The University of North Dakota: Wilkerson Commons

University of North Dakota: Wilkerson Commons

PHOTOS © COREY GAFFER AND LONNIE LAFFEN

The University of North Dakota (UND) has reopened the doors to the largest food service area on campus after completely renovating the 46-year-old Wilkerson Hall — now Wilkerson Commons — to create a center for student gathering that revolutionizes production efficiencies.

The 21,000-square-foot transformation by JLG Architects and Solomon Cordwell Buenz provides new features for students based on UND’s strategic priorities: Experience, Gather, Collaborate, Expand, Enhance. In the main dining area eight display cooking stations prepare expanded fresh options, and monitors to illustrate healthy cooking techniques flank a chef’s demonstration cooking platform.

The $4 million kitchen and servery include 11 walk-in coolers that monitor the temperature of the individual food in the freezers to help the staff track how products are affected during high-traffic times, as well as specialty equipment such as a meat slicer that lets staff cut protein in three hours, rather than 20. All of the school’s produce can be washed in a single location in a fraction of the time, and the cook-chill equipment makes hundreds of gallons of pastas and chilis and brings them back down to a cooled state in less than two hours. Says Orlynn Rosaasen, director of Dining Services, “There wasn’t a model for this type of kitchen anywhere else. We are setting the trend.”

Multiple study areas provide quiet locations for individuals, meeting rooms for larger groups, and a high-tech Innovation Lab that allows immersive interaction for students to create, share and learn. The food service and dining services are augmented by a C-store and coffee bar that flank a stage and entertainment space.

Says Lori Reesor, vice president of Student Affairs, “In the past, Wilkerson Hall was the building you went through to get somewhere else. But the new Wilkerson serves as a magnet — drawing students, faculty and staff together.”

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • East Carolina University Selects Architect for $60M Residence Hall Renovations

    East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., recently announced that it has selected the KWK/Jenkins Peer Architects (JPA) team, collaborating with INTREPID Architecture, to design renovations for two of its residence halls, according to a news release.

  • Clemson to Launch North America’s Largest College Campus Smart Parking Program

    Clemson University in Clemson, S.C., recently announced a partnership with smart parking and curbside management solutions provider eleven-x to launch a smart parking initiative for its population of 29,000 students and faculty, according to a news release.

  • Education Design Showcase

    Spaces4Learning Launches 2025 Education Design Showcase

    Spaces4Learning is now accepting submissions for the 2025 Education Design Showcase! Launched in 1999, the program celebrates innovative and practical solutions in planning, design, and construction.

  • DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education Debuts Enhancements to DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education recently announced that DreamBox Math, an online math program for K–8 students to supplement core instruction, has been updated to improve accessibility for K–5 students, according to a news release. DreamBox Math provides personalized instruction by adapting to individual learners’ responses and providing an engaging, dynamic learning environment.