INDIANA UNIVERSITY

COMMUNITY CENTERED DESIGN TO ENHANCE CAMPUS LIFE

IN ASSOCIATION WITH GUND PARTNERSHIP

The Forest Quad Dining Hall project emerged when the initial focus on the Read Residential facility revealed that it would be more expensive to renovate the Read Hall complex than the Forest Quad site.

The decision to move the focus from Read Hall to the Forest Quad site was based upon VPS Architecture’s detailed assessment of the Read Hall site, supplemented with the Bakergroup’s equipment and kitchen surveys.The outcome at Indiana University’s Forest Quad is an amazing mix of social gathering spaces, community building elements, and restaurant-level dining experiences– all conceived to attract and keep students interested in the Bloomington campus.

A new façade along Jones Avenue creates a major entrance to the new Dining Hall, as well as incorporates exterior dining terraces along Jones Avenue, which is evolving into a main pedestrian and light vehicular pathway connecting the residential neighborhood with Jordan Avenue.The new service loading dock along Jones Avenue is screened with landscape plantings to diminish its necessary presence.The center building functions of academic counseling, mailroom, workroom, offices, computer room, and meeting space are accommodated within the renovations to the first and second floors of the Center Building. This center building of Forest Quad is located between two structurally independent residential towers.This allows for transformational reconstruction of the building: defined areas of fire separation can be constructed and fire suppression systems can be added to the center building.