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.

Garrett Morgan High School – Cleveland Ohio

Collaborative Stair - Top Looking Down - GMHS

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.

“Educational Visioning Sessions” – Imagining Better Ways to Educate

Abby Rainieri works with a group in an Educational Visioning Session.

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.

Groundbreaking on a New Geauga County Office Building

The header image in the blog post on Geauga County Groundbreaking

Stakeholders gathered in Claridon township to celebrate the groundbreaking on a New Geauga County office building to house city services. Beginning construction marks another milestone in the 4-plus year process for this project.

Design Collaboration is a Necessity

Profile Photo of Chris Smith

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.

Project: To Reimagine Memorial Junior High School

Memorial Junior High School Arched Windows

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.

ThenDesign wins NorthCoast99 2020 Award of Excellence

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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.