Brickell World School
MIAMI, FL
A New School Gets An Updated Cafeteria
VISION
Brickell World School is adding much needed education and innovation to one of Miami’s fastest-developing neighborhoods. Not only will the new institution provide students and educators with a state-of-the-art facility but a portion of the building’s square footage will be dedicated to housing for teachers thanks to the nation’s first-ever collaboration between a school board and public housing authority. Of course, everyone involved in the new school will need to eat so RealFood was engaged to help envision the food and beverage spaces and ensure they serve the building and end-users well. Space and budget were set aside for a single cafeteria to serve more than 600 students and additional staff. The RealFood challenge: fit all the required design elements into the allocated footprint.
PROCESS
Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ kitchen prototype guidelines and standard specifications were required in the plans, but the RealFood team was still able to bring a fresh design sensibility to the project. With walls and columns already in place, the team had to be creative in order to fit every piece of equipment and leave the required amount of work space on all sides. The selected double-sided serving line is made up of self-serve and staff-attended stations that all need to be as efficient as possible while also comfortably accommodating those working. To reduce trips between the front and back of the house and to minimize the amount of required makeup air, RealFood recommended cut-outs to support passthrough equipment for hot and cold holding.
- FOODSERVICE DESIGN
- KITCHEN EQUIPMENT SELECTION
- CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
- POST-CONSTRUCTION FOR KITCHEN OPERATION
OUTCOMES
By adding a few innovative twists to the county’s standard foodservice design, RealFood aimed to ensure that this outlet is efficiently serving food for many years to come. The cafeteria is equipped to support the speed and volume required to feed many people in a short period of time, day after day. The ability for students to serve themselves from open-air merchandisers and then be served from hot and cold stations will help engage students in the experience of dining at school. The space has been carefully and intentionally designed to make food preparation and service possible with minimal labor and waste to help reduce stress for workers and the leaders that oversee the foodservice operation.