by Suzy Frisch

Perched on the East Bank of the Mississippi River, the Renaissance-style brick building once known as the Mineral Resources Research Center sat abandoned for nearly 20 years. Industrial equipment and materials once used to develop the taconite refining process lay about, abandoned. Graffiti marred the walls.

Once abandoned graffiti-covered equipment was cleared,
a light-filled atrium was revealed.

“It was like people just got up and left,” recalls architect Mike Jordan of the Collaborative Design Group in Minneapolis.

  University President Robert Bruininks, former dean of the College of Education and Human Development, dreamed of restoring the building so that it could serve again as a vibrant center for learning. He set to work convincing previous University President Mark Yudof and the Minnesota Legislature to fund the renovation of the building, originally designed by state architect Clarence Johnston.

Thirteen years and $15.3 million later, the former research center has been reborn as the Education Sciences Building. It serves as the new home of the Department of Educational Psychology, the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), and the Center for Early Educational Development (CEED).

“[The restoration] places in this building some centers and academic departments that are known throughout the country and the world for their excellence and the quality and impact of their work,” Bruininks says. “And it strengthens the connection between the beauty of the Mississippi River and the Mississippi River Valley and this great campus.

“If you look up the river you can see St. Anthony Falls and an area of Minneapolis where the city began, where the Dakota Mdewakanton community once had their homes,” he continues. “It’s a very important part of the history and heritage of our state, community, and the University of Minnesota.”

The rooftop terrace may be the best study space in town.

Being under one roof will strengthen the already strong connections between the new building’s tenants in the areas of literacy, special education, accountability and assessment, and early childhood education.

“We now can begin to envision the multitude of research, teaching, and learning that will come from having the centers and departments located there,” notes Dean Darlyne Bailey. “It provides us with just one microcosm of what we’d like to see throughout the College, which is taking seemingly disparate units and giving them the opportunity to work together. The Education Sciences Building provides us with one living example of that.”

Department of Educational Psychology Chair Susan Hupp has noticed a difference in the department faculty, who had been scattered in different buildings, “Now I walk out of my office and see people leaning against the railing and discussing the design of a grant proposal or analyzing some data,” she says. “There is a vibrancy and immediacy to the discussions that I just didn’t see in the same way before. It’s a lot more satisfying to collaborate here.”

When designing the 70,000-square-foot building’s overhaul, the Collaborative Design Group aimed to offer visual reminders of its industrial past, including exposed pipes, steel beams, and brick walls. A 10-ton crane inscribed with “Pawling & Harnischfeger Co.” sits in the middle of an office space.

The architects also sought to maximize the connection to the Mississippi River. Natural light streams into the building from a 140-foot-long skylight that runs its entire length.

 
The inviting gathering space promotes collaboration among educational psychology colleagues.

Two main circulation spines lead people toward the building’s western side and its views.

“Everyone visiting and working in the building can take advantage of the views, not just the people who have offices on the west side,” says Jordan, who was the project manager.

By placing the main circulation areas on the outside, the architects ensured that all would share in the stunning river views.

A large, high-tech conference room with sweeping views of the Mississippi River offers an inspiring place for collaboration and learning. Named the Mary A. McEvoy Seminar Room, it honors the former director of CEED and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology, who was killed in a 2002 plane crash along with Paul and Sheila Wellstone.

In her 12 years at the University, McEvoy made a huge impact on the research, teaching, and community work of the centers and the department now located in the Education Sciences Building, says professor Scott McConnell, who is CEED’s director of community engagement. McEvoy also lobbied tirelessly to secure funding for the renovation.

“She was a big presence—short of stature, but you always knew where she was,” says McConnell. “She knew a lot of people and was willing to use those connections to influence how our work can be more impactful and actually get it done.”

The Mary A. McEvoy Seminar Room is named for the former director of CEED and the chair of the Department of Educational Psychology.

Another favorite new feature of the building is a coffee shop and a rooftop deck that overlooks the river.

Sprinkled around the grounds of the Education Sciences Building are further hallmarks of the structure’s former use. Seven massive boulders made of 10-ton taconite stones from Minnesota’s Iron Range were sculpted by Andrea Stanislav, an assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts. Known as the Garden of Iron Mirrors, the piece features stones that were sliced in half and polished to a mirror-like surface. Like the building itself, the stones show how reflections of the past can create a beautiful future.

Made of polished taconite, the Garden of Iron Mirrors gives a nod to the building's past.

PHOTOS: Paul Crosby, Leo Kim, Patrick O'Leary, University Archives