3 Feb 2016 by Charles Manners

Nottingham Trent University have  opened The Pavilion Building and a fantastic new Teaching and Learning building on Clifton Campus which fully opened in December 2015 for the 6000+ students and staff. The development is proving very popular with sales above budget.

The Pavilion building is the central building for those studying at Clifton, including two levels of social study space; enclosed learning spaces called Pods, collaborative booths and Barista Coffee. Next door to the Pavilion will sit the main Refectory, which is currently being refurbished. This provides three brand new serveries including a hot food counter, a grab and go counter and a deli bar.

We were commissioned to help the NTU team develop the concepts and designs, we partnered with Roz Burgess who runs Intelligent Catering; a specialist kitchen and front counter design company. We have worked with Roz before at Staffordshire University and she has an excellent insight into customer and kitchen flows, coupled with a very good understanding of the latest equipment and counter finishes.

The journey commenced some 18 months ago working with the NTU in-house team led by Michael Lees, Head of Customer Services, Ivan Hopkins, Head of Catering & Hospitality and Paul Hobbs, Retail Catering Manager.

We developed a series of design and concept options for a separate cafe, a grab & go with a deli counter and a hot counter which had a pizza oven included. Suffice to say dealing with a 1960's building had its challenges but the outcome is looking good and delivering a vastly improved customer offer to the new students; the changes when complete totally transform the campus.

We have a long standing relationship with Charles Manners. His team are able to offer creative but practical concepts. He understands both the market trends and the operational complexity of the business and crucially he delivers credible research and authoritative business cases that add gravitas to the negotiation with senior colleagues; particularly helpful when seeking to secure funding or sign off. Michael Lees, Head of Customer Services