The Skyviews Restaurant is located on the sixth floor of the Texas Tech Plaza Building in Lubbock, Texas and is run by the students of Texas Tech supported by the College of Human Sciences Hospitality and Retail Management Department.

The restaurant’s goal, brought to life by the Texas Tech University Engineering Services, was to introduce the unique natural and cultural aspects of the west Texas region such as rustic wood, unique sunset, wide open skies, sage green plant life and our local agriculture and industrial community. The dining area carpet tile mimics a rustic dance hall wood floor without the maintenance and care of real wood required.

The variations in the carpet tile itself enhance the ability to hide any spills. The stormy blue grey carpet in the bar area perfectly reflects the color variants of storm clouds rolling into west Texas. The LVT in the entry and buffet areas is a nod to our industrial park here in Lubbock giving a concrete look to the design.

There were a few specific challenges to this renovation: The first was working with existing building elements that were original to the building built in 1971 and the next was the work was completed on the sixth floor with no working freight elevator. Because of the unique function of the space – serving as a restaurant and a lab to the Texas Tech University students – all materials were selected based on their qualities to stand up to heavy use and ease of cleanability.