Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/423872
Rideau Centre Dining Hall by Martha Uniacke Breen photos: Yves Lefebvre, MontreaL, QC C an a shopping mall food court be a fine dining destination? Well, the new food court at Ottawa's Rideau Centre may not require you to wear a tie, but it's certainly a step up from the tra- ditional fast-food wasteland. Cadillac Fairview, the centre's owners, don't even want to call it a food court, and in- stead are calling it a dining hall. Retail has become a very competitive environment these days, observes Denis Gervais, president of GH+A Design, which designed the spiffy new Rideau Centre Dining Hall. Malls across North America are discovering that the food court can be a golden opportunity to not only entice customers away from home computer shopping, but make them want to stay. As one of the oldest and largest malls in Ottawa, the Rideau Centre's design is a legacy of the Brutalist concrete move- ment that swept institutional archi- tecture in general, and shopping mall design in particular, back in the 1970s. The last time it underwent a major design overhaul was back in 2001. By t he t ime Cadillac Fair v iew acquired the property in 2010, it was definitely time for a wardrobe change. Last fall, the developer embarked on a $360-million renovation – to be com- pleted by 2016 – that will result in a significantly upgraded new look, with quartz f looring throughout, signifi- cantly upgraded lighting, modernized entrances and improved transit access. But the most interesting change was a complete overhaul to the somewhat uninspired existing food court. "The former Rideau Centre food court had 11 units and 500 seats – it was very undersized for the property, given our high traffic and high sales productivity," recalls Cindy VanBuskirk, Rideau's general manager. "However, despite its size limitations, the food court was incredibly productive." When the Sears department store went out of business, it left a huge hole at the north end of the mall, one floor of which offered a promising new location for a food court. But there were chal- lenges: while, at 35,000 square feet it was ideal for an expanded food court, it had a fairly low ceiling of 15 feet, eight inches. So cleverly designed light- ing, and being able to offer a variety of seating options without making it feel choppy, were crucial. "There was a lot of discussion on how to arrange the seating," says Gervais. "We wanted to avoid a sea of tables, but we put a lot of consideration into exactly how it should be set up. So we made a 'living room,' with lighting and furniture that defines different seating areas for congregating, for families, for sitting alone, or if people want to strike up a conversation. Cadillac Fairview also wanted something that reflected Ottawa," he adds. "One wall features a large aerial view of the city in sil- ver encased in maroon glass; it's both attractive and identifies the city." However, according to Fra n k McGrath, chief architect with Archi- fin Group, who worked with GH+A to implement the design, it is the small things that the public don't see that add to the overall feel. "There are a lot of unseen elements that contribute to the overall enhanced experience," explains McGrath. "Of prime importance are the climate control, ventilation and air con- ditioning of the public spaces and food kiosks. The design and installation of the unseen mechanical ductwork made for some very difficult co-ordination issues that in some cases limited or hin- dered the design of the ceilings." Peter Lombardi of Construction C.A.L., the general contractor on the project, adds that his firm has built many food courts, but never one quite like this. "As well as bringing everything up to modern code, we had to remove the old escalator openings, which meant install- ing new structural beams, and install a brand new five-storey elevator, so new pilings were needed," says Lombardi. "The nature of the space meant there was no place to store or unload materi- als. And there were many complicated jobs, like putting in two new island [tenant] units, so we had to figure out how to bring ductwork and services to them without compromising the ceil- ing height, which was already quite low. Add to that the fact that the tenants were bringing their own contractors in for their units, and there were a lot of people and materials to co-ordinate! But the people were a pleasure to work with, and in the end, it's great to stand back and say we were a part of this," he adds. The new Dining Hall includes 16 dif- ferent eateries and room for 850 diners. The range of offerings go way beyond the usual chains – though they are still represented – to various ethnic purvey- ors, many with open kitchens that allow patrons to see, and sample, the delicious fare on offer. The most radical departure is what the developers call the Scullery. Meals are served on sturdy, reusable serv- ingware; after the patrons finish, they bring their dishes to one of several sta- tions, where customer-service-trained attendants scrape the plates and send them for washing and storage. The environmental benefits are obvious: along with the elimination of packaging waste, the scrapings are collected and processed for composting. But there's another benefit as well. The attendants are the closest thing to hosts at the Din- ing Hall, and are as important as the servers in the eateries for interacting pleasantly with the patrons. On the first day the new Dining Hall opened some 17,000 people came to check it out, and by the end of the week- end, the tally was over 46,000. "We have been able to finally deliver an 'on-the-go' experience to our customers that they not only deserve, but that reflects who we are and who we aspire to be as a property," says VanBuskirk. "Our Din- ing Hall resets customer expectations about what a fast food experience in a shopping centre environment should be. The bar has been raised!" n Location Rideau Centre, 50 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Ontario owner/DeveLoper Cadillac Fairview / Rideau Centre architect Archifin Group GeneraL contractor Construction C.A.L. (Ceriko Asselin Lombardi) StructuraL conSuLtant Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Ltd. MechanicaL/ eLectricaL conSuLtant Smith + Andersen interior DeSiGn GH+A Design totaL area 35,000 square feet conStruction coSt $360 million (total mall renovation) december 2014 /77 rideau centre dining Hall 9:31 AM