The Joys and Challenges of Renovating the Classic Lake Forest High School Building

By David A. F. Sweet When a first-time visitor to Lake Forest heads north on McKinley Road, oftentimes he or she is stunned by the view outside the window. “That’s your high school?” is the typical comment when seeing what, to most eyes, looks like a mansion.

The Lake Forest High School building was designed by Stanley D. Anderson and opened in 1935. Once deemed the prettiest high school in Illinois by Architectural Digest, the landmark Lake Forest High School building designed by Stanley D. Anderson has been undergoing a massive renovation during its 90^th anniversary. As explained in the referendum that was approved by voters in 2023, the improvements “will help create a healthier, safer, and more secure school while extending the building’s useful life, reducing costly and disruptive emergency repairs, enhancing ADA accessibility, improving energy efficiency, and strengthening the District’s ability to provide continued excellence in education.”  

Improving classrooms – most of which have not been remodeled in decades – is a major focus, which heartens students. Architecture student Asher Poulton said his class moved to a remodeled area this year. “It includes better lighting, more collaborative spaces like whiteboards and a display case featuring our completed projects,” he noted.  Fellow classmate William Norton has used the classroom renovation as a learning experience. He has talked with his teacher, Darren Barndt, about the process of designing the new engineering/architecture room and all of the decisions that went into making it the best fit for that particular subject. That classroom is one of the many achievements already in place for the multi-year renovation project, with the recently completed Robotics room serving as another. It more than doubles the size of the previous space for the fastest-growing program in the school. “Its glass-ribbon window and overhead glass garage door puts this exciting program on display to the other students at the school, sparking interest in the educational activities happening in this space,” noted Rick Young, the Perkins&Will architect working on the building.

Remodeled classrooms are a key feature of the project. Looking ahead, a feature that will set LFHS apart from its peers will be the reorganized student services spaces.  The spots where students go to seek all types of help will become more inviting and easier to find; today students often have to visit multiple locations to achieve their needs, Young said. To shorten the length of the project, construction has occurred during the school year in blocked-off areas. But Young pointed out that the more disruptive activities, such as demolition, have been planned for summer, school breaks, or outside school hours. The various modifications to Lake Forest Community High School over the decades – including renovations to the kitchen, cafeteria, locker rooms and more in 2008 – has created some challenges as the team, which includes Pepper Construction, looks to modernize the structure over the next few years. “Extensive research is required to understand how those interventions were actually constructed and where there are opportunities to modify the interior configuration to meet the needs of the school today and still allow flexibility into the future,” Young said.

No doubt the building with the elegant stone façade has changed greatly over 91 years. Originally, according to Lake Forest Community High School alumnus Paul Bergmann, it was designed to emulate a Lake Forest estate house to show the sophistication of the community and the aspiration of the parents. “It was to be as elegant as the East Coast private prep schools,” said Bergmann, whose father, Bill, was an architect who worked on creating the school’s auditorium wing 65 years ago. Overall, everyone involved has been impressed by the passion students and alumni have for their historic campus. “All the alums know they went to a very cool school and consider it their own building,” Bergmann said.

And future students are sure to show similar appreciation. As student Valerie Lara pointed out, “The new rooms have great lighting. The renovations will provide places where students can feel comfortable in their surroundings.” This story was first published on the Lake Forest Community High School website.