St. Bede Academy

Project Brief

St. Bede Academy, a private Catholic high school located in Peru, IL, was founded in 1890 in the Benedictine tradition and has expanded over the years to become a beautiful campus of historic buildings with modern additions. studioK was hired in 2018 as the school’s consulting architectural firm to help guide the future vision of the campus.  Projects on campus include the renovation of the historic Academy building which houses the school’s classrooms, computer science center and administrative offices; the conceptualization of the redevelopment of the “Art Barn” into an on-campus event venue; and the renovation and addition to the former girl’s dormitory for a new Monastery and Chapel for the monastic community. The Academy renovation project started in 2021 and is being completed in phases in order to keep school in session and operating seamlessly with classes and construction going on simultaneously. The many historic features of the academy building have been taken into consideration alongside the current needs of the school. Cooling systems have been added to previously unconditioned classrooms, new windows added for better energy efficiency and operability, updated technology in classrooms, new ergonomically designed furniture added for student’s comfort as well as better flexibility for opportunities for collaboration, and improvement of security and fire safety have been the driving forces behind the improvements. studioK has led the design team as well as worked in close collaboration with the school’s contractor to keep the large, complex project progressing and meeting deadlines.