With construction visibly affecting college life, it is common for students to wonder what benefits the changes will bring.

In the case of the new McDonald dining hall, set to be opened August 2011, Chartwells plans to create a completely revamped and appetizing experience in conjunction with the University’s master plan.

“There’s acknowledgement that our physical facilities impact the perception that people have about our campus,” project architect Marc Brunner said. He said the master plan is meant to utilize campus space better while trying to update the campus through projects like the dining hall.

“It’s going to be a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility,” Residence Life director Michael Griffel said. “It’s going to be incredibly fresh; it’s going to be eye-popping.”

He said partial demolition of McDonald West, including a space encompassing 280 beds, will make room for the new facility.

Construction is set to begin on June 1, and the outer shell of the building should be completed by Thanksgiving in time for interior construction during the winter, University Dining Services director Michael Paulus said. The 32,000 square-foot facility will replace the current dining facility built in 1965.

“The entire building has to come down,” Paulus said, citing plumbing, equipment and electrical issues among the facility’s problems. “[We are working] in conjunction with the University to build upon their core mission of recruitment and retention, and a good way to do that is through facilities.”

Chartwells plans for the new facility to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certified dining facility in the nation, featuring solar energy panels and wind power. The wind power will help charge the electric catering vehicles that will travel across campus, and a rainwater collector will be used to nourish the rooftop garden where crops will go directly to the kitchen for preparation. The rest of the building will feature retail outlets, with Chartwells considering Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins as options.

“Everything about this building … is going to speak food,” said executive chef Patrick Hannan, emphasizing the goal of developing more intimacy between students, faculty and staff. “We can do that through their stomachs.”

Hannan said they will incorporate Pulse-On-Dining (POD), a system specifically designed for the facility to encourage customer involvement in the creation of meals. He said features will include stations where students can make their own dishes (omelets, cereals, etc.) as well as a station where students can converse with a cook as meals are prepared. Hannan will also be running a teaching kitchen in the center of the dining room on a daily basis for students to view.

“I like to concentrate on method and technique,” Hannan said. “You’ll understand a lot more than an extension of a recipe, you’ll understand what makes it up in building a foundation of flavor.”

Chartwells’ goal for the dining center is much loftier than developing culinary skills, however. The POD experience is meant to create a new level of campus community by establishing a comfortable atmosphere with bistro-bar type seating, soft-seating and couches with small cocktail tables.

“This should be your kitchen, this should be your living room. We want you to use it and be there,” Paulus said, commenting on the comparatively rushed atmosphere of the current dining hall. “‘Eat and get out’ is really the philosophy, and that dynamic has changed. We want it inviting, where it’s comfortable and you can hang out because it’s your space.”

Integral to creating a free-roaming kitchen would be to alter the current BG1 Card system to a one price, fixed swipe system, Paulus said, in addition to the option of paying with cash. Meal plan would be used to pay for a certain number of all-you-can-eat trips each semester. The option to go straight to the retail outlets would be available, as well, and meal plans could be tailored to incorporate elements of both dining styles.

“The old mentality was that you didn’t want [students] to eat too much,” Paulus said. “How much is an individual going to eat?”

In addition to creating variety at the new dining hall, existing halls like Founders and Kreischer are set to have their menus retooled to create distinct identities, encouraging travel across campus and furthering community bonds, Hannan said.

“I think that clusters of people will form in these spaces,” Griffel said. He said the wide selection of ethnic foods will help establish commonalities among students.

“My specialty as a chef is my diversification,” Hannan said.

He has French Classical training, but said his experience in various global cuisines will come into effect, also stressing the importance of his highly specialized cooking team.

“I’ve developed a lot of teams in my career and this is easily one of the strongest teams I’ve ever brought together,” Hannan said. “When we hit May, we don’t want you to be bored.”

“[Hannan] cares about fresh food, nutrition, education and teaching,” Griffel said. “We’re extremely lucky to have someone of his caliber and interest in students here.”