Post-occupancy evaluation of a university student cafeteria

This paper presents the findings of an indicative post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of the major technical and functional performance elements of the main student cafeteria at the campus of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Published literature has been analyzed to review the performance requirements of cafeterias and restaurant facilities. The research implements multiple data collection methods, including a walk-through inspection to identify the extent of deficiencies found in the building; a focus group discussion with a sample of 10 frequent users of the student cafeteria to obtain their qualitative feedback on the quality of the building and a questionnaire survey to quantify users' perception and level of satisfaction with the quality of the built environment. The findings obtained were analyzed and reported to indicate the main failures and successes of the facility's performance, and describe the degree of users' satisfaction. A series of recommendations to improve the performance of the student cafeteria were developed. The paper provides a systematic approach for evaluating the technical and functional performance of existing cafeterias and restaurant facilities. It is of practical value to planning, design professionals, building services' engineers and facilities managers responsible for the design and operation of these facilities.