St. Rose Dining Hall
The College of Saint Rose
Albany, NY
Sodexo and The College of St. Rose retained Dembling+ Dembling Architects, P.C. to develop and implement a food hall dining concept as their primary residential dining hall.
DDA was the prime consultant providing architectural, interiors and food service design as well as coordinating structural, HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and electrical design consultants.
The renovation involved a total area of approximately 4000 square feet. Utilizing unused space and redistributing the flow of circulation were the major focus on the design. Implementation of dining concepts and refreshing of Meal Stations added to the overall vibe of the patron experience. We proposed and executed a design that refreshed the spaces and increased the visual sight lines for patrons, this resulted in a more open feel with a brighter and more welcoming atmosphere. Adding lighting elements increased the brightness of the space and assisted in increasing lines of sight. The design included adding a major action station to utilize an underutilized space and a demonstration tasting table to harmonize the experience between Food Service and Dining for On-Campus Patrons and for Off-Campus Visitors. The flow of circulation was reconceptualized and rearranged to eliminate stagnation between spaces, encouraging students to move through the spaces more freely while being able to identify all the stations.
The major challenges of this project included avoiding any changes to the construction of the existing seating spaces and increase the feeling of being part of a larger space.
The project was completed within a 3-month construction schedule and met the anticipated budget.