Reimagining Walker Hall: The Adaptive Reuse of a UC Davis Icon

New Life for Old Landmark

After a decade-long renovation, including critical seismic safety upgrades, the 34,000-square-foot hall is bustling with students again. It’s home to the new Graduate Center, a dynamic, multi-functional graduate and professional student center and the first of its kind across the entire UC system. 

“The restoration not only revives the building for another 100 years, but also honors its history, serves the present and provides continued opportunities for evolution into the future,” Leddy noted.

Now reopened, the building has renewed significance on campus.

“Walker Hall is a well-loved building, and I am thrilled the campus invested in its restoration,” said Julie Nola, AIA, LEED AP, associate vice chancellor and university architect, leading UC Davis Design and Construction Management.

Collaboration and Vision

LMSA’s team worked closely with UC Davis’s Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE), whose valuable input helped create a dynamic space for hands-on, active learning while maintaining the university’s high academic standards. The renovation focused on respecting the building’s history and updating it for modern needs.

“The objective was to clean it up and really show off the existing building,” explained LMSA Principal Ryan Jang, AIA, LEED AP.

Over time, alterations made by different departments hid many of Walker Hall’s original features. By stripping away layers of modifications and removing a large mezzanine, LSMA revealed a “really fantastic shell,” Jang said.

Historic details such as board-formed concrete walls, steel sash windows, and original roof trusses were saved and showcased. More than 75% of the original structure was preserved.

Resourceful Solutions

Restoring Walker Hall wasn’t without obstacles. “The biggest challenge was the budget. State funding was available for seismic repairs, but little else,” explained Leddy.

Despite these limitations, LMSA preserved the building’s historic integrity while upgrading safety and modernizing its electrical, mechanical, and HVAC systems. The team prioritized reusing existing materials and restoring original features to minimize waste, control costs, and reduce environmental impact.

The renewal of Walker Hall was also deeply connected to campus-wide sustainability initiatives, led by the university’s Capital Projects unit. This organization played a pivotal role in the project’s success and supported UC Davis’s commitment to responsible, sustainable development.

“That was really cool, because we were able to work with this internal organization,” said Leddy, emphasizing the collaborative approach that allowed the renovation to align with broader campus sustainability goals.

As a result, the renovation benefitted from cutting-edge features including the campus’ new solar farm and an advanced chilled water plant. These improvements now provide the building with clean energy and efficient cooling, improving its energy efficiency and reinforcing its commitment to environmental responsibility.

Leddy explained that managing energy and utilities on a building-by-building basis is no longer practical, especially as climate goals become more urgent. Instead, UC Davis’s integrated, low-carbon infrastructure provides a flexible and expandable model that ensures every campus building benefits from shared, sustainable improvements.

Sustainability-centered Strategies

Sustainability guided every decision throughout the renovation. LMSA focused on minimizing embodied carbon by retaining as much of the existing structure as possible. Further improvements included upgraded insulation, high-performance glass, and a shift to all-electric heating and cooling systems powered by campus solar energy. These measures helped Walker Hall achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest standard in green building.

“The project’s seamless integration of historic preservation, sustainable design, and state-of-the-art systems sets a new benchmark for adaptive reuse on campus,” explained Nola. “It inspires us to approach future developments with a ‘reuse-first’ mindset—honoring our history while advancing resilience, building technologies, and environmental performance.”

Connecting Campus Vision with Building’s New Use

Another challenge was aligning Walker Hall’s new function with the university’s broader vision. UC Davis wanted to create a new promenade connecting the western transportation hub to the main library, but the “wings of the building were literally in the way,” Jang recalled.

Ultimately, the team truncated the three southern wings, sacrificing interior space to create a vital pedestrian walkway and a new “front door” for Walker Hall. This bold move significantly improved campus connectivity.

Inside the New Graduate Center

Today, the north wing serves as a two-story hub for graduate students, featuring a lounge, counseling and mentoring rooms, study spaces, multipurpose meeting rooms, and administrative offices. The renovated southern wings boast a 200-seat lecture hall and two flexible, active-learning classrooms that incorporate sophisticated media and digital technologies.

“It’s the most sought-after space on campus,” Jang said. “Watching it come to life has been incredibly rewarding, especially seeing the classroom utilization charts, and how full they are all the time. As architects, we care about many things: the energy story, the reuse story, and so on. But ultimately, it’s seeing people actively use the buildings—sometimes in ways we don’t expect—that’s truly rewarding.”

A Dynamic Campus Hub

The Graduate Center’s impact extends beyond its academic function. As the heart of campus life, it has become a sought-after destination for student clubs, faith-based organizations, and other groups. Its inviting and flexible spaces can be reserved for a variety of purposes, making it the central hub for campus events and collaboration. 

“It’s a vibrant center for creative engagement—everything we had hoped for,” said Leddy.