UNL Willa Cather Dining Center

Morrissey Engineering provided design services for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Willa Cather Dining Center. The center can provide 2,800 meals a day, accommodating up to 654 students at a time. The center also includes an event space, an office, and a social space.

Services

Features

This dining and housing center is designed to be a lively gathering place for campus life. It combines performance, efficiency, and a great experience. The facility serves up to 2,800 meals each day and can seat 654 students at once, with 550 open seats and 104 private dining options. The main dining area is 28,372 square feet, supported by a 14,000-square-foot commercial kitchen to handle high demand while maintaining quality and smooth service.

In addition to dining, the building includes 14,482 square feet for housing programs. This area features a one-and-a-half-story event center with theater-style seating for up to 500 students, making it a flexible space for gatherings, presentations, and campus events. There are also 9,324 square feet of office space for housing staff, supporting 50 full-time and 10 student staff members.

Lighting is a key feature of the building. The facility uses only LED lighting and an advanced control system that leverages natural daylight to reduce energy consumption. The event center includes dynamic lighting with several preset shows, including an interactive display that responds to live music through a sound equalizer. This creative lighting design helped the project win the 2018 Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Awards for Interior Lighting Design and Lighting Control Innovation.

This project won the IES Illumination 2018 awards for Interior Lighting Design and Lighting Control Innovation.

Project

New Construction

Location

Lincoln, Nebraska

Square Footage

52,178 SF

Completion Date

Spring 2017

Architect

BVH Architecture