News | August 2nd 2017

Western Dining Commons Wins SCUP/AIA-CAE Merit Award

Miami University’s new Western Dining Commons earned a 2017 Merit Award in the SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for a New Building category. This awards program recognizes excellence in planning, design and implementation efforts of firms and institutions, as well as the achievements of individuals whose lives and passions involve higher education.

As a critical part of the university's master plan implementation, the new 650-seat dining facility and student commons within the rolling landscape of the Western campus. Keeping with the variety of architecture that exists on the Western Campus, the design of the Western Dining Commons is a departure from the more traditional Miami neo-Georgian architectural surroundings. Sustainable features include a rooftop rain garden, on-site stormwater retention, and filtration, and LED downlighting. Exterior finishes, specifically Indiana limestone and western red cedar, flow into the building’s interior to blur the lines between the dining hall and its natural setting and the use of large expanses of glass take advantage of surrounding views.

The jury praised the project’s seamless and “well-done integration of building and site” and the design’s “modern response” to the specific campus area where the building was incorporated.