PROJECT UPDATE 15th December 2017: The University’s recommendation will go to the Central Supply and Tenders Board, subsequently tenderers will be notified.

UNITECH DINING HALL

The PNG University of Technology has developed a Campus Masterplan and within this plan, a design for a new Dining Hall to seat one thousand students. The building occupies a pivotal position on the campus adjacent to the historic Kofi Haus, near the library and fronting the main avenue. This landmark building will play a vital role in the life of the University. It is the first in a new generation of buildings that will transform the campus and support its growth as Papua New Guinea’s primary place of technological learning, research and technology transfer.

The new Dining Hall has been designed to animate its setting. Its two main wings are edged with verandahs that create a new courtyard that will serve as a place for casual socializing, and as an important gathering space for special occasions. The building has a core that contains a large-scale industrial kitchen, with highly functional food preparation areas for meat, vegetables, bakery and servery area. The loading dock, cool storage and staff facilities have all been designed to operate as a highly efficient and modern facility.

A dramatic entry space fourteen meters tall has been designed to create a landmark, similar to a lighthouse, that lets people know the hall is open when the light is turned on. The concept for the design represents a modern ‘technological’ interpretation of traditional architecture. The ceiling of the entry space will be a faceted steel frame woven with traditional material to represent the interweaving of traditional and high-tech ideas.

The design recognises that ‘breaking bread together’ is a fundamental experience in people’s social lives, and that the relationships that Unitech’s students form in their years living on campus are life-long personal and professional friendships. Therefore the quality and the dignity of the environment in which the students have their daily meals will shape their experiences and their interactions.