Holy Ghost Preparatory School
Holy Ghost Preparatory School
Bensalem, PA
For over 20 years, MAI has been working with Holy Ghost Prep, a private boys college prep school, to thoughtfully develop their school facilities and campus to meet the school’s strategic goals. With a beautiful stone Gothic revival academic building, Cornwell Hall, at its center, the campus has grown over the years to accommodate more students and many more activities.
Our work for the school over the years has included:
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Masterplan and periodic updates
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Holt Center- Performing Arts, Athletics and Activity Center
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STEM Lab renovations
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Field House addition and renovations
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Chapel Restoration
Holy Ghost Prep Master Planning
In 1999, MAI developed the initial master plan for the campus with an eye towards maximizing the utilization of their existing facilities and future expansion capabilities, and ten years later updated the plan with a few new parameters. The planning process recognized needs not only for future arts and athletics spaces, but a campus circulation reorganization. A new entry drive was proposed to provide a more formal sense of arrival, while separating bus traffic from student parking. The new drive creates the opportunity to convert the iconic Cornwell Hall courtyard into an outdoor space large enough to gather the entire student body.
Holt Center
When an old beer distributorship property across the street from Holy Ghost became available, its potential use for the school wasn’t immediately apparent. But with a little creative design, the various warehouse structures were transformed into the school’s new performing arts, athletic and activity space, which is now a hive of activity at the school.
For the arts program, a state-of-the art theater space provides a dedicated venue with excellent acoustics, a raised stage and flexible seating for plays and concerts, and a music room with rehearsal spaces for groups and individuals.
The sports programs gained not only additional multi-purpose gym space with six basketball hoops, but an erg room for the HGP rowing program, indoor batting cages and pitching mounds, and track and field practice space for year-round development.
STEM Lab renovations
As HGP evolves their teaching methodologies to embrace inquiry learning, MAI continues to partner with the school to ensure their facilities support these new, hands-on learning styles. One of our latest projects is the creation of a new STEM lab and a maker space out of a former traditional classroom and storage closet. The flexible new maker space provides the tools for students to create with their hands and their minds. The STEM lab gives them a scientifically focused space to help develop their scientific analysis and creative problem-solving skills.
Field House Addition and Renovations
Based on the master plan work, MAI was able to develop a cost-effective plan to expand the school’s existing fieldhouse, adding an additional gym, locker and weight rooms, plus lobby and function space.
Chapel Restoration
Looking forward to celebrating the 100th anniversary of their chapel, HGP tasked MAI with developing renovation plans for the space. During the planning, however, a devastating fire damaged the sanctuary and adjacent chapels. The team used this opportunity to broaden the scope of the project, reconfiguring flanking chapel spaces into flexible spaces to be used for additional sanctuary seating, meeting or classroom space, and restoring the original woodwork, decorative plaster vaulted ceilings, and Mayer of Munich stained glass windows to their original glory.
