OAKTON cafe

Farr Associates led a complete transformation of Oakton’s cafeteria space into a vibrant multifunctional “third place” at the heart of the Des Plaines Campus. A sculptural moss wall marks the main entrance to the renovated dinning and servery space from the 2-story student street. A Parisian style café and bar faces the student street to promote interaction between the two spaces.

Diversity, Access, and Inclusion are celebrated by extending the transparency into the adjacent office spaces and giving back a portion of the program for their dual use. The result is an inviting media lounge space with interactive displays. Universal design is incorporated thought the project with seamlessly accessible spaces blending into the café bar, custom banquet seating, and main dining furniture.

Biophilic details and design elements are celebrated to promote access to nature and connection to the beautiful campus surroundings. A new portal and bridge provide direct access the underutilized exterior courtyard, which was previously separated by a sunken area well. To support the college’s sustainable initiatives, materials and furniture content includes recycled plastic diverted from our waterways and waste streams, salvaged wood, and the highest level of healthy material-certified products.

The flexible dining space allows the integrated audio/visual system to deploy and host large events at multiple stage locations. A forward thinking design considers the alignment with the long term campus master plan by planning for future connections to seamlessly link into the central dining and event hub.    

Client: Oakton Community College

Location: Des Plaines, IL

Year: 2021 Target Completion