Porter College was the fifth college on the UC Santa Cruz campus. The Dining Commons building is a two-story concrete and wood structure housing a student dining hall and commons, originally constructed in 1969 and designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates Architects.
The scope of this project includes the renovation of the original dining hall, servery, kitchen and food preparation areas. The dining facilities at Porter serve both the Porter & Kresge college communities as well as other staff, faculty and guests. The existing dining facilities, servery and food preparation areas have not been updated to address the changes in the food service program on campus. This facility was originally designed to serve a much smaller population and it no longer meets the needs of the Colleges, nor the anticipated need generated by new students and a growing campus population. The scope of work also includes a seismic upgrade of the entire Student and Dining Commons areas, as well as significant architectural, accessibility and MEP upgrades throughout. The upgraded facilities now serve 1,900 people each day.
