Summary
Currently, our cafeteria has some problems that are effecting the flow of traffic, community relations, and how the cafeteria staff works. If we change these problems, it would benefit our school in more ways than one. We would be involved with the community, the cafeteria staff would be able to work in a clean, safe environment, and the spaces in our cafeteria would feel less crowded.
For the interior design, we decided to completely change the format of the lunch line and the tables. As of now, the lunch lines interfere with the tables, so we put the lunch lines and the tables on completely different sides of the cafeteria. This would eliminate traffic jams and overcrowding in one area. We also added and extra room to store all the tables.
The lunch staff told us the existing kitchen is too small and each aisle is too narrow for carts to go by while someone else is working. We widened the aisles to give the workers more work space and to make it more comfortable for each worker.
The number of toilet fixtures in the restrooms may be insufficient based on the number of the people using the facility. We have extended the length and width of the restrooms while adding more fixtures. We have also added wheelchair accessible stalls with hand railings.
Our current cafeteria is wheelchair accessible and has no noticeable incline thus there is no need for a ramp to make the building wheelchair accessible other than bigger doors; and with the two storied design interiorly disabled people would be able to reach the second floor by an interior elevator we would have on the left side of the cafeteria, when facing inward from the doors. This location would not be in the way of other students and would be close to lunch lines so it would be easy to use directly after the disabled student getting their lunch.
Some improvements in sustainability include the materials used in the building such as a recycled rubber roof, and cork floors. Other improvements are Energy Star ovens, so less energy can be used to cook the same amount of meals for students. There is also a rain water recycling barrel outside, as well as using 1.8 gallon per flush toilets inside so water consumption (the hugest cost the district faces every year) can go down significantly.
Some solutions to community relations are the multiple ways of accessibility to the cafeteria. As of now, the cafeteria is mainly used by the students and faculty members. We will design the building to be served as a multi-purpose room also, allowing the community access to host award nights, ceremonies, meetings, and more. With the newly designed storage space for lunch tables and sports related equipment that currently exists in the cafeteria, there will be a lot more room to host such events.
Not only can the community use the cafeteria in that aspect, but in another as well. With the designed community garden that sits atop the cafeteria, citizens of the community, along with the students of Mira Loma, can enjoy the pleasures of a relaxation zone. They will be satisfied with the "chill zone" while enjoying the beautiful scenery of a fountain and wonderful eco-friendly plants that will be present.
As with any building, it needs to maintain its composure. In efforts to make that successful, the people of the community would have duties and responsibilities to uphold to. For example, prior to each use of the building, the citizens could sign a form stating to leave the building as they found it, if not better. With that being said, it is guarenteed that the cafeteria's composure will remain.
As for the community garden, the people of the community could have a beautification day every so often in order to maintain it. They could replant the produce that is being grown in order to keep the garden healthy and aesthetically pleasing.
