Valencia College

Completed in July 2019, this comprehensive culinary arts facility supports an extensive hospitality program and tripled student capacity. The near 34,000 square foot space supports baking and culinary arts labs on each floor and a beverage lab with a model bar on the top floor. While each floor has a similar layout and flow, they are unique in their features, equipment, and feel. As students advance in the program, they graduate to the next floor up in the facility, gaining new learning experiences.

Centrally located classrooms on each floor allow students to have quick and direct access to labs after learning techniques with instructors. Warewashing and storage areas are also centrally located, providing shared access between culinary and baking instructors on each floor. The layout of each floor includes windows along corridors of nearly all labs, providing students and visitors the ability to observe lab operations. The corridor and adjacent labs are filled with natural light coming from windows lining the hall.

Overall, the design included a wide variety of cooking and specialty culinary equipment to provide a variety of experiences. Unique features in the design include an alcove area for spraying chocolate and a micro-green growing cabinet to reduce cost. An induction range with a convection oven base was included to provide a comprehensive learning experience for students, and the demand control ventilation was selected for energy saving and to reduce the size required for the make-up air system.