Summary
For the design of our cafeteria, we were inspired by some modern buildings. The glass balconies were inspired by a beach house designed by Richard Meier. We want to incorporate the glass balconies onto our second floor in the front and to the left of the cafeteria. During out field trip to the de Young museum, we were inspired by the garden, in an opening of the building, and their use of a glass wall, for the people to see the garden from the inside. In our design, we want our community garden to be a circular shape in the middle of our cafeteria with a glass wall around it.
The community garden was also inspired by the little plants living in glass jars (see pictures). After coming across this picture of the jars The Director of Landscape Design was inspired to make Mira Loma's garden inside the cafeteria surrounded by glass as you can see from the hand sketches she drew. The stairs to the second floor will go around the glass. Looking at original inspirational pictures, there is a sense of peace and our garden will bring enjoyment for the people eating inside the cafeteria. This vegetable garden will have watering from the rain during rainy seasons and preserved rain water during other seasons. The garden will also have natural lightning from the sun. It will be a very unique and creative idea that will not only benefit the students with fresh produces but also will be available for the use of the community. Outside of school hours, the community can enter the garden through its own set of doors for the cafeteria's safety.
Our new cafeteria will be located in the same area as our old cafeteria but it will be expanded. In our current cafeteria, our lunch lines get too crowded and stretch all the way to the lunch tables and between the lunch tables. In our new design, we plan to have extra seating on the second floor and outside to create more room for the lunch lines and less traffic. We want a more spacious kitchen for faster lines. Faster lines mean less time spent waiting in the lines. Fewer time spent in the lines may give student more time to perhaps reviews for an upcoming test. This kitchen inspired the Director of Interior Building Design to create an efficient line system that will make everything much faster. There will be less traffic because there will be more lines and cashiers. Many exits offset student jams. For each line, there will be more number pads for typing the ID number, or a scanner for the ID. Also, the seating area on the second floor and balcony can serve as a place for students to study during lunch with less disturbance because there will not be as much walking around. The kitchen area in the cafeteria is too small and crowded and we plan on expanding it in both directions. Also, we plan on having bigger bathrooms in the cafeteria, so they won’t be very crowded. For the kitchen staff, we will have a small office in the corner of the kitchen.
To improve security and safety, our cafeteria will be equipped with an advanced alarm system, for when the cafeteria is not in use. Also, we will place security cameras in all parts of the cafeteria. During break and lunch time, we will have campus monitors on both floors.
The new design of the cafeteria improves community access. Also, the second floor can be accessed by the community for quiet time to study or meet with someone. The Director of Landscape plans to add plants and a wall fountain to the balcony by the seating area. This inspiration came from the San Francisco trip we took where I was privileged to visit open spaces for different buildings. The new space could host art shows, music shows, cooking classes, healthy diet classes, and agriculture classes. Fundraising events, such as dances, dinners, and auctions, can be held in the new space. The balcony will be provided as open space for the community. The community garden could be used for the science classes for research on plants and projects. Also, students can volunteer to take care of the community garden to gain their community service hours.
The inspiration for a better a food storage room and the food prep/cook area came from the show Master Chef. The sophisticated and sleek kitchen stations used in the show and the spacious and organized pantry inspired me to use the same methods and styles in the redesigned Mira Loma kitchen. An environment such as this one will be more safe and productive for the kitchen staff. It will also create less traffic.
The inspiration for much more attractive and efficient recycling/garbage cans came from modern and circular shaped bins in our picture. The clean look and bright colors of the bins have a more attentive effect on people.
The four picture collage photo was the source of inspiration for the food clean up area and a small office. We wanted the clean up area to be easy and fast, so we plan to have modern dishwashers and sinks. The sinks will be designed in a way so that they will be easy to clean. The office was designed to be small but cozy. We want to have a window there to encourage a cheery environment.
