One of the best things about the design process here at TDA is the collaboration.

My name is Katherine Mitchell. I am a registered architect and LEED AP with a BD+C specialty here at TDA. I am an architect working on projects, but I also focus on our LEED Sustainable Design initiative.

Architecture is much more like a puzzle. There are so many different pieces. You’re looking not just at electrical engineering or mechanical engineering but the whole project in one big piece and making sure everything works together.

I’m very passionate about educational design because it’s community oriented. And if we provide them with a space that’s safe, comfortable, and enjoyable to be in, they’re more likely to keep wanting to learn and explore this wondrous world that we have.

Green buildings are really interesting to design and look into. First, because they look cool. You can tell when a building is more sustainable. So we want to build buildings that are safe and healthy for people as well as safe and healthy for the environment.

Recently, I’ve been helping with the punch listing process. A punch list is reviewing the building and verifying that everything is up to contract prior to the completion and turning over the building to the owner. During a punch list we will walk through the building and open up doors, check the flooring, check the ceiling tiles, check pretty much everything that we can, and verify that it is working properly.

Everybody here has so much knowledge in so many different areas of the design and construction process, and everybody is eager and willing to teach you anything that you want to learn. It’s easy to go up to ask people any kind of question, which I think is kind of unique to TDA. It’s not uncommon here to walk around and see groups of people gathered together, solving a problem with a project.

We have so many Emerging Professionals that come through here, more than I’ve seen in previous firms. TDA is one of the best places to ask for help. I always encourage anybody to ask questions and take advantage of all the opportunities that TDA provides because there are a lot.

Architecture for me was the perfect marriage of art, engineering, and problem-solving. My name is Archie Liptow. I have my Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Kent State University, and I work here at TDA on educational design.

I’ve always enjoyed creating things and using my artistic mind. It’s a field that allows me to have an outlet for those things. Educational design is so important because students are spending a third of their life for 12 years in these schools. And to create something that is going to not only help them learn and help them get smarter and grow, it also should be a place that makes them happy. It can be simple things such as the colors that you choose, some of the materials that are there, or the size of the space that you’re in. We’re trained, and we are training always to learn exactly what that means to create a space that is going to make people happy and make people feel safe.

In the design process, one of my favorite parts is the beginning stages when we really start visioning what this thing is going to look like. And with that visioning and with that brainstorming, you really set yourself up for the rest of the timeline of that project.

After I graduated from school, I was always told that there were so many opportunities within the field, but that has only increased tenfold since starting my job here. And I’ve learned how many different corners of this field that you can get into. On any given project, I could be doing the construction drawings or renderings for the project or different design iterations. I’ve also been included in different client presentations and meetings with consultants. So especially within this first year that I’ve been working here, I’ve been able to learn a lot while I’m working and be included in basically, the entire process, which has been awesome.

I’m really fortunate with TDA being my first place that it is such an inclusive environment. When we spend lunch together on Fridays in downtown Willoughby, that’s always really enjoyable for me. And I think it’s a beautiful part of our office culture and team building.

If I had to give an Emerging Professional a piece of advice, I would say in whatever environment you are in, try to make your voice heard and include yourself in whatever opportunities are given to you. Because there’s a lot within our fields and there’s a lot of opportunities to learn.

This is my first professional internship with an architecture firm. I had a senior one in high school that lasted an entire year. Again, it was more on the client side, but I got to visit firms, shadow a whole bunch of different projects, but the primary work was in my high school. So this is the first one where I’m in the Revit model and I’m doing work for the client myself.

I’ve worked most closely with Jeff and James for this, and they’ve been wonderful to collaborate with and teach me as we go. I came into this internship in the beginning of the summer with the expectation that I’d be more on the “back door” or the “back end” of it. So it’s exciting to be really, really involved in the team. I got to come up with a couple ideas that we’re moving forward with. I designed the storefront and where windows can go, that the chefs were super excited for. So it was really rewarding for me to see my work be shown to the client and the client get excited about it. You know, so I loved that.

I think a value that all architects should have, I think TDA really does have, is that “communication and collaboration.” I mean, there’s a lot of people involved in a project, because this is something that’s likely going to last for years to come. Education’s always changing, so there needs to be flexibility for change. I think TDA by specializing in education and really focusing on the client, I think they’re really successful in that. And that’s something that should be taken, with not only myself, but with any architect I believe.

It’s very rewarding to feel like the work we’re doing actually does matter and is really contributing as opposed to just giving “the intern” busy work to maybe learn about the culture and the process, but not necessarily influence the project if that makes sense. I just really loved the environment at TDA, and the culture. I think the people are super genuine to one of another. The other interns were great and I loved working with them and hanging out with them. It’s the kind of environment and culture that I think makes TDA really unique compared to other firms that I’ve seen and shadowed and worked with a little bit, especially in the new office. I think makes things super exciting for everybody.

So I’ve been trying to figure out what field of architecture I want to go into. I know that I want to do something with the community, which is why schools really interest me and especially working here, I’ve loved seeing the impact that it has on the community members with designing for the community.

In school, when we’re designing, we’re not designing for an actual client it’s hypothetical. So we don’t have those conversations that I’ve learned coming here that go on between not only the architects and the client, but also the engineers and a bunch of different other members of the team. So it’s been really cool to see the background process of how that all works.

So I wanted an experience over the summer to get an idea of what’s actually happening in the real world rather than just at school. So I didn’t know exactly what I was walking into. I was hoping I was going to get to do some design work, but I wasn’t sure and they did mention that they want the interns here to get a full scope, whatever projects that they’re interested in or to get an idea of many steps of the process. That’s something that I was hoping would happen at an internship, but definitely has exceeded my expectations with how much I’ve been able to see of the process.

TDA has done a great job of thinking of what the future will hold for these generations that they’re designing for and allowing for that growth that will happen in society and in these future generations to really incorporate that growth. So I have really appreciated the environment of this firm. I know all of the interns we’ve gotten so close, we’ve actually hung out outside of work and especially coming out of COVID-19 where there was so much isolation. It was really nice to have this community feel and these people that I’ve grown so close with and feel accepted and pushed to grow as a designer and as a person that has been the biggest takeaway for me.

I feel very strongly about how an interior should be laid out.

What I really like about TDA, is the type of work we do, educational design. I’m very idealistic, but my thought has always been, if we do our job well, and we create spaces where teachers and students can thrive, we can affect the future in a positive way. The students can truly learn, and they will take that with them throughout their lives.

Interior design has a big impact on people. It can affect them in positive or negative ways. And when we design the interiors to make them attractive, to make them comfortable, to make them a pleasant place to exist in, it’s going to help the end-users of the building.

Color is very subjective and people’s reaction to color has a lot to do with their life experience. We try to make elementary schools, more playful and high schools, a little more sophisticated, the occasional higher education project, even more so. But to provide enough color so that it’s stimulating without being overwhelming, is a balance just as it is with clutter and detail. You can’t have too much, but you need a little bit to create some interest.

We have attended the “Visioning Sessions” as well, and it’s wonderful to hear what not only the teachers and the students, but also the, the citizens of the community have to say. After the visioning, when we start meeting with the owners, we start asking them what they need exactly, how, precisely, they teach. And we present ideas that have worked in the past, and we’ll present images and layouts so that they can get an idea of some of the options that are possible. Then we’re able to get a better idea of what they truly need.

We have to do an enormous amount of research and we have to put together specifications that meet with the needs of the building. If we are doing our job, right, we should be able to take the small budget and make it look spectacular. It shouldn’t look cheap. It shouldn’t be all gray or beige. It should be an exciting, fun place to be.

The design of schools is important, it’s important. We have to give our youth a place where they can truly learn and give their teachers a place that is easy to teach in.

My name is James Cowan and I work at ThenDesign Architecture as a project designer. What excites me about the projects at TDA is the community involvement and impact that the project has at the end. And I mean, throughout the course of the project, we always try to involve community, and understanding the vision that the community has for the school building. So that’s a really exciting part to me. It’s good to be involved in those visioning sessions and I think TDA does a great job with that. I think it’s just important to bring different experiences to the table. Someone else might not think about the space like you think about the space. So whether they’re, you know, they’re older or younger or security might be something that’s very important to them while connecting with nature may be very important to someone else.

You want to make sure you’re understanding the space and what should happen there from all ranges. We bring those different, different minds to the table, you’re able to develop something as more inclusive. So one of my favorite aspects of the design process is making sure that the exterior responds to its surrounding. Just making sure that it’s not an acontextual building that you can’t just take this building and put it anywhere, is important.

What’s funny is I didn’t know, would be as passionate about educational design until I got to TDA, where they were involved in a mentorship program called ACE. And I started to learn a little more about TDA from the people who were already working here and I thought it was an interesting place. So once I got to TDA, I started to understand the impact that’s happening with the community. So I’m like, that’s something I want to be a part of.

It’s very exciting to see a school opening kids running into the school, or, you know, the groundbreaking and how they excitement for something new, impact someone’s life and that, that keeps me at TDA.

As far as understanding the impact that architecture makes on people’s lives, I’m still understanding that myself. I think that the projects I’ve worked on, seeing how occupants actually use the space will provide some insight to actually student centered learning and not what we think. So I think just, just as buildings remain open, we will see the evolution of the spaces that’s exciting as well. I think that the impact is going to be a positive one. The evolution of the space as technology changes will be the telltale story.

My name is Ken Monsman, I’m a registered architect, I’m a certified construction manager, and I also am a member of the NCARB. Architecture has a profound impact on people, I mean, whether you are just a regular person and not pay attention to it, but regardless it’s having an impact on you. It’s exciting to be part of that and to have such a big influence on people, even without them knowing it. I mean, it’s very fulfilling more recently, being at TDA has been a really good experience for me. Great people, good management, great projects. I’m primarily on in construction administration. Construction administration we’re really not doing the drafting and design, at that point, the building’s designed and we’re working with the contractor or the CM [construction manager] to get the thing built. Typically at the beginning of the job, we’re reviewing bids, you know, helping those CM make, make some of those decisions.

And then, once construction starts, we’re there to periodically site visit, questions that come up, RFI’s, shop drawings, review is a huge part and questions that come from the contractor or CM are all funneled through us. And then we’ll send them to the consultants or our in house staff, for answers, or some of the answers we come up with on our own.

My philosophy is at the end of the job, we should be able to shake hands and walk away and say, I would work with you again. Especially when you get to a market like Cleveland, where, you know, you work with people over and over again and so you’re bound to run into somebody. So that’s why I say never treat anybody badly, including the guy in the mail room. So I try to do that. I try not to be unreasonable when reviewing change orders and stuff and I keep everybody in mind, the owner contractor. So, like I said, just want to be fair with everybody.

TDA is very involved in the, I really enjoy working with the couple of designers that were on the projects at North High School, Longfellow and now I’m working on North Royalton with a different designer. There are little different nuances, but the overall concept is consistent and, they are going with this flexible learning space. And when the space is complete, especially as collaborative spaces with those seated steps in the large areas, like a stadium seating there, the schools love it. And then it’s nice to see once, you know, when school started and it was great to see the kids, not only sitting there during class time, but a lot of times, uh, the, the lunchroom collaborative students were up there eating, sitting with little groups.

It’s a very flexible space and very useful. So construction administration, it’s exciting. You actually see the building come out of the ground. That is very fulfilling. Going all the way through the project and seeing, you know, although it’s not my design work, you know, I feel very much a part of it. And you know, where there’s issues that come up on the project where something doesn’t work, we’ll work together to make it work. Ultimately when the thing’s done it’s, it’s nice to see that thing that came on paper, standing there in three dimensions in front of you.