Education University & Collegiate | Primary & Secondary (K-12)
Consulting, Planning and Design
DENVER | HONOLULU | SAN FRANCISCO | SCOTTSDALE
Overview Educational facilities are exciting projects to work on because regardless of whether the project is K-12 or higher education, the two most important goals are universal. Those goals are affordable, healthful food options available to all students. History has proven that healthful food options do not create a decline in food purchases and do not have to cost more to produce. It comes down to planning appropriately and having the correct labor force and facilities in place to deliver on this goal. William Caruso & Associates (WC&A) specializes in planning for educational facilities food and beverage services. From the early days of simple cafeterias in K-12 schools and colleges/universities, the world and its focus on health, flexibility, breadth of products, and natural foods has changed our business. WC&A has not only kept pace with these
changes, but has stayed on the forefront of innovation and design to accommodate these desires. From food courts to branded name kiosks, convenience stores, take-out, grab n’ go, and commissary units remote from dining areas; we’ve done it all over the years. Throw in the need for critical time schedules to ensure that facilities are open when students return from summer break or in some cases from mid-year breaks, and you have an industry segment of specialization that constantly morphs and adjusts. WC&A has worked on over 250 educational projects throughout the world. We have been presented with new challenges and been asked to push boundaries, all the while providing students, staff, and communities the best of what facilities planning and design has to offer!
Our Approach WC&A has had the opportunity to work on many university level projects that include student unions, student dining facilities, teaching facilities, and staff dining facilities. These dining environments must be welcoming, and their designs should create flow and movement that facilitate natural movement throughout their spaces. A wide range of options exist for operations and design. Many unions have big name brands within them, as well as generic brands created by the school itself. There are options like grab n’ go, traditional food courts, and cafeteria style venues. While K-12 schools may not serve as many individuals per day or have the budget that collegiate level projects have, they do use the knowledge of space, movement, and strategy these larger scale operations have gained over time. WC&A is able to provide options that suit the needs of a particular client; whether large or small, grandiose or simple.
Whether our work be on the secondary or college/ university level, we approach all we do in a defined and orderly manner. We believe strongly in an interactive approach with our clients. Meetings are set with client planning teams, user focus groups, and even administrators of the institutions we work with. From these, we learn all we can about the project goals and objectives, past operational and functional histories, operational changes contemplated for the future, time and budget requirements, as well as the likes and dislikes of facility users. Armed with this information, we work “hand in hand” with the project design team to provide master planning, programming, and design services that meet our client’s objectives. We listen, we learn, we act, and we succeed!
New Trends in Educational Food &Beverage: The array of food products available and the ways to prepare, merchandise and serve them are endless today! K-12 students look for recognizable foods that look and taste good. School foodservice departments provide food and beverage offerings within federal guidelines. We as consultants must bridge the gap to entice student participation and provide facilities and equipment on schedule within budget and special availabilities. On the collegiate level, we have taken advantage of the unique commercial and cultural maturity of the modern college student as it relates to their food and beverage choices. This includes new wave cooking technologies, cooking fresh in front of guests, electronic digital media to market products, convenience stores, take out and delivery zones, grab n’ go, internet cafes, and more. The varieties of options college students are accustomed to today form new ways to market and sell products. We at WC&A have been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of these technological advances to ensure that our clients remain on the “cutting edge� of all foodservice trends!
Project Highlights University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona
WC&A designed all foodservice facilities in the Student Union Memorial Center, which upon completion was the largest student union in the United States. Foodservice areas are located on all levels of this multi-level facility, which include a central kitchen, bakery, storage areas, a six-outlet food court, Mexican restaurant, and a scrambletype servery. Phase II of this project consisted of the renovation of the existing student union, which included an Italian restaurant, an espresso/ice cream shop, convenience store, faculty club, and banquet facilities. Quinnipiac University Student Center Hamden, Connecticut
WC&A was commissioned to design new dining facilities as part of a major renovation to the university’s student union. The design included two dining facilities, one on the main campus and the other in their residential area. The main campus renovation existed of a serving area and ware wash, and new themed action stations including a Yan Can Cook Concept (Martin Yan concept). The dish room included a vertical conveyor to transport trays from the upper level dining space to the lower level dish room. York Hill (residential) Dining Hall included multiple action stations and a new production kitchen. This is located in their gym and recreation center, and provides a “lodge-type” feel to its guests. Louisiana State University
inspected foodservice equipment from existing dining facilities in order to recommend which equipment could be reused in the renovated facilities. We also determined the foodservice equipment and manufacturers that would best suit the needs of the operator and university, and provided foodservice design and utility design criteria for the team. Cherry Creek School District Englewood, Colorado
WC&A has designed numerous foodservice facilities for the Cherry Creek School District. Projects include Elementary Schools (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 36, 37, 39, 40, and 41), Middle School 7, two High Schools, the Industrial Arts Building, and the Central Commissary that provides bulk prepared foods and central store items to all schools in the district. WC&A has also further refined the Cherry Creek Elementary Prototype Schools in Cherry Creek #40. Working with the District Foodservice Staff, WC&A re-evaluated the cooking methods of the school and updated the equipment to utilize the latest technology available. Madison School District No. 3 Phoenix, Arizona
WC&A was retained to program, design, and detail the Madison Elementary School foodservice facilities. This unique school is a 700-student kindergarten through second grade (K-2) facility. WC&A’s expertise incorporated flexibility and service efficiency. Kent School District
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Kent, Washington
WC&A was chosen as part of the team to renovate three of Louisiana State University’s Dining Facilities. The renovated dining halls (Laville Dining, Pentagon Dining, and Student Union Dining) include state-of-the-art dining experiences with a variety of amenities including video and sound systems, private seating areas, convenience stores, and franchised fast food outlets for quick meals and late night snacks. WC&A inventoried and
WC&A planned and designed a 20,000 meal per day central kitchen facility for this high growth school district in the metro-Seattle area. Services included a complete warehouse design with a semi-automated bakery, automated food production utilizing a cook-chill system and automated packaging components. Integrated into the design planning was a phased design construction plan to accommodate the anticipated growth requirements of the district.
Highlight Client List Colleges and Universities Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona
Louisiana State University Residence Halls Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2)
St Louis University St. Louis, Missouri
Auraria/Tivoli Student Union Denver, Colorado
Louisiana State University Student Union Baton Rouge, Louisiana
SUNY Albany Residence Hall Albany, New York
Boston University Boston, Massachusetts
Maricopa Community College Mesa, Arizona
SUNY Albany Indian Quad Albany, New York
Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Metropolitan State College Denver, Colorado
Texas State Technical College Sweetwater, Texas
Chandler-Gilbert Community College Chandler, Arizona
Mission Bay Conference Center University Of California, San Francisco
Texas State University San Marcos, Texas
Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina
Monmouth University West Long Branch, New Jersey
United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, Colorado
College of Charleston Charleston, South Carolina
Montana State University Bozeman, Montana
United States Military Academy West Point, New York
Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado
New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona
Colorado State University Ft. Collins, Colorado
North Carolina A&T University Greensboro, North Carolina
University of California at Berkeley Berkeley, California
Cornell University Ithaca, New York
North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina
University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, California
Creighton University Omaha, Nebraska
Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois
University of California at San Diego La Jolla, California
Eastern Washington University Spokane, Washington
Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott, Arizona
Old Dominion University Norfolk, Virginia
University of California at San Francisco, Mission Bay Student and Conference Center San Francisco, California
Fairmont State College Fairmont, West Virginia
Purdue University W. Lafayette, Indiana
Fresno State University Fresno, California
Quinnipiac University Student Center Hamden, Connecticut
Gonzaga University Spokane, Washington
Quinnipiac University Medical Center New Haven, Connecticut
University of Colorado Dal Ward Center Boulder, Colorado
Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana
Southern Connecticut State College, New Haven, Connecticut
University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio
Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana
Southern Utah State College Cedar City, Utah
University of Denver Denver, Colorado
Iowa State University Ames, Iowa
St John’s University Queens, New York
University of Denver Hillel Student Center Denver, Colorado
University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado University of Colorado at Denver Denver, Colorado
K-12 Schools University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario
Academy School District 20 Colorado Springs, Colorado
Jeffco Public Schools Golden, Colorado
University of Illinois Champaign, Illinois
Adams Twelve Five Star School District Thornton, Colorado
Kent School District Kent, Washington
University of Indiana Bloomington, Indiana
Albany County School District One Laramie, Wyoming
Littleton Public Schools Littleton, Colorado
University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa
Aurora Public Schools Aurora, Colorado
Madison School District Phoenix, Arizona
University of Maryland College Park, Maryland
Bellingham Public Schools Bellingham, Washington
Marysville School District Marysville, Washington
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan
Boulder Valley School District Boulder, Colorado
Poudre School District Fort Collins, Colorado
University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina
Cherry Creek School District Englewood, Colorado
Queen Creek Unified School District Queen Creek, Arizona
University of Northern Colorado Greeley, Colorado
Cheyenne Mountain School District Colorado Springs, Colorado
Roaring Fork School District Glenwood Springs, Colorado
University of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana
Clark County School District Las Vegas, Nevada
Saguache County District 2 Moffet Township, Colorado
University of Oregon Arena Eugene, Oregon
Colorado Springs School District 11 Colorado Springs, Colorado
San Juan/Alamo School District McAllen, Texas
University of Oregon, Autzen Stadium Eugene, Oregon
Denver Public Schools Denver, Colorado
Scottsdale Unified School District Scottsdale, Arizona
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Douglas County School District Castle Rock, Colorado
Summit County School District Frisco, Colorado
University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina
Durango School District 9 Durango, Colorado
Tempe Union School District Tempe, Arizona
University of Southern California Los Angeles, California
Eagle County Schools Vail, Colorado
Washoe County School District Reno, Nevada
University of Toledo Toledo, Ohio
Elizabeth School District Elizabeth, Colorado
Weld County School District Greeley, Colorado
University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin
Falcon School District 49 Falcon, Colorado
Wichita Unified School District No. 259 Wichita, Kansas
York College Erie, Pennsylvania
Fort Lupton School District Fort Lupton, Colorado
Fremont County School District Wind River, Wyoming
Glenrock School District Glenrock, Wyoming
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