The dining hall is the epicenter of college life, and can mean the difference between institution and home for students. When asked to create a new dining experience for the residents of IUPUI, we took this notion to heart to create an inviting, and comfortably modern space.

The 14,000 square foot banquet facility & conference center of Indianapolis’ IUPUI campus was the cookie cutter airwall and coffered ceiling banquet hall dotting the campuses across the Midwest. We felt the place would benefit from the warmth of a fire and some natural elements. With this in mind, Nvironment added a ¾ surround fireplace, complete with soft seating around the hearth, front and center in the space. This created a recognizable point where students can pause and rekindle thoughts of home, thus obliterating the stuffy institution feel from before.

An intense blue community table—just begging to be sat at —was added to split IUPUI’s Indianapolis dining hall in half with an electric intensity. The serpentine table’s arc matches the pin-lit soffit above and river-rock floor flowing below to add to the notion that this is someplace special.

Flex meeting spaces were created by using translucent pivot walls, a distant relative to the antiquated air-walls. Colorful ceiling details and vivid signage finish off the hall with whimsy while floor finishes like flagstone, river-rock, and polished wood further purged the remnant of cold linoleum the tenured staff was familiar with.

Nvironment further obscured the institutional feel by celebrating the back of house spaces. Divisions like the walls between the kitchen and the main hall were deleted to create exhibition cooking areas and take vibrant materials and daring colors deeper into the space than ever before. Even a hand-washing station was added to match the aesthetic while providing a reminder from Mom to wash your hands before eating.

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