Illinois Street Residences Dining + Student Center

The Illinois Street Residences’ dining hall, originally built in 1964, was due for an upgrade. The University of Illinois opted to reinvest in the property, enlisting Booth Hansen to lead a full renovation and addition. The dining hall’s prime location near the main quad creates an ideal meeting space for students in the University’s well-renowned engineering program. The building’s frontage along Green Street, a major retail thoroughfare within the towns of Champaign and Urbana, connects the University to the community. The new addition will bring the entrance to the dining hall closer to the street, enhancing its visibility and reinforcing the University’s presence within the towns of Champaign and Urbana.

ISR’s two residence halls, Townsend and Wardall, connect directly to the dining hall. The updated structure is designed to fit within the context of these 1960s precast buildings while integrating modern elements. As both halls will remain open to students during construction, Booth Hansen needed to develop a schedule that will minimize disruption while complex-wide systems are upgraded and connected.

Students will enter into the dining hall via the lower level, which boasts a tea bar and convenience store. The lower level is also home to the University’s Innovation Living Learning Community, featuring The Garage, a dedicated workspace to help students with their creative and entrepreneurial projects. An open steel staircase brings students up to the first floor, where nine different “micro-restaurants” will provide a variety of cuisines and healthy food options.

Together with BakerGroup, a leading dining consultant, Booth Hansen created unique identities for each of these micro-restaurants and designed an assortment of spaces that allow students to dine comfortably either individually or in groups. The new addition and renovation will allow the facility to serve nearly double the number of students, with a capacity of more than 1,300.