TSKP STUDIO has designed a new 18,000 SF student dining facility for Central Connecticut State University that provides a central gathering place for the students living in surrounding dormitories. Three dining areas provide flexible and movable furnishings to accommodate spontaneous social gathering as well as single seating at a bar-height counter looking out to the campus. Seating areas surround a central market servery. Projection and AV equipment are built-in to accommodate a variety of functions.
The architect tucked the building into an embankment. A small court is carved into the part of the slope serving two purposes. It contains stormwater detention underground with a rain garden above, while also providing a tranquil garden view for students. The design employs energy efficient large glass window walls, brick cladding and standing-seam metal roofing to complement the existing CCSU campus aesthetic.
The window walls bring in natural light, provide ample views of the outdoors and reveal the interiors as a new campus center. The TSKP STUDIO team includes Crabtree McGrath Associates for kitchen and servery design.
©Paul Warchol Photography