A Comprehensive Update to the Ohio School Design Manual (OSDM)

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A Comprehensive Update to the Ohio School Design Manual (OSDM)
Throughout 2023, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) planning team and ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) met with school districts, architects, the career technical community, engineers, and construction managers in Ohio to get their feedback and contributions to the comprehensive update to the Ohio School Design Manual. Specifically, during October 2023, the OFCC hosted a series of in-person and virtual meetings to gather feedback from these stakeholders. Known as the "OSDM Roadshow," a group of planners visited North Ridgeville CSD to give local educators and design professionals a preview of the new manual.

A Comprehensive Update to the Ohio School Design Manual (OSDM)

The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) participates in capital projects undertaken by schools, state agencies, and state-supported higher education institutions. Part of their function is to manage Ohio’s school facility programs, which support the construction and renovation of public K-12 schools, and administer the funding for community-based cultural and sports facilities projects.

Initially created in 1997, the Ohio School Design Manual (OSDM) is a comprehensive set of standard guidelines for the design of school facilities. The OSDM was created to address the need to provide positive learning environments for students, reduce design time, and ensure parity in the design options provided to school districts.

Educational practices and school design have evolved over the past 25 years, requiring a comprehensive update to the OSDM’s content and presentation. The OFCC selected ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) to assist with rebuilding the OSDM to make the technical guidelines for designing new educational facilities easier to use and more accessible for school districts and architects. The process involved rewriting, consolidating, and expanding the material to be converted into a searchable, web-based format alongside refreshed visual materials like 3D renderings, diagrams, and photographs.

Watch the OSDM Roadshow that took place in North Ridgeville, Ohio.

"We are excited. This is the right thing to do."
Bill Prenosil
Former OFCC Senior Planning Manager

A Long-Standing Relationship

Claire Bank, who is a licensed architect (AIA, NCARB), is the TDA Project Manager responsible for coordinating content development for the new manual. She commented, “This was a natural partnership between our firm and the OFCC because we have such a long history of collaborating together.”

TDA is uniquely qualified for the project, having worked on over $3 billion in K-12 projects over the past ten years. Since the vast majority of those projects used the original OSDM as a guide, designers have experienced the benefits and shortcomings of the OSDM. Operating as the largest architectural firm dedicated to K-12 architecture north of Columbus, TDA has worked with over 120 districts in northeast Ohio, and much of that work is done in conjunction with the OFCC.

This long-standing relationship adds to the extensive experience with OFCC programs, such as the Expedited Local Partnership Program (ELPP) and the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program (CFAP). This experience is significant when navigating the design and construction process for school facilities.

The OSDM Roadshow Comes to North Ridgeville

As part of the OSDM unveiling, the OFCC conducted in-person engagements across Ohio to give designers and educators a preview of the changes coming this year. In October 2023, the OSDM Roadshow came to North Ridgeville, Ohio, where the senior planning team presented a preview of the new design manual, answered questions, and solicited input.

Former OFCC Senior Planning Manager Bill Prenosil explained the purpose of the Roadshow, “The OSDM is far enough along that we can provide a preview of what’s in it and how it might be used, but also to get some feedback.” He added, “Some of the content will be a big relief to designers.”

Among the attendees was North Ridgeville City School District Superintendent Roxann Ramsey-Caserio, “The updated OSDM will be a huge benefit to school districts across Ohio. The OFCC has been working hand-in-hand with the school districts and architects to improve the elements contained in the design manual.”

"The OSDM update includes many new tools specifically designed to make it more approachable to school districts."
Claire Bank, AIA
ThenDesign Architecture

An Updated Manual Required an Updated Presentation

OFCC Planning Manager Dean Clouse explained the reason for moving away from a print document format, “The OSDM was previously available only as a PDF document on the OFCC website. We are now moving to a digital format that is itself a website. It will be more interactive, searchable, and accessible. Being web-based allows for future updates to be implemented much easier without the need for continuous addendums.”

Throughout October, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission participated in several in-person engagements and virtual events, speaking directly with those who would use it. With guidance and support from ThenDesign Architecture staff, the updated Ohio School Design Manual will reflect the changing educational landscape by staying current with standards, practices, and state-of-the-art technologies to further support educational design across Ohio.

To learn more, visit the OFCC website.

"The OSDM update includes many new tools specifically designed to make it more approachable to school districts."
Dean Clouse
OFCC Planning Manager

To learn more about ThenDesign Architecture or our work partnering with the OFCC, feel free to reach out.

Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

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Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Ryan is a communications specialist who is passionate about using digital media to further the goals of organizations and communities in Northeast Ohio. With a background in construction and a degree in architecture, he spent over a decade in corporate video production and brings this mindset to videography, editing, photography and content marketing. He is passionate about supporting the arts, and can be found hiking in the parks system.
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Perry LSD’s Southway Elementary Animation

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Perry LSD's Southway Elementary Animation
Created by ThenDesign Architecture artists, the Southway Elementary animation provided the Perry Local School District with a sneak peek of what the new school will look like once it is completed. Two elementary school students gave their impressions of the rendering and shared their initial reactions to the modernized spaces.

Perry Local School District's Southway Elementary Animation

As part of the design development process for the Perry Local School District, ThenDesign Architecture created a fly-through animation of what the completed Southway Elementary School will look like.

Representing their peers, Perry students, fifth-grader Veda and sixth-grader Jordan were shown the virtual walkthrough video to get their initial reactions and share their thoughts on the new school.

"It's very open. Everyone can find the entrance very easily."
Jordan
6th Grade Student

Perry Local School District's Southway Elementary Animation

Three Elementary Schools in Progress

The Perry Community approved a bond levy in early 2020 to secure funds to update its educational facilities. This successful bond passage, which raised $85 million from the community, was a crucial step in the district’s facility projects. It allowed the district to secure additional funds from the state through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), which agreed to provide another $80 million towards the project.

With three elementary schools currently under construction, PJ Lohr, Watson, and Southway, the district has been providing regular updates to keep the community informed of the progress.

Understanding the benefits these new schools will bring to the district will maintain the project’s momentum, which is necessary to provide students with the best educational environment possible.

Southway Elementary Animation Frames
"I like all the colors and how the tables are different shapes and connect together."
Veda
5th Grade Student
Marc Cebrian

Marc Cebrian

Communications

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Marc Cebrian

Marc has over thirty years of media production experience with a wide variety of storytelling projects that include commercials, documentaries, and live events. He began his career in the feature film and television industry in Los Angeles, California. Naturally driven by a passion for the creative and analytical, he believes that people should be kind to one another, and strives to live by example.
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Educational Visioning for Brunswick City Schools New High School

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Brunswick City Schools Conducted Educational Visioning for their New High School
On September 20th, students, parents, community members, faith leaders, city officials, and district staff attended an Educational Visioning Session hosted by ThenDesign Architecture at Brunswick High School. This 4-hour session focused on collaboration and brainstorming designs for the district's new high school.

Brunswick City Schools - Educational Visioning for their New High School

On September 20th, students, parents, community members, faith leaders, city officials, and district staff attended an Educational Visioning Session hosted by ThenDesign Architecture at Brunswick High School. This 4-hour session focused on collaboration and brainstorming designs for the district’s new high school. Ideas were discussed for how it can improve every student’s educational experience.

Superintendent Jason Niedermeyer commented: “Today we came together to talk about our vision for Brunswick students, what it looks like from a 21st-century learning perspective, and how we can create a flexible learning environment for our kids. This involves taking what we currently do and transforming it for the betterment of our students.”

With over 80 in attendance, everyone had a say in the design activities. The new, 301,740 sf, 9-12 high school includes an auditorium and replaces the existing school. It will provide a modern educational environment better positioned to accommodate personalized student needs and foster learning and collaboration.

A current high school senior who attended, Michael Romano, was optimistic about the plans. “Today, we’re having a community meeting with different members of our city and community to get ideas of what different groups want for this new high school that will be built. We shared our inputs and came together for the best solution for everyone.”

In small groups, teams worked to develop a vision for the high school, prioritize goals, analyze learning environments, and explore options for space planning.

“Today we came together to talk about our vision for Brunswick students ... and how we can create a flexible learning environment for our kids. This involves taking what we currently do and transforming it for the betterment of our students."
Jason Niedermeyer
Superintendent of Brunswick City Schools

Educational Visioning - Brainstorming for the New School

The session was divided into activities that presented opportunities for attendees to provide input on the project. Since it is early in the design process, architects use this broad feedback to study the similarities between groups of community members and district staff and establish common goals.

The three major activities conducted were:

  • Where Are We Now? – Learning about the project and examining case studies for different high school configurations.
  • Understanding Our Learning Environment – Group work that defined the priorities for the project, and categorized what spaces best supported their priorities through the lens of the “Journey of a Blue Devil.”
  • Putting it all Together – Based on the information developed in the session, groups laid out their solutions for the new school.

These activities are geared towards gathering input that designers will use for the early design phases.

Brunswick CSD Visioning Session
"The new building is going to be a cornerstone for our entire community."
Kim Goessler
Board of Education Member

Where are we now?

“To know where we are headed as a district, it is important to understand where we are now,” commented High School Principal Keith Merrill. He provided an overview of challenges at the current high school. “We want you to work collaboratively, think critically, and problem solve to come up with learning opportunities that overcome the challenges of our current space and come up with solutions for what students need to be successful.”

A few of the biggest challenges he referenced were:

The overall school length. The existing building is 1/4 mile long and is challenging for students to travel through, often resulting in tardiness due to distance.
The outdated heating and cooling systems do not regulate temperatures in many classrooms.
Science Labs that don’t have adequate space for equipment, outlets for technology, and life skills rooms that don’t support modern programming.
Different-sized classrooms with dark environments, no exterior windows, and columns or structural objects that obscure views in some rooms.

“We can all remember those “special spaces,” from our high school experience, and this new school will contain more “special spaces” for all our students in a few short years,” reiterated Mr. Merrill. “Today, part of this design process is figuring out what those can be.”

Educational Visioning with Brunswick City Schools:

School planning is firmly rooted in the academic and curricular goals of each school district. Spaces should reflect how the district teaches students now but allow for flexibility to adapt in the future.

ThenDesign Architecture Project Manager Scott Alleman commented, “We gauge where the district is with their educational goals and see how the building layout can accommodate those. It is very important for us.”

Scott highlighted two recent case studies for how a more “Traditional Learning Environment” and “Student-Centered Learning Environment” building layouts work and how they can be potentially blended for the Brunswick City School District.

Future activities sometimes highlight priorities from the community. “During the last activity, we see how people lay out adjacencies, and those are things we sometimes haven’t even thought about yet and wouldn’t unless we heard it from them.”

Case Study Schools - Fremont Ross 9-12 High School and Cuyahoga Falls 6-12 School
"I’m excited because I’m going to go to the new school. My friends should be excited because they’re going to go to the school one day, and they’re going to think it’s super awesome."
Avery
Brunswick Middle School 6th Grade Student

Understanding Our Learning Environment

Superintendent Niedermeyer added perspective to the decisions the group was making. “Think about ‘What is our vision for our students,’ what does that look like from a 21st-century learning perspective and deeper learning for our students?”

Designing a school shouldn’t just accommodate current activities but how education can change in the future. He continues, “How can we create flexible learning environments for our kids as we move forward? How can we take what we currently do and transform that for future generations of students?

Using both digital and written materials, community members were able to prioritize their wishes for components of the new high school.

The top three priorities for this group included:

  1. Student-Centered Learning Environments
  2. Technology
  3. Collaborative Space

Each individual recorded their thoughts on the major components of the building, which will be examined and incorporated as the design progresses.

Each group also worked together to decide what type of learning environment best supported the goals of the School District as defined in the “Journey of a Blue Devil”.

Group preferences on priorities for the new high school

Putting it all Together

The final activity tasked groups with laying out their preferred site plan for the new school. Incorporating the necessary square footage for different interior academic and support spaces, as well as parking and athletics, the groups grappled with site entry, access, and traffic flow of the building. They then reported their decisions to the whole group, answered questions, and provided insight into the major discussion points.

Common themes developed across the groups included:

  • Music spaces and the Performing Arts Center were grouped together
  • 6 groups used departmental organization. 4 groups used grade-level organization
  • Groups often paired Math and Science together, with Language Arts and Social Studies paired together
  • Inclusion of parking by baseball fields, away from Center Road.
  • The gymnasium, music spaces, and auditorium were often paired together or adjacent to each other
    • These were often on the north side of the plan toward outdoor athletics.
  • The media center was often placed adjacent to academic core spaces
  • Classrooms and academic programs were usually on the south side of the plan, towards Center Road.
  • The administration spaces were usually centralized in the plan instead of spread throughout the building.
  • Baseball fields were often grouped together in a clover pattern.

Group developed site plans (Tables 1-10)
"You [community members and staff] are essential members of this process, helping us to design what will be the future home of our kids and our community."
Keith Merrill
Brunswick High School Principal

Next Steps

With Educational Visioning complete, the design team is compiling a summary of the day’s activities and outcome report to be viewed by the community. The outcomes of these activities help inform the new school’s design.

In four hours, over 80 members of the Brunswick community came together to brainstorm and express their ideas for the new school. Capturing a variety of perspectives from attendees allows designers to incorporate changes that can benefit students for years to come.

Board of Education Member Kim Goessler was encouraged by what the new high school could mean for the district. “I think this will be a great opportunity for our students to have access to 21st-century learning capabilities…and provide an opportunity to use new technologies and collaborate together. The new building is going to be a cornerstone for our entire community.”

This fall, architects are working through the schematic design phase. During this phase, initial plans are developed, which will be used for initial cost estimation. Currently, the design team is engaging with district staff to better understand their individual needs for inclusion in the new plans.

View the report below from the Educational Visioning Session to see the group’s findings that day.

Download the Full Educational Visioning Report Here
Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

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Ryan Caswell

Ryan is a communications specialist who is passionate about using digital media to further the goals of organizations and communities in Northeast Ohio. With a background in construction and a degree in architecture, he spent over a decade in corporate video production and brings this mindset to videography, editing, photography and content marketing. He is passionate about supporting the arts, and can be found hiking in the parks system.
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Creative Fun with a Canvas Art Project

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Creative Fun with a Canvas Art Project
Thirty blank canvas tiles became a mosaic of hues, shapes, and textures, forming a collective rendition of our logo for display in Memorial Junior High School, ThenDesign Architecture’s headquarters.
Expressing your creativity is just another way of communicating who you are to the world.”
Carly White

“Sip N Paint”

As part of TDA’s ongoing mission to promote creativity, teamwork, and collaboration among staff, team members participated in a Canvas Art Project. The goal was to render thirty separate blank canvas art panels to form a mosaic of hues, shapes, and textures that would ultimately form the TDA logo.

To encourage well-being as part of the TDA experience, an Events and Culture Committee organizes team-building events throughout the year. “Expressing ourselves artistically helps us remember our roots and reminds us why we entered the creative field,” said committee member Kelly Legan. “We can get engrossed in the daily grind, but sometimes we need to step back and recapture our creative spirit.”

Fellow member Carly White led the activity, “Here at TDA, one of our continued goals is to give the staff opportunities to take their mind off work occasionally,” she said. “Everyone is super-busy on various projects, so providing fun ways to take a little break and get together was important to us.”

TDA staff members were invited to an activity to enjoy drinks and snacks while exercising their creativity. Armed with acrylic paint and brushes and powered by imagination, participants designed their individual canvases however they felt.
"We always love a good party at TDA. This was another way to celebrate our company’s culture by unwinding with paint and snacks.”
Carly White

TDA Encourages Creativity

By its nature, architecture requires creativity and attention to detail and is grounded in real-world considerations. Since much of architectural design is focused on the human experience, there are many opportunities for various artistic disciplines to combine and improve a space’s overall impression. Educational design is similar and requires input from many stakeholders to make a successful project.

This Canvas Art Project was a way to incorporate the perspective of our designers into a singular piece. Carly noticed an added benefit, “It was a wonderful opportunity for personal bonding. People were hanging out and getting to know each other while painting. That was cool to see.”
“We can sometimes get caught up in the work of creativity and lose touch with the fun of it.”
Kelly Legan

Product of Collaborative Efforts

After completing all thirty tiles, they were assembled and secured with a wooden frame, which will be featured in a gallery space in our office. The final product is a collaboration between dozens of designers from TDA.

Carly noted, “Even though we had the TDA logos as the unifying element, as I watched each person paint something completely different, I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. But once all the tiles were assembled, you could see something unique was created.”

Kelly was pleased with how the canvases turned out, “The finished piece is a vibrant representation of who we are as a staff. TDA has a culture that encourages collaboration and relationship-building. The Canvas Art Project brought unique individuals together to create something special.”
“TDA is a creative place. This Canvas Art Project is a representation of our culture, and the finished piece stands as a reflection of that.”
Carly White

This is one example of how a sense of community can be fostered through group exercises, encouraging both group and individual creativity. 

If you would like to learn more or become part of the team, please get in touch with us.

Marc Cebrian

Marc Cebrian

Communications

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Marc Cebrian

Marc Cebrian

Marc has over thirty years of media production experience with a wide variety of storytelling projects that include commercials, documentaries, and live events. He began his career in the feature film and television industry in Los Angeles, California. Naturally driven by a passion for the creative and analytical, he believes that people should be kind to one another, and strives to live by example.

Meet the Designers: Archie Liptow

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Meet the Designers: Archie Liptow
Archie is passionate about creating safe environments for students to thrive. He understands that architecture can have a direct impact on people's happiness and well-being.

Archie Liptow - Emerging Professional

Archie Liptow is an Emerging Professional at ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) and is passionate about creating joyful, safe spaces for students to thrive. After discovering his artistic talents in high school, he pursued his education to further develop his creativity. Archie is excited about participating in designing environments that will change students’ lives. 

“I have so many memories attached to my grade school. The design of these spaces is so important for kids because that is where their nostalgia will be formed."
Archie Liptow
Emerging Professional

Questions for Archie Liptow

Why did you choose architecture as a career path?
I’ve always loved art and design, but I knew I wanted to do something that was more technical. Architecture was the perfect marriage of art and engineering. Architects are more than designers and creators; they’re problem-solvers. Figuring out how to solve complicated issues really attracted me.

How is educational design different than what you expected?
Educational design is unique regarding how many people are involved in the process. You don’t just have one client, but you engage with the whole community. You work with principals, teachers, the school district, and even students. Working at TDA has given me the opportunity to be involved in different parts of the design process. On any given project, I could be doing construction drawings or renderings. I’ve participated in client presentations and meetings with consultants. Within the first year, I’ve been included in the entire process, which has been awesome.

What is your favorite part of the design process?
One of my favorite parts of educational design is in the beginning stages, called visioning. This is when the brainstorming happens that can set the stage for the rest of the timeline. It’s a lot of fun to be involved with the community and the kids, to learn what they want to get out of a space you’re creating for them. Visioning is a collaborative process. Architecture is very intimate, and everyone experiences it daily, so understanding how to help people feel good in your space can be an interesting challenge. Knowing what you are working on can promote happiness, and positive mental health is very rewarding.

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.

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

Archie Liptow

Archie Liptow

Emerging Professional

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Archie Liptow

Archie Liptow

Archie Liptow works as an Emerging Professional for ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) and is passionate about creating safe, joyful spaces for students to thrive. After discovering his artistic talents in high school, he pursued his education to develop his creativity further. Archie is excited about participating in designing environments that will change students’ lives.

ThenDesign Architecture, Working Together with Core Values

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ThenDesign Architecture, Working Together with Core Values
"Core values are critical. They guide us in decision-making, problem-solving and even how we form relationships--both internally and externally," commented Chris Smith, president of TDA. Team members met in an interactive workshop to collaborate and define behaviors common to the values at TDA.

ThenDesign Architecture Values Workshop

“Decades ago, we founded a firm that was employee-centric and this came at the time when that was a radical idea,” commented Robert Fiala, founding partner of ThenDesign Architecture. “He continues, “Several years ago, our leadership team started exploring aspirational words that identify our core values. Today we are talking about what these words mean for our behavior, and how we live them out on a daily basis.”

As a firm that routinely works with school districts, their communities, and other public entities, collaborating with a diverse group of people is commonplace.

Our team of architects, interior designers, construction administrators, communications, and administration staff gathered on June 28th to participate in a workshop facilitated by Dr. Bethany Klynn, PhD., president of Insight Leadership Consulting. The session was designed to explore the behaviors attached to the shared values exemplified in our work. As an opportunity to engage with and learn from each other, the session provided an avenue to better identify our individual strengths and ways to work together.
“Core values are critical. They guide us in decision-making, problem-solving and how we form relationships - both internally and externally.”
-Chris Smith
President of TDA

Core Values are Important to Organizations

Dr. Klynn recognizes that defining and ascribing behaviors to core values is essential for many reasons. “I think core values are important to a company because they appear in so many ways. They appear from an individual’s behaviors, to how teams work together, to how you show up in front of clients, and why people are attracted to your business.”

“Sometimes, these traits identify why teams stay together for so long. They say, ‘This is just what really matters to me.'”

At the end of the session, Chris Smith, president of TDA, remarked, “All of us can see how we lived our core values today. We saw signs of leadership when people came up to speak, the creativity in our answers, and teamwork and collaboration as we developed ideas together. It is fascinating to hear the diversity of opinions on these topics, which strengthens what we do.”

Common values bind teams together in the office and also contribute to an active and fun working environment. Activities outside work also serve as an opportunity to show our values in action.
"Values matter most when they are in action."
Bethany Klynn, PhD
President of Insight Leadership Consulting

Core Values are Important to Individuals

Organizational values are important to cohesive teams but an individual’s personal values also contribute to their team. Many times our personal values connect with the organizations we work for. Bethany continues, “It is important to understand your personal core values and recognize they will change. Sometimes they shift at different stages of life or when you learn something new. They will drive how you make decisions and respond in certain situations.”

“It is important to live your values now, but it is important to pay attention to how they evolve over time.”

Ultimately, team members who exemplify common values accomplish more together and create a stronger team.

Robert Fiala has recognized this after years of building successful teams. “Values create community, and that is what we are doing here today. We are a village and community. One of the discussions that came up consistently was how all of us exemplify our principles without ever having to explain them to each other.”

“Today was about having a discussion and putting words to them.”

He was encouraged by the engagement, diversity of opinions, and the direction of the firm’s future. “It was great to see that what we created so many years ago is very much alive today.”

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

Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

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Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Ryan is a communications specialist who is passionate about using digital media to further the goals of organizations and communities in Northeast Ohio. With a background in construction and a degree in architecture, he spent over a decade in a corporate video environment and brings a production mindset to videography, editing, photography and content marketing. He is passionate about supporting the arts, and can be found hiking in the Ohio parks system.

ThenDesign Architecture Attends Ohio School Board Association Capital Conference

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ThenDesign Architecture Attends Ohio School Board Association Capital Conference
The OSBA Capital Conference in 2022, brought together educators, board members and educational stakeholders to Columbus for networking and educational sessions.

Exhibition at the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) 2022 Tradeshow

The Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) Capital Conference and Trade Show is a premier educational program that takes place in Columbus Ohio. Bringing together, superintendents, board members, treasurers and operations staff, the conference is focused on providing practical solutions to district challenges, a focus on academic achievement and supporting staff who issue critical support to all students in Ohio. Spread over 3 days, the conference offers opportunities for continuing education sessions, networking and information on new technologies and products to support schools districts.

This year, TDA was glad to support our educational partners and exhibit at the capital conference. We appreciate the many visitors who stopped by our booth to connect with our architectural staff and share stories from their districts over the last year.

While offering a variety of services, from master planning to facilities assessments, architectural design services and communications, we would love to continue the conversations, so feel free to reach out with further questions.

Scenes from the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) Capital Conference

The ThenDesign Architecture Team
Columbus Convention Center, OSBA 2022
Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference
Crowd outside the Main Auditorium at OSBA
The OSBA Tradeshow
The OSBA Tradeshow
OSBA Logo
Tradeshow at the Capital Conference
David Axner Speaking on the last Day of the Conference

The BEAT Brunswick Students Covering the Ohio School Board Association

In addition to the many keynote speakers and activities throughout the days, it was a pleasure to see The BEAT students from Brunswick City Schools in action generating media during the conference. In addition to interviewing speakers and dignitaries during the conference, they provided a window into the many activities that took place at the conference. The Beat which is a program dedicated to exposing to media operations such as writing news stories, on-air interviews, editing and shooting informational programs in Brunswick and Medina County.

The BEAT students Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) Capital Conference

"Facilities as a Catalyst for Change," Presentation with Wickliffe City Schools

This year, Wickliffe City School District Superintendent Joseph Spiccia, Director of Strategic Innovation Julie Ramos, Director of Operations and Human Resources Bradley Leyrer, and Claire Bank, RA spoke to conference attendees on how Wickliffe’s new PK-12 Campus is helping the district “reimagine education” in their district.

Superintendent Spiccia commented: “This facility project is a journey we have been on since 2017 and a rare opportunity we had to take. It is unusual to rebuild an entire campus while marrying that to the significant educational change in our district. We are just beginning to see the fruits of it.”

While a project of this size is challenging, the team showed how with good stakeholder engagement, a focus on incorporating staff and community feedback and good architectural design can serve as a catalyst for educational change.

For the district, this was a natural progression as they looked forward to best educating students and preparing them for their careers and lives after school.

To learn more about how these strategies could be employed your district and community, reach out to the Wickliffe team at their website.

The Wickliffe Team presenting "Facilities as a Catalyst for Change"

"This facility project is a journey we have been on since 2017 and a rare opportunity we had to take. It is unusual to rebuild an entire campus while marrying that to the significant educational change in our district. We are just beginning to see the fruits of it."
Mr. Joseph Spiccia
Superintendent of Wickliffe City Schools

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Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

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Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Ryan is a communications specialist who is passionate about using digital media to further the goals of organizations and communities in Northeast Ohio. With a background in construction and a degree in architecture, he spent over a decade in corporate video production and brings this mindset to videography, editing, photography and content marketing. He is passionate about supporting the arts, and can be found hiking in the parks system.
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Fairport Harbor EVSD Participates in an Educational Visioning Session

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Fairport Harbor EVSD Members Participate In An Educational Visioning Session
Fairport Harbor EVSD administration members, educators, parents, and students attended an Educational Visioning Session hosted by ThenDesign Architecture.

Fairport Harbor EVSD – Educational Visioning Update

On June 6th, Fairport Harbor EVSD administration members, educators, village services, parents, and students gathered to attend an Educational Visioning Session hosted by ThenDesign Architecture. This all-day session focused on collaboration and brainstorming on designs for their new school, its impact on the community, and how it will improve student’s education in the District.

Superintendent Domenic Paola commented: “Today, we came together with members of the community and stakeholders in this project to begin the process of creating a vision for this school.”

With over 70 in attendance, everyone had a say in the design activities throughout the day. “Collaboration is how we make progress in Fairport Harbor. I often refer to it as the engine that drives us. Everything we have accomplished in the District is a result of it, and with Visioning today, that is definitely the case.”

The new 116,000 sf PreK-12 will be located on the existing Harding High School site. It will replace the two aging buildings in the District and provide a modern educational environment better positioned to accommodate personalized student needs and foster learning and collaboration.

Today, we came together with members of the community and stakeholders in this project to begin the process of creating a vision for this school.
Domenic Paolo
Superintendent of Fairport Harbor EVSD

Fairport Harbor Educational Visioning Process

The day was broken up into various exercises geared towards educating stakeholders on the challenges and successes of existing facilities and drawing out their feedback on design priorities. Attendees experimented with spatial relationships inside the building and attempted to organize the major building sections on the site.

Early in the day, principals from Fairport Harbor, Katie Rumbarger, the Harding High School Principal, and Heidi Elmore, the McKinley Elementary School Principal, covered limitations of the over 100-year-old buildings, then the Superintendent, followed by encouraging attendees to think differently about how different sized spaces can be better used for personalized learning. This stands in contrast to having the same-sized classrooms throughout. Programs such as art, technology, and robotics can all benefit from this.

Fairport Harbor EVSD Visioning Session
Students will have state-of-the-art facilities which will help individual students go farther in their education ... I wish I had those same opportunities with technology and specialized learning. Perhaps I would have gone farther, but now, I am determined to provide that for others."
William Lukshaw
School Board Board Member

Katie commented, “In our school District, we focus on personalized learning. We focus on what every student needs, and I feel like our spaces aren’t now adaptable for that.” Educators are looking forward to having different spaces to tailor their educational approach. “What we are doing in the classroom every day doesn’t fit our environment. So, by going through this process, we can personalize our spaces to fit the needs of our students.”

Scenes from the Fairport Harbor EVSD Visioning Session

Design Activities

Activities throughout the day were designed to build off one another, each informing the next activity in the layout of the new school. This information is invaluable to the architectural design process since it demonstrates the stakeholder priorities on spatial relationships, building massing, and space usage.

Heidi Elmore, Principal of McKinley Elementary, shared, “It was a great first step to get different people’s perspectives. This is a starting point but helpful to hear a variety of ideas and understand what is important to the different groups.”

Attendees were split up into tables of 8 and given the opportunity to organize the interior layout of the school. Using paper cutouts scaled in relation to each other and the new school, the groups discussed how the pieces could be arranged to best suit how they saw the school functioning. They then reported the decision to the group and took questions from designers. This activity was designed to spark conversation about how they saw spaces interacting in their PreK-12 school.

Another activity allowed the groups to arrange that spatial diagram in 3D. Using colored blocks representing the school program’s square footage, they try to fit their building on the site while maintaining the spatial relationships from the earlier activity. This was a challenge for many.

Also attending the meeting was the Village Mayor, chief of police, and fire chief, who provided input on safety and security issues, traffic flow, building a presence in a residential neighborhood, and the importance this project represented to the community.

Building Animation of the new PreK-12 School:

Next Steps After Educational Visioning

With Educational Visioning complete, the design team is compiling a summary of the day’s activities and outcome report to be viewed by the community. The outcomes of these activities help inform the new school’s design.

Many were optimistic about how this new building would help educators expand their current programs.

Bill Lukshaw, a Board of Education member deeply involved in the process, commented, “When I joined the Board, I wanted to make sure every student had the opportunity for a quality education. This new school building will further this mission.”

For students who are used to buildings over 100 years old, the upgraded environment and new technology will be a welcomed change.

“Students will have state-of-the-art facilities which will help individual students go farther in their education.” Reflecting on his time in school, Bill commented, “I wish I had those same opportunities with technology and specialized learning. Perhaps I would have gone farther, but now, I am determined to provide that for others.”

This summer, architects will begin the schematic design phase. During this phase, initial plans are developed, which can be used for cost estimation.

Later this fall, the team plans to engage with educators to better understand their individual needs for inclusion in the new plans.

View the report from the visioning session to better understand the findings of the group that day. 

Fairport Harbor EVSD Groundbreaking Ceremony

Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

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Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Ryan is a communications specialist who is passionate about using digital media to further the goals of organizations and communities in Northeast Ohio. With a background in construction and a degree in architecture, he spent over a decade in corporate video production and brings this mindset to videography, editing, photography and content marketing. He is passionate about supporting the arts, and can be found hiking in the parks system.
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