Shafer Court Dining Center

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

This two-story, $18.0 Million, 57,000 square foot facility has been highly acclaimed as one of the best examples of how to design a university dining facility in the United States. The Dining Center features three facilities and accommodates students and people from the community. Rodney’s is the first floor dining room, convenient to all points of the campus with enough seats for 300 people in the main area and 50 patrons in the faculty and staff dining area. On that same level is the Compass Pointe Emporium, a retail food court that offers pastries, Italian fare, burgers and sandwiches from a grill, a salad bar, and coffee/expresso bar. An 800-seat restaurant called Market 810 sits atop a spiraling staircase on the second floor. It features exhibition style cooking, multiple meal options and unlimited servings. The facility is constructed of steel and concrete with a great amount of glass, monumental stairs, large cantilevers, curved walls, and other eye-catching aesthetics. The facility had to be designed to fit into the campus vernacular, while also fitting into downtown historic Richmond. This facility received the Gold Citation from the American School and University Educational Interiors Showcase in 2005.