The University of Leicester is a centre for world-class medical research. The Medical Sciences faculty is housed in the Maurice Shock Building (MSB) on the main university campus. GSSArchitecture were commissioned by the University to produce designs to update the faculty’s main café area.
The brief was to create a fast-track food and drinks outlet in a mixed seating environment, conducive to socialising, relaxing and informal meeting, where the speed of service was paramount as the previous facility became heavily congested at the end of lectures, due to its close proximity to the main lecture theatres.
GSSArchitecture produced a design that drew on emerging styles of commercial cafés, with a combination of different seating styles and strong accent colours for both materials and lighting. The University had recently upgraded some of its other food and drink outlets, and many of these design themes were incorporated into the MSB café, such as brightly coloured acrylic wall surfaces..
The design balances free-flowing spaces to address the speed-of-service problems, with some quieter areas, providing a more relaxed atmosphere.
