Three firms have been chosen to redesign the interior of the campus dining halls as part of the University's effort to enhance the residential college experience before the opening of four-year colleges.
Michael Graves & Associates, Sheila Bridges Design and Mesher Shing will redesign the dining halls in Butler-Wilson, Whitman and Rockefeller-Mathey, respectively. Forbes College's dining hall will be redesigned by University interior designer Debra Barresse.
"Our objective is to create more interesting dining spaces that offer a larger variety of food options but also soften the institutional feel of the current halls," Bob Mesher of Mesher Shing said.
Mesher Shing, based in Seattle, has worked with such clients as Starbucks and Westin Hotels and Resorts. Michael Graves & Associates, based in Princeton, was founded by an emeritus professor of architecture at the University who has designed for Target stores. Sheila Bridges Design, based in New York, designed former President Clinton's Harlem offices.
Director of Dining Services Stuart Orefice said the planned renovations will revitalize the dining halls.
"We are looking forward to providing the right food, mood and attitude in all of the enhanced dining operations," he said.
Plans include creating more intimate eating spaces and instituting a cook-to-order format in the serveries. The dining halls will also include exhibition-style cooking to increase diversity and freshness.
New furniture, lighting and flooring will attempt to enhance the social atmosphere. A mix of booths and tables will replace the long rows of large tables, and acoustics will be altered to facilitate conversation.
Rocky-Mathey will be renovated in the summer of 2007. The two colleges' kitchens and serveries will be combined, but the dining halls will remain separate. Fabric-covered banquettes and upholstered chairs will replace the wooden furniture, and area rugs will be introduced.
Whitman College, scheduled to open in 2007, will feature a more contemporary look. The dining hall will include rectangular and octagonal private dining rooms.
Butler-Wilson will be renovated mostly in the summer of 2009. Since Butler's Wu Hall was built relatively recently in 1983 and already includes a mix of seating arrangements, the renovations will focus on Wilcox Hall, Wilson College's dining facility. In Forbes, the University plans to renovate the dining hall and the lobbies and lounges, starting in the summer of 2007.
The proposed dining hall renovations are part of a larger set of changes planned for the residential dining halls based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Dining and Social Options.
President Tilghman appointed the task force in September 2004 to recommend ways to improve the food quality and dining atmosphere in the colleges. Professor Michael Jennings chaired the group, which included four other faculty members, six administrators, four undergraduates and one graduate student.
"The goal was to have the various dining halls in the residential colleges differentiated from one another, each acquiring its own character," Tilghman said. "In the past the dining experiences in the residential colleges have been relatively homogeneous, and this was an effort to make them more individualized."
In a report released in fall 2005, the task force referred to Tilghman's charge to create "a flexible dining environment that supports our aspirations for building community in the residential setting," improving food quality and increasing the number of options for dining spaces and meal plans.
During its seven meetings in the 2004-05 academic year, the task force considered dining halls at other major universities, conducted a financial analysis of Dining Services' current operations and examined data on eating club membership, student dining patterns and independent student options. The group solicited student opinions by meeting with different student organizations, students with special dietary needs and presidents of the eating clubs.
The renovations are also planned in conjunction with the University's plan to increase the undergraduate student body by 500 students by 2012. Whitman College will open in fall of 2007, the same time that Mathey will be converted into a four-year college. Butler dormitories will largely be torn down and replaced by 2009.
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