Page 7 - Bernardon Education Portfolio

St. Joseph’s Preparatory School Jesuit Hall and Sauter Dining Hall

Owner/User: St. Joseph’s Preparatory School inscribed with the Jesuit motto in four languages; and a
40-foot diameter tiled floor map indicates all of the world’s
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jesuit secondary schools.
Design Statement: The challenge was to repurpose an early
1900s, five-story Jesuit residence hall into a new academic An existing multi-purpose building was transformed into
center. The renovation created a new academic center and the bi-level Sauter Dining Hall, with a reconfigured kitchen
multi-level dining hall, while establishing a new second- and ancillary space. A curving path unites the repurposed
story organizing link for the north portion of campus. facilities with the rest of campus, alluding to the path of
Ignatius toward enlightenment through learning. The
In addition to renovating the building for academic use, design team navigated through complex building code
the design examined and integrated adjacent facilities to conditions when faced with renovating the historic
improve circulation and connectivity among buildings structures and successfully obtained over a dozen special
within the core of campus for long-term viability. The code variances.
84,000 SF of improvements feature components that
convey to students their place in the world’s Jesuit
community: bronze medallions describe the life of Jesuit
founder, Ignatius of Loyola; a multi-lingual metal frieze is Architect of Record: Lee A. Casaccio, AIA

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