Founded in 1907, the organization’s mission to facilitate the rehabilitation of at-risk students guided stakeholder engagement workshops for the project, from which two core design concepts arose: restoring the dining facility and production kitchen to reflect Boys Republic’s traditions and creating a modern beacon for the new state-of-the-art Bistro and Teaching Kitchen to reflect their innovative educational program.

Constructed with a budget of $5.8M, the facility draws design inspiration from Hunt’s signature Prairie School philosophy and the Arts and Crafts Movement through ranch-style construction emphasizing horizontality, arcaded porches, white plaster finishes and lack of ornamentation. The restoration of the Dining Hall includes terra cotta tile roofing, a plaster finish over a 1970’s CMU addition, demolition of CMU parapets replaced by wood eaves and new traditional double-hung windows. Functional simplicity is core to Hunt’s belief that nature act as the building’s ornamentation. The addition of the new Bistro and Teaching Kitchen adopts this lack of decoration, opting for a simple glass box accentuating horizontality. A frit silkscreen employed on the glazing provides shading and minimizes heat gain, while its falling leaf pattern elegantly expresses nature as ornament, paying tribute to Hunt in a 21st Century way.

Early stakeholder input included Chef Instructors and students that identified demand for a professional kitchen setting without compromising safety, among the following needs: an improved student serving area, an expanded bakery, an updated production kitchen, a larger loading dock, a new Bistro for donor fundraising and real-world food service education for culinary students, a modernized teaching kitchen, expanded storage, and restoration of an outdated dining area. The Teaching Kitchen, programmed and designed for Chef Instructors to demonstrate techniques from commercial kitchens, contains multiple culinary workstations for hands-on learning and a prep station for demonstrations, while an island suite invites collaborative cooking and a chef’s table supports instruction of plating and service.

Glass as a statement material makes learning visible to celebrate rehabilitation of at-risk students who may have felt unworthy and unseen before attending Boys Republic and provide a modern framework that glows with light, illuminating the activity within. Every space encourages making learning visible through glazed exteriors, connecting interior windows and operable glazed folding doors. A large window visually connects the Bistro and Teaching Kitchen as a central feature that increases awareness between students and diners. Its inviting transparency creates a sense of pride and fosters an equitable campus community.  The Max Scott Culinary Arts Center embodies Boys Republic’s empathetic legacy of rehabilitation, while offering future-ready learning and a career technical education.