VCU student dining center wins national design award

By Michael Ford
University News Services

American School & University magazine has awarded Virginia Commonwealth University’s new student dining center -- designed to nourish student appetites for food and social interaction -- a gold citation as among the best educational buildings for interior design.

The Shafer Court Dining Center, located on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus, received the accolade in the magazine’s annual Educational Interiors Showcase. The award was presented to the project’s architectural firm, Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company of Norfolk and to VCU, and is included in the magazine’s August 2005 issue. Judges called the $18 million center, which opened last August, “elegant, artistic and sensitive to student needs.”

“It has a modern, open appearance and the southern façade is bathed in natural light because of the large expansive windows that provide excellent views of the sidewalks and green spaces just beyond the building,” said Brian J. Ohlinger, VCU associate vice president for facilities management. “We set out to create a place that would develop into a hub of student activity where people would be comfortable dining with their meal plan but also lingering over coffee with friends.”

“We put high ceilings in this dining center and a sophisticated lighting system to allow it to change moods throughout the day,” added Paul P. Jez, VCU associate vice president for business services and treasurer. “The open concept also was extended to the food preparation areas that showcase exhibition cooking.”

The dining center features three facilities and accommodates students and people from the community. Rodney’s is the first-floor dining room, convenient to all points of the Monroe Park Campus with enough seats for 300 people in the main area and an additional 50 patrons in the faculty and staff dining area. On that same level is the Compass Pointe Emporium, a retail food court that offers French pastries, Italian fare, burgers and sandwiches from a grill, a salad bar and a coffee and espresso bar. An 800-seat restaurant called Market 810 sits atop a spiraling staircase on the second floor. It features exhibition-style cooking, multiple meal options and unlimited servings.

“This has truly turned out to be a showcase project, and we feel confident it has had a positive impact on the quality of student life at VCU,” said Stephen C. Wright, AIA, design principal with Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Co. “We are flattered and honored, for our firm and for VCU, by this recognition from our architectural and university peers.”

Each year AS&U evaluates and selects outstanding educational construction projects in 16 categories for its publication. A panel of judges considers how a building’s final design fits into its intended use for higher education or grades K-12.