University of Minnesota

Biological Sciences Center, Third and Fourth Floors Renovations

Students write on a floor to ceiling whiteboard wall in the Biological Sciences commons. They are surrounded by green chairs and blue walls and touchdown tables
Students work in the Biological Sciences Active Learning Lab, complete with whiteboards, flexible lab stations, and views to the outdoors
Students work in an open student commons with flexible seating options and a shared kitchenette
Students work in an open student commons with flexible seating options and a shared kitchenette
Students work in one of the Biological Sciences Center's flexible labs
Students work in one of the Biological Sciences Center's flexible labs
A student walks past a brightly lit entry to the Active Learning Lab
A biological sciences lab is filled with lab equipment and bright lighting
Three students work on research projects in a biological sciences lab
Students work in blue benchstyle seating nooks with monitors to share their biological sciences research
An open student collaboration space for students to team between classes
A faculty member works at one of the new office stations in the Biological Sciences Center, with close proximity to other faculty and researchers

University of Minnesota

Biological Sciences Center, Third and Fourth Floors Renovations

Saint Paul, Minn.

Project Details

The two-floor renovation of the College of Biological Sciences Building supports the University of Minnesota’s academic mission, as well as improves the student experience through increased hands-on learning. The design transforms existing underutilized spaces into new, open-plan research labs and offices for student research teams.

A unique project feature is the new Active Learning Lab, which advances the University’s goal to give students a real research experience. In this lab, there is no dedicated lab time or topic. Students work in groups to generate their own research question/topic (derived from specified categories), and then the student teams perform the research. Since the groups utilize the lab whenever they need to do their work, the lab is very flexible to meet the diverse needs of many different types of research projects.

Project Specs

Size: 14,000 sq. ft.

Components: New teaching and research lab space for the College of Biological Sciences, including an Active Learning Lab, growth chamber, freezer room, and controlled environment room; group collaboration spaces with technology hook-ups, movable furniture, and whiteboards; student commons; upgrades to non-compliant building code, life safety, environmental, and accessibility conditions; faculty offices; support spaces

Completion: 2019