St. Francis deSales High School - Toledo, Ohio
By: Frances Putman

In 2005, St. Francis deSales High School-an all-boy, Catholic preparatory school in Toledo, Ohio-celebrated its 50th year. The school opened in 1955, operated by the Oblates of St. Francis deSales, a religious congregation of the Catholic Church. As often happens in advance of a milestone anniversary, leaders took the opportunity to assess the school's strengths and weaknesses and establish a vision for the future.

The first decision to make was whether the school would remain in the same location. In the last 50 years, many other schools, churches and businesses have chosen to move to the suburbs of major metropolitan areas and not remain in the city limits. However, leaders decided that St. Francis deSales' location, sitting on 25 acres just a half mile from the University of Toledo and easily accessible to all public transportation, was still the best for the school. The commitment was made to remain in the city and to invest in updating the facilities to meet current and future needs. That meant planning a major addition/renovation project.

"They began with a master plan and a vision, where they went through a fairly broad, arching look at the facilities," said Paul Hollenbeck, principal with The Collaborative, the architectural firm involved in the project. "It was really about transforming themselves. They had committed to staying in the Toledo city limits. They also needed to stay competitive among other Catholic schools in the community, as well as with local public schools, many of which were going through building and remodeling programs."

Over the 50 years the school had been operating, several renovations and additions had taken place, leaving the school fragmented, with an unorganized flow. The facility was dated, and leaders felt it no longer reflected the vitality inside its walls. Also, there wasn't adequate or proper space to upgrade or add the programs school leaders felt were necessary.

They approached The Collaborative with several goals in mind. The first goal was to create an environment of academic excellence by adding new programs and increasing the emphasis on arts and computer technology. They also wanted to improve and update athletic facilities, improve security, and re-proclaim their Catholic heritage.

Beginning with a comprehensive facilities master plan, the school and design team outlined a vision for the future. Plans for the renovations and additions included maintaining and respecting core traditions, enhancing and unifying street presence, identifying two single points of entry, adding new classrooms, expanding the field house and cafeteria, proving ADA accessibility, and adding art, worship and athletic spaces.

The plan called for removing about 20,000 square feet of existing space, remodeling another 30,000 square feet, and adding 65,000 square feet of additional space. This new design creates a sense of organization for the campus. Circulation is improved throughout the building, leading to two new entries-the main athletics entryway and the academic/chapel entryway. Upon entering, visitors can easily understand the building's organization.

The two single entrances are not only attractive focal points on the building's exterior, enhancing street presence, but they also are a means of improving security.

"The issues of security are much different than they were 50 years ago, and the new building reflects this," Hollenbeck said.

One of the entrances leads into the new chapel, which seats 350 people and is often used for community events. Placing the chapel in a prominent, street-side location was a way to emphasize the school's Catholic heritage, another important project goal.

The facility now includes a new gymnasium and state-of-the-art fitness center. That goes along with the eight-lane swimming pool already in place. New fine art spaces have allowed the school to significantly increase its offerings in these areas. In fact, many of the art spaces are now shared with a nearby all-girl Catholic high school.

As plans for renovations were underway, many alumni were concerned about the longstanding tradition of the "Senior Stair," an exterior entryway into the school that for many years had been reserved for upperclassmen. The solution was to preserve the original stairway, but make it an interior element instead. This was a way to keep the tradition in place without compromising security or the flow of traffic in the building.

In choosing materials for this project, designers relied on what already was in place. By using stone, glass and metal, they were able to harmonize with the existing exterior, but also translate the building into a more contemporary structure.

"I think we were successful in this," Hollenbeck said. "And, we continued on the inside with very durable materials. It's very simple inside, with no exotic finishes."

For schools considering a similar building project, Hollenbeck highly recommends starting early with the planning process.

"Talk to a cross-section of your community. Plan a number of sessions with students, alumni, parents and faculty," he noted. "Getting grassroots support for your initiative is important in the planning stage. A strong master plan will become the catalyst in a capital campaign."

In the case of this project, the planning stage helped to solidify the school's main objectives and discover ways to integrate the additions and renovations with the existing facilities, while preserving the core values of the school. The success of the project led to it being awarded an AIA (American Institute of Architects) Toledo design award.

Located in Toledo, Ohio, The Collaborative, www.thecollaborativeinc.com, was formed in 1973 by a merger of three local firms. As the name implies, teamwork is the guiding principle at The Collaborative, which specializes in the design of K-12 schools, institutions of higher learning, parks and recreation facilities and commercial and corporate projects.

Fast Facts

School:Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School

Location:Toledo, Ohio

Student Body:670 students, all male

Grades Served:9-12

Project Goal: This was somewhat of a transformation project, as the 50-year old school added new space, deducted some old space, and coordinated the flow throughout the structure.

Size: Total school size is 155,000 square feet. Of this, 30,000 square feet was remodeled space, while 20,000 square feet was removed and another 65,000 square feet was added.

Cost: $12.5 million

Challenge: The school had undergone several additions over the years, leaving a somewhat haphazard structure with multiple entrances, traffic flow problems and mismatched space.

Solution: Taking time to assess the school's needs and unravel those incremental changes to create a consistent and logical master plan.