saving a brutal beauty

Bachelors honors thesis at the University of Minnesota

This thesis seeks to investigate the potential of the southeast library in Minneapolis, Minnesota to become a multi-use space in order to discover how a midcentury building can be adapted to contemporary uses. designed by celebrated Minnesotan architect Ralph Rapson, the building opened in 1963 as a credit union and was later adapted by Rapson to become a library in 1967. Its design exemplifies midcentury modern architecture, and has been considered for historic designation because of its significance as a Rapson-designed building. Due to a lack of maintenance and financial difficulties, the building has since fallen into disrepair and perceived functional obsolescence.

This thesis identifies three main problems: the unwelcoming interior, insufficient space to accommodate the varied programming of a modern library,  and the disconnect between the site’s green space and the street. Building on archival research, and the assessments done by the Hennepin County Library, the proposed changes maintain character-defining features while solving those three key issues.