Description

Dining Facility (DFAC)

Gross Square Footage: 26,500 SF
Estimated Cost: $12,000,000 US
Location: Ft. Lewis, WA USA

This dining facility is designed to provide meals for 1,300 soldiers three times per day, seven days per week, and 52 weeks per year. Our design rationale and basis of design will provide a dining experience on par with private-sector facilities similar to college cafeterias. The massing of the building is intended to create visual interest from the various vantage points afforded by the multiple pedestrian paths that will approach the building. The play of angles on the roof creates strong patterns of shadow and light and the strong horizontal at the roof spring-line helps to maintain a human scale. The emphasized pavilion at the entry helps to visually identify the building entrance and provides intuitive way finding. The servery will be flooded with natural light from north-facing clerestory windows. The glazing in the clerestories will be translucent panels so that the light will be diffused and potential views of rooftop equipment will be obscured. As in the servery, the clerestories in the dining area are glazed with translucent panels to soften the light.