Extras
The Future
St. John the Evangelist is one of the smallest schools in the archdiocese, and student enrollment has not seen major expansion in decades, but that may change in the future.
St. John the Evangelist is one of the smallest schools in the archdiocese, and student enrollment has not seen major expansion in decades, but that may change in the future.
Hapeville is a small city, but it holds an important location because it sits near the airport and three major interstate highways. With little land available and high property values, developers have focused on building dense housing to make the most of limited space. In the southern part of Hapeville, many recent and ongoing residential projects are located within about one mile of St. John the Evangelist.
These developments include 87 single-family homes and 284 townhomes (narrow, three-story buildings constructed in long rows). Not counting roughly 590 apartment units that are also under construction, these projects add at least 371 new homes, with more planned. Many of these homes are listed well above the area’s average prices, suggesting that many new residents will be higher-income families.
Hapeville has a public elementary school but does not have a public middle school. Because of this, St. John the Evangelist is the only middle school within the city limits, aside from Woodward Academy, which is located in a neighboring city. This situation places St. John the Evangelist in a strong position to draw families moving into these new neighborhoods.
However, expanding the school to handle possible enrollment growth would be difficult. The campus has limited land, and expanding outward would reduce field space and likely require the convent to be removed. Building upward would involve adding to a structure that is about 70 years old, making construction more complicated and expensive.
These developments include 87 single-family homes and 284 townhomes (narrow, three-story buildings constructed in long rows). Not counting roughly 590 apartment units that are also under construction, these projects add at least 371 new homes, with more planned. Many of these homes are listed well above the area’s average prices, suggesting that many new residents will be higher-income families.
Hapeville has a public elementary school but does not have a public middle school. Because of this, St. John the Evangelist is the only middle school within the city limits, aside from Woodward Academy, which is located in a neighboring city. This situation places St. John the Evangelist in a strong position to draw families moving into these new neighborhoods.
However, expanding the school to handle possible enrollment growth would be difficult. The campus has limited land, and expanding outward would reduce field space and likely require the convent to be removed. Building upward would involve adding to a structure that is about 70 years old, making construction more complicated and expensive.
Context Behind This Project
My name is Anthony Tran, and I graduated from St. John the Evangelist in 2024 as part of the school’s 67th graduating class. I hoped to attend a highly selective university for architecture, which required applicants to submit a design portfolio. Meeting this requirement meant planning carefully over several years to improve my skills and body of work.
One early part of this plan was finding ways to use my creative abilities to support school communities. In 2019, I started working on a digital recreation of St. John the Evangelist. At the time, my 3D modeling skills were still limited, and the model was not very accurate. Eventually, I stopped working on the project and deleted the files.
Because my siblings attended Our Lady of Mercy, I spent a lot of time on that campus and became familiar with its layout. While the school is much larger than St. John the Evangelist, its design is far simpler. I aimed to create a detailed, near–one-to-one digital model of the campus as it appeared in both 2000 and 2020, with my goal being to present the finished project at the school’s 25th anniversary in 2025. I hoped the project would contribute to the celebration while also helping me build professional connections with the school’s administration; this would help give me access to personalized letters of recommendation from the principal and the director of advancement.
My name is Anthony Tran, and I graduated from St. John the Evangelist in 2024 as part of the school’s 67th graduating class. I hoped to attend a highly selective university for architecture, which required applicants to submit a design portfolio. Meeting this requirement meant planning carefully over several years to improve my skills and body of work.
One early part of this plan was finding ways to use my creative abilities to support school communities. In 2019, I started working on a digital recreation of St. John the Evangelist. At the time, my 3D modeling skills were still limited, and the model was not very accurate. Eventually, I stopped working on the project and deleted the files.
Because my siblings attended Our Lady of Mercy, I spent a lot of time on that campus and became familiar with its layout. While the school is much larger than St. John the Evangelist, its design is far simpler. I aimed to create a detailed, near–one-to-one digital model of the campus as it appeared in both 2000 and 2020, with my goal being to present the finished project at the school’s 25th anniversary in 2025. I hoped the project would contribute to the celebration while also helping me build professional connections with the school’s administration; this would help give me access to personalized letters of recommendation from the principal and the director of advancement.
Shown above is the street-facing facade of Our Lady of Mercy as it appeared in 2000.
When I enrolled at St. Pius X, I had to rethink my original plan. I decided to restart the St. John the Evangelist project from the beginning. This time, it would act as a test project for a much larger idea: creating several full-scale digital reconstructions of my high school campus as it appeared at different points in its history, with the goal of completing the series in time for the school’s 70th anniversary in 2028.
As the project developed, it began to influence how I approached other work with larger goals and wider impact. The campus modeling effort showed that I could take on complex, long-term ideas and follow through with careful planning and consistent effort over time.
As the project developed, it began to influence how I approached other work with larger goals and wider impact. The campus modeling effort showed that I could take on complex, long-term ideas and follow through with careful planning and consistent effort over time.
Even with the size of the project, there was a flaw: college admissions officers might not find it very impressive, since it was based on an existing campus and did not show much original creativity.
To address this, I also designed a conceptual version of the campus. This second model was entirely original and very different from the real school, while still drawing inspiration from it. It imagined a school serving about 600 students, with three classes per grade, and was created purely to explore new ideas and design possibilities. It was not meant to be practical or realistic.
To address this, I also designed a conceptual version of the campus. This second model was entirely original and very different from the real school, while still drawing inspiration from it. It imagined a school serving about 600 students, with three classes per grade, and was created purely to explore new ideas and design possibilities. It was not meant to be practical or realistic.
The church has been converted into a middle school wing, and the Pre-K, Kindergarten, and auxiliary classrooms have been moved elsewhere, allowing the cafeteria to roughly double its capacity.
Aside from the color and size, the iconic floor pattern has been left virtually untouched.
The hollow area at the front of the church with the high ceiling has been turned into the campus's third floor that houses three science labs.
This book and quill represents recording of the gospels and evangelism. On that book is a chi rho ("P" superimposed with an "X") that symbolizes Jesus and Catholicism — not the logo of St. Pius X!
This Marian monogram ("M" superimposed with an "A") represents the time when Jesus entrusted Mary to John before he died on the cross — not the logo of Marist!
This redesigned logo thoroughly showcases the school's patron.
To construct the campus as shown above, the school would have to purchase large amounts of land from neighboring properties.
Thank you for your attention! We appreciate your interest in our project and hope you found it interesting. Congratulations on keeping the school’s tradition of excellence thriving for over seven decades—here’s to seven more.
Anthony Tran '24
Development
Jonathan Hoang '25
Agastya Avashti '25
Julian Vu '25
London Phan '27
Advisory & Validation
The contents of this site have been screened by St. Pius X Catholic High School for compliance prior to publication.
Anthony Tran '24
Development
Jonathan Hoang '25
Agastya Avashti '25
Julian Vu '25
London Phan '27
Advisory & Validation
The contents of this site have been screened by St. Pius X Catholic High School for compliance prior to publication.
WE ARE THE SJE FAMILY WITH JESUS IN THE CENTER OF ALL THAT WE DO. HE GUIDES US IN LEADERSHIP, SCHOLARSHIP, AND JOYFUL SERVICE TO OTHERS
REVERENCE
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GROUNDED IN THE CATHOLIC FAITH, ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST CATHOLIC SCHOOL NURTURES THE GOD-GIVEN POTENTIAL OF EACH STUDENT, PROVIDING A RIGOROUS ACADEMIC AND SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION FORMING COURAGEOUS AND COMPASSIONATE LEADERS
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