Benedictine College Architecture Department

Caps, gowns, and a beautiful day for the Benedictine College Architecture Department. Congratulations to our 2026 B.A. in Architecture graduates!

Various presentations and plates from the senior studio’s Spring final critiques

Our Senior Capstone studio closed out the semester with an ambitious final: a classical counterproposal for the new primary entrance wing of Wight and Wight’s Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City. Working across a range of classical styles and typologies, each student shaped buildings and landscape into a single coherent narrative.

A special thanks to visiting jurors Bill Heyer and Riccardo Vicenzino, who each lead nationally recognized classical practices, for a rigorous final critique as our seniors prepare for the next chapter, whether in the profession or in graduate school.

Spring junior studio concluded the semester with proposals for two transept chapels for Emmanuel Masqueray’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita: one dedicated to Venerable Fr. Emil Kapaun and designed to house his remains, the other to the Holy Family.

Through hand-drafted drawings, architectural rendering, and liturgical study, students explored how classical architecture best shapes devotion, procession, and prayer within the life of the Church.

Many thanks to visiting jurors architects Bill Heyer and Riccardo Vicenzino for their thoughtful critiques and professional insight.

Spring semester final critiques brought the sophomore studio to a strong close, featuring townhouses for Thomas Hope! Thank you to our guest jurors Bill Heyer and Riccardo Vicenzino for engaging in these bold, even theatrical, proposals.

Final results are in! The freshmen successfully made a model of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Great work from start to finish; looks just like the real thing!

Chipboard, scales, and glue—oh my! ’Tis model-making season. Freshmen diligently construct models of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita, Kansas. Working in teams, students practice making 2D architectural drawings come alive in 3D. Stay tuned for the finished product!

It’s museum season in the studios! Our junior studio students entered the .rewolta competition in Poznań, taking on one of the most charged sites in the city: the Arsenal and the Cloth Hall on the Old Market Square, two expressionless Soviet-era interventions sitting squarely in the middle of one of Poland’s most beautiful historic urban centers.

The brief was direct and demanding. Strip away the postwar indifference and replace it with something worthy of the square with designs that draw on the enduring logic of classical architecture: proportion, hierarchy, harmony, and ornament in the service of civic dignity and visual coherence.

Their proposals are precise, grounded, and genuinely ambitious. Stay tuned for news of the jury’s selections!

Registration for the 2026 Summer Intensive is still open! The dates are July 12-25th and the registration deadline is this Sunday, April 12. Come find out what it’s like to study classical architecture at Benedictine College while building your portfolio! For more information: https://www.benedictine.edu/academics/departments/architecture/intensive

A Brick-nic, what’s that??

It’s a picnic with bricks, of course! The Architecture Club, Atelier BC, organized this event with our guest, Peter Reilly, a traditional builder who specializes in brick and heavy timber construction. Students practiced hand-mixing different types of mortar and laying bricks to create different forms, resulting in this arch!

A big thank you to Peter Reilly, Atelier BC, the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey, and all of those who came to learn!