterior metals (copper and aluminum)primarily used high recycled content and are fully recyclable at end of life. This included copper (90% recycled material).
• The contractor diverted 75% of construction waste.
• The primary structure is a highly durable concrete frame, allowing us to reduce building height by exposing slabs instead of adding dropped ceilings and reducing interior finishes. At least 25% of the cement was replaced with supplementary materials including fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag to cut carbon impact. 
   

On the energy side:

• East and west glazing maximize daylight for labs and public spaces, while louvers and operable shades reduce heat gain. Natural daylighting is important for reducing energy use but also for health and wellness. The louver system of the west facade blocks 40% of direct light coming perpendicular to the facade into the labs, so the facade is 60% open for daylighting. This is also optimum for reducing heat gain.
• High-performance wall and roof assemblies.
• Demand-controlled ventilation, low-face-velocity fume hoods, and Aircuity controls significantly reduce ventilation loads.
• The building uses high-efficiency fans, chilled beams, campus chilled/hot water converted from campus steam, and a heat recovery chiller that moves energy between building and campus loops.

A project of this scale required input from university leaders, faculty, city officials, and environmental advisors. How did feedback from these stakeholders shape design decisions, sustainability strategies, and overall project goals?

This was a long, multi-phased public project—and that duration ultimately strengthened the design. The Capital Project Management team, led by Dana Murdoch, Kevin Ross, and Campus Architect Marc Partridge, worked very closely with us to set priorities, manage these processes and make sure we understood and held to the complexity of University requirements and overall goals as well as the quality and budget and sustainability expectations of a publicly funded state project.  Chemistry faculty and staff were essential partners, and their pedagogical and functional needs led every decision. Many of the challenges of the project were due to competing goals by different constituencies–for example energy conservation vs. river views and visible interiors.

Programming and predesign began in 2017 (I joined the school of architecture as head in 2022), an intensive period of close collaboration with Chemistry Department faculty and administrators to understand their teaching and needs. Early walkthroughs of Smith and Kolthoff Halls revealed crowded circulation, a lack of study and collaboration space, and outdated labs. Students studied on floors or in hallways between classes. The faculty wanted a building that prepared students for their future work which centered collaboration.

BWBR’s lab planning team led workshops mapping course schedules, lab typologies, and functional workflows. Faculty feedback directly shaped flexible, efficient lab spaces and support areas aligned with teaching needs.
The site itself added complexity: steep grades, drainage challenges, utility connections, pedestrian/bike flow, and an unacquirable strip of land owned by the Minneapolis Park Board. Multiple design scenarios were evaluated to navigate and negotiate those constraints.

Historic preservation was also significant. The Minnesota Historic Preservation Office had to approve removal of 1950s additions—structures technically within the “period of significance.” Upgrading historic windows for energy performance required multiple reviewed proposals.

Height limits proved another challenge. To accommodate both programmatic and environmental requirements—including additional labs and the larger rooftop mechanical equipment spaces and vent stacks needed to meet B3 sustainability standards—we needed to exceed the initially planned height. To fit required labs and systems within restrictions, the team shifted from steel to concrete—reducing floor-to-floor height by exposing structure and eliminating ceiling plenums.
 

What insights from Fraser Hall could guide future university renovations in balancing sustainability, functionality, and community impact?

Fraser demonstrates the value of treating buildings and landscapes as one integrated system. The campus has many fragmented outdoor spaces that could become assets with better connections. At Fraser, linking paths, terraces, and entries created a stronger pedestrian experience and a welcoming river frontage.

Universal accessibility was another major priority. The historic entry sat a full story above grade, on a steeply sloped site. By creating three clear entry points and redesigning campus roads as well as paths and terracing with Landscape Architects Damon Farber, we improved access while reducing interior congestion. Even the loading area is recessed and appears welcoming to pedestrians. We particularly focused on the areas between Fraser and Applebee where there is an accessible route up to campus from the river and the entry space fronting Wuolling Hall and the accessible parking there.

Most historic campus buildings share similar challenges: limited daylight, narrow corridors, lack of exterior connections, and little space for informal learning. Yet many sites, like Fraser, can be transformed without sacrificing history. Spaces once considered inflexible or obsolete can become sustainable, accessible, and socially vibrant.

When we first looked at the site we thought it was almost impossible to fit the program onto it without creating an inappropriately tall building along the river.  I think that there are a number of sites like Fraser Hall on campus that have been historically underused and seen as inflexible and outdated that can still be transformed to meet new needs–to be sustainable, accessible and filled with socially vibrant spaces. 

Learn more about Architecture programs at the College of Design.