Porteous Hall
St. George's Episcopal School
Client: St. George’s Episcopal School
Scope: Renovation
Status: 2026
Size: 18,200 sq.ft
Budget: $3,000,000
Collaborators: Synergy Consulting Engineers, Marais Consultants
A Campus Landmark Reimagined
Porteous Hall serves as both the visual anchor and operational hub of St. George’s Campus. Located along the lawn facing Napoleon Avenue, the building defines St. George’s public identity and houses the school’s essential administrative, educational, and faculty functions. Despite being a focal point of the campus, its grand entrance is underutilized due to limited accessibility—particularly for parents with strollers who cannot navigate the stairs to the first floor.
Studio West’s proposal for Porteous Hall introduces equitable design strategies centered on enhancing accessibility, visibility, and utility, with the goal of creating an inclusive environment for students, families, and visitors—especially those with mobility challenges.
To address these issues, two coordinated interventions will enhance both exterior and interior accessibility. The first introduces a ramp on the north side of the existing entrance steps, enabling barrier-free access to the entrance landing without the need for stairs. The second, an interior modification, adjusts the landing and existing elevator to add a rear-facing elevator door that opens onto the ground-level stair landing. This change will allow visitors and families to access all three floors of the building from the Napoleon Avenue entrance without using stairs, while also improving circulation throughout the building.
Currently enclosed behind solid walls and doors, the administrative offices at the top of the main stair will be renovated to better serve staff and visitors. Improvements include the addition of private offices and a dedicated meeting space. Admissions services will be relocated, including new fire-rated glazing along the corridor, lending visual connectivity, transparency, and an additional layer of accessibility for students, parents, and visitors to more easily locate and engage with administration services.
Located on the second floor, the original library at Porteous Hall has served many multi-use functions for St. George’s in recent years while continuing to operate as a conventional school library.
Planned renovations maintain the central library while making room for a new classroom space formed by reconfiguring two adjacent offices and a section of the central library space. The existing library will be refreshed with new shelving, seating, and upgraded finishes. The library’s existing sliding doors will be replaced with an acoustic solution that allows for coexisting and independent use for students, providing small group collaboration without compromising the quiet atmosphere of the library.
The existing lounge space in Porteous Hall introduces targeted renovations that are both functional and provide a welcoming space for reprieve for faculty members. New cabinetry, lighting, and finish upgrades are designed to soften and mitigate the effects from the existing low ceiling height, improving overall comfort. To alleviate pressure on shared spaces—particularly on the library, which has been frequently used by faculty for meetings due to limited alternatives—the renovation also introduces two large worktables and a small meeting room for collaboration, as well as enclosed “phone booth” rooms for private conversations.
