An Adaptive Reuse of a Seismically Unsafe Building

Walker Hall is an adaptive reuse of a vacant, seismically unsafe agricultural engineering building built in 1927 at the historic core of the UC Davis campus. The project transformed a vacant, seismically unsafe building into a graduate and professional student center with meeting rooms, a lecture hall, and sophisticated active-learning classrooms that serve the entire campus. It coalesces history, community, and advanced educational environments at a hub of university life. 

The original 32,400-square-foot building was one of the earliest buildings on campus, built to house the university’s agricultural engineering program. A north-facing, two-story Spanish style wing housed classrooms and offices, while to the south, three lofty, clear-span wings served as large shops for hands-on research, design, and fabrication of farming machinery.