Chemistry Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory Facility

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university of minnesota, fraser hall, chemistry undergraduate teaching laboratory facility

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

In the News: Reimagining Fraser Hall

Located on the river adjoining University of Minnesota’s Old Campus Historic District to the north, the new Chemistry Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory Facility, designed by lead architecture firm VJAA with executive architecture firm BWBR, responds to Cass Gilbert’s 1920s Campus Master Plan, which established strong axial and spatial connections between the campus and the Mississippi River.

The chemistry department faculty and leadership wanted a facility where students would feel welcomed and that would support interaction. Every approach to the building reveals student life—collaboration, tutoring, study, and informal gathering. The new commons, tutoring center, and study areas on the first level overlooking the river make student activity visible and more connected to the campus community. It is the first thing that you see as you enter, and the collaboration and study spaces are made visible by connecting them to the primary circulation paths and prominent views of campus, the river and downtown.

On the campus side to the East, the new lab building responds to the Knoll in its geometry and integrates Fraser Hall (1929), a building designed by Clarence H. Johnston. Fraser Hall substantially renovates the 1929 building, addressing accessibility issues and significantly replacing and upgrading mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire suppression systems needed for Chemistry Labs.