As students return to campus, there are many noticeable changes—perhaps the most noticeable being a change to the main dining hall on West Campus.
The West Union building, already under construction, has closed its doors on the Great Hall. To compensate for its absence, the new Events Pavilion is open and ready to serve.
Since it opened Wednesday, students have gotten a chance to experience the different food options and atmosphere at the Events Pavilion.
“It looks great and more modern than the Great Hall,” said Xudong Zhu, a Pratt graduate student. “But the food is really the same.”
He added that the air conditioning works better in the Events Pavilion than it did in the dated Great Hall.
Lin Wang, also a Pratt graduate student, noted that the Pavilion feels more like a restaurant, whereas the Great Hall felt like a traditional dining hall.
Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said the food preparation area of the Events Pavilion is more elaborate and technologically advanced than it was in the Great Hall.
“It is wonderful with equipment capable of supporting all kinds of creative menus and meals,” he said.
The new technology, however, is only for temporary use, Moneta noted.
Although the Events Pavilion is now the home of a dining hall, the space will take on a new life when the West Union building reopens in early 2016. It will then serve as a hall for student gatherings, which may include career fairs, majors fairs, sorority recruitment and dances.
Moneta added that the design and construction process was “creative” enough to effectively serve both phases of the Pavilion. The ceiling of the space has tracks in place to hold room dividers for when events occur in the future.
“Hidden above the ceiling is already the projection equipment and screens for broadcast uses after conversion,” Moneta said.
The kitchen is designed to be able to shrink back to its essentials following the switch to incorporate a catering kitchen and a multi-purpose room.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.