TDA Insights

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New Brunswick High School Summer 2026 Construction Update
Projects

New Brunswick High School Summer 2026 Construction Update

As of this summer, major milestones have been achieved for Phase 1 of the construction of the new Brunswick High School. The Brunswick community passed a bond issue in early 2023 and also secured co-funding for $42.6 million from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) to build the 301,740 SF campus. Construction commenced in May 2025 after the traditional groundbreaking ceremony hosted by the Brunswick City School District.

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October 2, 2026
Projects

North High School – Mind, Heart and Body

North High School in Eastlake Ohio is a 9-12 facility that embodies the educational ideals of the Willoughby/Eastlake School District. Conceptually organized around the idea of unifying a student’s “mind,” “heart” and “body,” this unique structure brings “student centered” learning to its lake front community.

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August 1, 2021
Architecture

ThenDesign Architecture Relocates to Memorial Junior High School

In early 2021, ThenDesign Architecture relocated their offices to Memorial Junior High in Willoughby Ohio. Committed to the economic development of the Willoughby community, Bob Fiala, the founding partner of TDA and Executive Chairman and Chris Smith, the President and CEO, decided to reimagine the former school and develop it to become the new headquarters for an “education focused,” architectural firm.

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July 2, 2021
Architecture

New Campus Groundbreaking at Wickliffe City Schools

Community members, district administrators, architecture and construction professionals along with dignitaries attended the New Campus Groundbreaking at Wickliffe City Schools on May 6th, to celebrate the commencement of construction on this exciting new PreK-12 facility. Embodying the goals for education in the district, the new school seeks to provide new spaces and learning opportunities for the students in the City of Wickliffe.

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June 18, 2021
Community

Cuyahoga Falls – Designing for the Future with the New 6-12 Campus

On April 29th 2021, ThenDesign Architecture held an “Educational Visioning” session at the Summit Educational Service Center in Cuyahoga Falls to begin designing for the future of the district’s new 6-12 campus. This day-long event focused on understanding the current challenges with the existing facilities and identifying opportunities the new building will bring.

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June 11, 2021
Architecture

Perry Local Schools – Four New Elementary Schools

Driven by the goal to provide the best educational facilities for their young students, Perry Local Schools is in the midst of an ambitious task; the design and construction of 4 new elementary schools across the district. Addressing the challenge of aging infrastructure in their current facilities, these new schools will provide a better organized school layout, community focused spaces, new technology, and a more comfortable and collaborative environment for students to learn in. Now well into the design process, each school showcases a unique characteristic of the Perry Massillon community, with the buildings slated to be completed by the fall of 2023.

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May 28, 2021
Community

New Cuyahoga Falls 6-12 Campus – Meet the Architect & Construction Manager

As design commences for the new Cuyahoga Falls 6-12 Campus, the school district conducted its’ first “in-person” engagement with ThenDesign Architecture, Hammond Construction and members of the community on April 15th. The team met to introduce themselves, describe the scope of the project, answer questions and talk about how this new facility will impact education in the community.

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April 23, 2021
Architecture

One Key Characteristic Needed by all Architects in Educational Design

Educational design is a rigorous process that involves dedication, technical ability and skill. Developing successful school facilities takes years of work, between district representatives, architects construction professionals and the community. A vast array of talents are used in this type of work, but one key characteristic is needed for any architect in educational design.

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April 16, 2021
Projects

North Olmsted 6-12 Campus – Fusing Modern and Historic Styles

The North Olmsted 6-12 campus hosts a beautiful 315,000 sf school, a 4,000 seat athletic stadium, Performing Arts Center and landscaping all complimenting this “Georgian Architecture styled” school. ThenDesign Architecture, working with the North Olmsted City School District created a new landmark in the historic Butternut Ridge Historic District.

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April 2, 2021
Projects

Brush High School – A Dynamic Renovation Project

The Brush High School Renovation Project provides a dramatic update to this beautiful, historic school in Lyndhurst, Ohio. It brings an architectural refresh, new spaces and services to this iconic structure in a neighborhood setting. This $8.5 million dollar renovation addresses 45,000 sf of the almost 300,000 sf building. These improvements allow the South Euclid Lyndhurst School District to better utilize this historic school for years to come.

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March 19, 2021
Projects

Kent City Schools – A “District-Wide” Renovation Project

Kent City Schools is a large school district serving over 3,000 students. Established in the 1860s, the district is passionate about education and operates six school buildings, spread across the area. Working with the district, ThenDesign Architecture helped create a district-wide master plan for renovations on all 6 of the schools currently operating in Kent.

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March 13, 2021
Culture

Coming Together, Despite Being Apart

Despite the social isolation and challenges that faced our creative team in 2020, ThenDesign Architecture continues to find ways to come together, despite being apart. In mid-February our team got together for cross country skiing and enjoying the winter weather in Chapin Forest, which is one of the Lake Metroparks in Ohio. The multipronged approach of being outside, getting exercise, and seeing familiar faces is an example of our culture in action: collaboration, exploration and discovery.

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February 26, 2021
Jeff Henderson and Claire Bank recording the Buildings in a Landscape illustration for the ACE Mentor Program session.
Community

Buildings in a Landscape – ACE Mentor Program

ThenDesign Architecture actively participates in the ACE Mentor Program in Cleveland, Ohio. In a recent session, Jeff Henderson highlighted the different ways architects situate buildings in a landscape. He simplified this complicated concept for high school students, identifying six commonly used ways structures can shape the activity in a landscape.

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February 12, 2021
Architecture

Memorial Junior High – An Adaptive Reuse Project

Downtown Willoughby is home to many historic structures, some of them going back to the 1800’s. Memorial Junior High School is one such building. Built in 1925, ThenDesign Architecture is adaptively re-using this building for our future headquarters. Understand what goes into the decision between renovating a historic structure or building something brand new.

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February 5, 2021
The exterior of the Bike Box Green Roof Project.
Architecture

The Big Impact from a Little Green Roof

Against the backdrop of one of Cleveland’s most popular bars, a small environmental project has made big impacts on the design of a little green roof in dense urban environments. In 2013, Claire Bank, an architect with ThenDesign Architecture (TDA), managed a green roof project that was installed on one of Cleveland’s popular “Bike Box” installations and sought to demonstrate a new way to think about sustainability in a concrete jungle. Now, this internationally recognized project has attracted hundreds of professionals annually, showing them a new way to integrate native plant species into an otherwise inhospitable environment.

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January 29, 2021
Projects

Brunswick Middle School – Brunswick Ohio

The Brunswick Middle School is a 21st century learning facility designed to serve grades 6-8 in the Brunswick City School District. This 243,000 SF building houses 1,660 students and replaces three aging middle schools, 2 of which were previously on the site. A design concept for the building was to create a network of 18 “learning pods,” connected to a “central hub” of shared spaces. This LEED Silver project includes 4 classrooms per pod, with 6 pods dedicated per grade. The “central hub” consists of student dining, a media center and “Project Lead the Way,” STEM classrooms. Adjacent to the hub are two gyms, and an auditorium with music rooms. A stadium and athletic field is also connected to the hub on the east side of the property.

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January 15, 2021
Portrait of Robert Fiala, AIA
Architecture

Citizen Architect – Robert Fiala, AIA

Robert Fiala is the founding partner of ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) and the mayor of Willoughby, Ohio. He was recognized as a “Citizen Architect” by the American Institute of Architects and featured in an article detailing his path from architecture to public service.

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January 7, 2021
Architecture

New Educational Wickliffe Campus

Wickliffe City Schools has been ambitiously planning the new educational Wickliffe Campus to house students in a Pre-K through 12th grade facility which will replace the aging city schools in their area. View the narrated project animation!

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December 10, 2020
Projects

North Royalton High School Renovation and STEM Wing Addition

The North Royalton High School renovation and STEM Wing addition project modernized the school’s building systems, spaces, and infrastructure across the 260,000sf facility, better preparing it for the demands of modern education. Take a look at what went into the design of the facility.

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December 4, 2020
Architecture

Memorial Junior High School – Evolution of an Historic Building

Historic buildings often have very storied pasts. What might have started as one type of building may eventually evolve into something very different. When dealing with these structures, architects can find imaginative and creative ways to repurpose them. Memorial Junior High School in Willoughby, Ohio is one example of the evolution of an historic building.

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November 25, 2020
Collaborative Stair - Top Looking Down - GMHS
Projects

Garrett Morgan High School – Cleveland Ohio

The Garrett Morgan High School (GMHS) is an academic building designed in an urban context, with a curriculum that focuses both on the humanities and technology. Situated on a 5 acre site, this 133,000 sqft building carried a budget of $35 million and is located along the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, adjacent to Lake Erie, near downtown Cleveland. Occupying a highly sought after site, GMHS boasts incredible views of downtown Cleveland, in addition to its flexible technologically advanced classroom spaces.

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November 20, 2020
Abby Rainieri works with a group in an Educational Visioning Session.
Architecture

“Educational Visioning Sessions” – Imagining Better Ways to Educate

Educational Visioning Sessions are collaborative planning events, that allow architects, educators and students to ensure a future school construction project is successful. Working together, they identify goals, priorities and design solutions from a wide variety of perspectives. A robust Educational Visioning session encourages attendees to imagine better ways to educate generations of students through good design.

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November 13, 2020
Profile Photo of Chris Smith
Architecture

Design Collaboration is a Necessity

Excellent design ideas can come from the most unlikely places. Throughout TDA’s design process, we engage individuals of all types in our projects. Chris Smith, TDA’s president, shares his insight into our process, the designers, and collaboration in public architecture.

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October 23, 2020
Memorial Junior High School Arched Windows
Community

Project: To Reimagine Memorial Junior High School

Since taking on the project to reimagine and renovate Memorial Junior High School, a high priority was placed on maintaining the unique historic nature of the area. This historic building has stood in the community for almost 100 years. Rather than demolish it, TDA, decided to repurpose this old school building to become the future home of ThenDesign Architecture.

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October 2, 2020
Blog page header image
Culture

ThenDesign wins NorthCoast99 2020 Award of Excellence

TDA is honored to receive NorthCoast 99’s, 2020 Award of Excellence. We firmly believe as designers, we can positively impact the lives of generations to come through good design. Whether an architect, construction administrator or support staff, this core value informs our unique culture and drives us to be better each day.

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September 25, 2020
Architecture

ThenDesign Architecture – Imagining Better Ways to Educate

ThenDesign is an architecture firm located in downtown Willoughby. For over 30 years, we have been pioneering educational facilities in Northeast Ohio. Focusing on the evolving design of educational buildings and imagining better ways to educate, we specialize in architecture, planning and interior design. Get to know our team!

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September 1, 2020
Featured Image for James Cowan Interview Post
People Spotlight

Meet the Designers: James Cowan

James Cowan works as an architectural associate for ThenDesign Architecture (TDA). James is passionate about architectural design and it’s impact on educational design. Harnessing a “diversity in opinion” is a design principle driving his projects, as he incorporates feedback from many stakeholders into building design.

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August 12, 2020

Let’s work together to make education better. Interested in speaking with us? Get in touch!