Lexington 7-12 School -Academic Success Under One Roof

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Lexington 7-12 School - Academic Success Under One Roof
In 2019, Lexington Local Schools embarked on a journey to consolidate and redevelop their educational facilities. After a successful bond issue in 2018, combined with extensive educational planning, the district began designs for the new Lexington 7-12 school.

Lexington 7-12 School - Academic Success Under One Roof

In 2019, Lexington Local Schools embarked on a journey to consolidate and redevelop their educational facilities. After a successful bond issue in 2018, combined with extensive educational planning, the district began designs for the new Lexington 7-12 school. This 200,000sf project hosts grades 7-12, dividing them into two academic wings, 7-8 and 9-12. This state-of-the-art facility incorporates a variety of student-centered design principles including open collaborative and flexible spaces, alongside more traditional academic and classroom spaces. The building also houses a new performing arts center that seats 750 guests, 3 gymnasiums and collegiate level baseball and softball fields.

This $56 million dollar school is scheduled to open for the 2022-2023 academic year and will provide expanded educational opportunities for its 1,200 students.
"The district was adamant that academics were the number one focus, but they pride themselves in athletics and the arts."
Scott Alleman
Architect

Educational Visioning - Setting the Right Goals

The average age of District buildings is 69 years old, and this aging infrastructure was increasingly difficult to maintain. The administration felt strongly that new facilities would put the district on a path to success It became clear it was time for the community to consider new school buildings.

In November 2018, district voters approved an 8.6-mill bond issue for $55.95 million to be used for construction costs associated with the project. Working together with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission through the Expedited Local Partnership Program (ELPP), the district plans to consolidate their 5 existing school buildings into 2 buildings, a 7-12 school and pre-K-6 school. They began designs for the 7-12 building first.

With funding secured, design began in earnest with educational visioning in 2019. The Lexington School District met with educators, community members, and local leaders to determine their educational priorities for their new facilities. 

Visioning combined with touring local schools allowed the administrators and designers to craft a layout that would suit the educational needs of the district.

Project architect, Scott Alleman commented “Lexington is a traditional community and they wanted to establish a forward-thinking model for education.” He continues, “They knew they didn’t simply want “double loaded corridors,” so we worked through a variety of layouts. It became clear what strategies would work best.”

Historical Significance and Layout

The Lexington Ohio community is proud of their rich history in education. The oldest school building in the district was built in the 1890’s and is a part of the existing Junior High School. This building is a patchwork of buildings and renovations built over the decades. The bulk of the school was built in 1930 with the 1890s school, now housing the history department. Major renovations in 1970 were the last major improvement. This along with other aging infrastructure prompted the district to take action. However, in recognition of this history, the district plans to salvage relics from the existing buildings and incorporate these pieces into key spaces of the new school.

During planning, the existing high school site was identified as the best location for the new school. This forced the district and design team to be efficient with spatial designs for the new building. Safety is a major consideration during construction as the new building is being built 30 feet away from the existing building. This allows the construction site to become a “real time” classroom for students as they watched their new school assembled right in front of them.

The high school wing occupies the northside of the building, while the junior high is located on the south side. They are joined together by an elongated student dining collaborative and transitions in flooring material and other interior finishes signify the transition between the two academic spaces.

While both academic wings are organized around collaborative learning spaces, the High School academic wing features a 2 story open collaborative space. Math and Science open to the collaborative space on the second floor, and English, World Languages and Social Studies open to the space on the first floor.
"Lexington is a traditional community and they wanted to establish a forward-thinking model for education." They knew they didn't simply want "double loaded corridors," it became clear what strategies would work best."
Scott Alleman
Architect

Arts and Athletics in the Lexington 7-12 School

“The district was adamant that academics were the number one focus, but they pride themselves in athletics and the arts.” At the educational visioning session, many in the community voiced support for these programs. “The music and arts programs are amazing and were a huge focus of the design process,” recalls Alleman, “they shone through in Educational Visioning and are received well in the community.”

A 750 seat Performing Arts Center and serves as a focal point for the arts program and joins to the student dining space. “This is one of the spaces that gets me really excited. When I stand on stage and look out, even though there aren’t seats yet, you can imagine what it will look like when it’s done” continues Alleman.

In addition to this, the athletic program is receiving a number of enhancements with the new facility.

Enhanced softball fields are located down the hill from the 7-12 building and are anchored by a concessions and storage building centered between the two fields. Each field features bleachers with a press box, mesh backstops and beautiful new scoreboards highlighted in purple and gold, the school’s colors. The fields are connected to the junior high school parking lot by a stairway and processional ramp that provides stunning views of the fields and site while also providing ADA access. The whole complex will provide a streamlined and engaging experience for visitors. These “collegiate level” fields will provide added athletic opportunities for Lexington’s baseball and softball programs.

The new facility also features 3 expanded gymnasiums–a high school competition gymnasium, an auxiliary gymnasium and a junior high school gymnasium. The competition gymnasium has seating capacity for 2,400 people with a mezzanine which will be used for wrestling practices and other activities.

Exciting Spaces / Move in and Next Steps

“I think I am most excited about the student dining space,” states Alleman, “It’s hard to picture now, since it isn’t far along, but entering into that 2-story space will be dramatic as you enter the building.”

Student Dining is central to the scheme, as it can be used by 400 students during lunch periods, connects the academic wings for the high school and junior high school and serves as the lobby for the Performing Arts Center and gymnasiums. “You can program the student dining space to support so many different functions, it’s how you economize the design and make the most of your budget.”

The student dining separates these public spaces from the more private, academic focused areas.

The Lexington 7-12 School is scheduled to be finished this summer and open for the 2022-2023 academic year. At that point, demolition of the existing high school will begin, with sitework finished by the summer of 2023.

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 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.

Internship Experiences: Eleanor Huntley

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Internship Experiences: Eleanor Huntley
Committed to helping educate architects of the future, ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) accepts architectural interns into our office each year. Eleanor Huntley spent her summer months as an architectural intern at TDA. Eleanor, who was initially interested in engineering, decided to study architecture since it provided an opportunity for creative problem solving and its potential to impact everyday life.

Eleanor Huntley - Architectural Intern

Committed to educating future architects, ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) accepts architectural interns into our office each year. Eleanor Huntley spent her summer months as an intern at TDA. Eleanor, who was initially interested in engineering, decided to study architecture since it provided opportunities for creative problem solving and to affect people’s everyday life. She is driven to explore educational design and improve each student’s experience while impacting their local community.

Reflecting on her time at TDA, Eleanor commented: “I learned to value the communication and collaboration between everyone in the process. There are a lot of people involved, from clients, to construction managers, to consultants and architects. Everyone needs to be satisfied with the project because each building will last for years to come.” Eleanor continues, “It’s very rewarding to feel like the work you are doing actually matters and contributes to society. Since TDA specializes in education and really focuses on the client, they have been very successful in this.”

"It's very rewarding to feel like the work you are doing actually matters and contributes to society ... It's very rewarding to feel like the work you are doing actually matters and contributes to society."
Eleanor Huntley
Architectural Intern

Questions for Eleanor Huntley

What is your typical day like?

For my internship, I worked with James Cowan, a project manager, and Jeff Henderson on the East Tech Culinary Program Renovation. They have both been wonderful, teaching me as we go, and to collaborate with on this project. We are in design development and when construction starts, I hope to come back to see more of that process.

Typically, each morning, I reorient myself on tasks for the day and begin working in Revit. The morning is when I can complete assignments from the previous days discussions. This could be adjusting classroom and furniture layouts, or producing new renderings. I do a lot of renderings! Then in the afternoon, we meet together and work through any changes we received from the client. Since this project is built in Revit, I update the model, produce new floor plans and send them to the client for any changes. The next day it begins all over again!

How was the internship different than you expected?

This is my first professional internship with an architecture firm. I had some experience as a senior in high school, but it was from the client’s perspective and the work was largely limited to my high school. At TDA, I am working directly on an architectural model.

I came to this internship expecting to do background work and maybe sit in a few meetings. I thought the project manager or principal architect would primarily work with the client. It was a huge surprise when I was given an important role. During my time, I attended a lot of meetings, corresponded with our clients, and they knew me by name. I was so excited when I got my first phone call!

What was memorable about your time at TDA?

I just really loved the environment and culture at TDA. The people are super genuine to one another. All the interns were great too. I loved working with them, and hanging out after work with them. It was a unique environment and culture compared to the other firms that I’ve shadowed.

The new office is especially exciting, it is such an open space. I was sitting at one of the collaborative tables, which was a little nerve wracking at first, but it was also nice to see everyone working. I think it encouraged in-person collaboration and made communication much easier. It was really exciting.

What lessons did you learn in this internship?

A value that all architects should have, and TDA does really well, is to communicate and collaborate with everyone in the project. There’s a lot of people involved whether it’s a client, construction manager, consultant or architect. Everyone needs to be satisfied when the project is finished because it’s something that will last for years to come. Each building is a product of many people’s input.

Also, education is always changing and flexibility needs to be a priority in new schools. I think since TDA specializes in education and really focuses on their clients, they have been very successful in their projects. That communication and attention is something I want to carry forward in my career.

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.

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

Eleanor Huntley

Eleanor Huntley

Architectural Intern

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Eleanor Huntley

Eleanor Huntley

Eleanor Huntley spent her summer months as an architectural intern at TDA. Eleanor, who was initially interested in engineering, decided to study architecture since it provided an opportunity for creative problem solving and affect people's everyday life.

Richmond Heights Upper School – A School in Flight

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Richmond Heights Upper School – A School in Flight
The Richmond Heights Upper School is an 88,000 sf educational facility located in the city of Richmond Heights, Ohio and serves 420 students in grades 7-12. Designed with the concept of "aviation" in mind, this modern school uses a mixture of curved metal panels and light brick to evoke feelings of lightness, movement, and flight.

Richmond Heights Upper School – A School in Flight

The Richmond Heights Upper School is an 88,000 sf educational facility located in the city of Richmond Heights, Ohio and serves 420 students in grades 7-12. Adjacent to the Cuyahoga County airport, the school was designed with the concept of “aviation” in mind. It uses a mixture of curved metal panels and light brick to evoke feelings of lightness, movement, and flight. It is home to School Board offices and a branch of the Cuyahoga County library , which is a major component for students and the local community. Technology and flexibility play a major role in the school’s design which is evident in the extended learning area and other student oriented spaces. The new school expands District athletic capabilities with two gymnasiums for the high school and middle school, along with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) focused areas such as a “Clean Makerspace ” and “Technology Commons.”

Superintendent Dr. Renee Willis, who led the project for the District feels this facility has the opportunity to transform the community. “It’s the crown jewel of this community and has become a catalyst for a renaissance in Richmond Heights, which is on its way to ‘bigger and better.’ The students, the community, and the library all rallied around this project and made it become a reality.”

This educational facility becomes a technological focal point for Richmond Heights students to further their education, collaborate with peers and receive training in many STEAM related programs.
"It's the crown jewel of this community and has become a catalyst for a renaissance in Richmond Heights, which is on its way to ‘bigger and better.’"
Dr. Renee Willis
Superintendent at Richmond Heights Local Schools

Educational Visioning for the Richmond Heights Upper School

In January of 2018, the District and TDA hosted an Educational Visioning session with Richmond Heights Local Schools to explore the educational goals for the new school. Held in the gymnasium of the existing Richmond Heights High School, dozens of educators, designers and District administrators participated in a series of exercises which would serve as a foundation for the design of the new school. They identified the successes and challenges of existing facilities, documented goals for the new building and collaborated in an interactive exercise that allowed attendees to layout the new site and explore spatial relationships between the main components of the building.

James Cowan, the project manager for the Richmond Heights Upper School recalled: “First, we listened to the community and made sure we understood what was most important to them. In terms of spaces and usage but also in terms of safety and security.” Considering security in a building that had both “public” and “private” areas was paramount, “This was a huge component to consider from day one. We had to understand how to best separate public spaces like the gymnasium, Media Center and Student Dining from the more private academic oriented spaces.”

Many of these relationships were established in the Educational Visioning Session and many community meetings throughout the design process.

“Through an Educational Visioning Session and multiple community meetings, we listened to feedback and incorporated their concerns into the design. This was in terms of safety and how spaces should function, even at different times of day.”

Richmond Heights Upper School, Educational Visioning
"In this school, we provided a blend of modern and traditional spaces for the District to educate their students in."
James Cowan
Project Manager

Design Concepts and Features of the Upper School

Since the school is located adjacent to the Cuyahoga County Airport, this provided the inspiration for building materials and design cues. Sweeping curved metal panels accent the exterior and create a feeling of lightness. This gives the sense that the structure could “take off” at any moment and roots it in the aviation aesthetic. This sense of dynamic movement is carried over into the interior using a central corridor which connects the major spaces in the building. This central spine is activated by full scale wall graphics and provides select views into more public spaces through glass curtain walls. Furniture in public spaces includes soft seating that compliments the modern environment.

A partnership between Richmond Heights Local School District and the county airport allows for additional academic programs that introduce high school students to the aviation industry. Space in the school is dedicated to teaching aviation by providing hands on experience with unmanned aerial vehicles and flight simulator equipment.

“Students are excited because they’re engaged in new programs,” said Dr. Willis, she is particularly excited about these new programs for students. “There’s no longer just traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic, you now have innovative electives that excite students. Our teachers are also connecting those electives to their core teachings.”

The architecture combined with new programs, elevates educational opportunities for students in the District.

One challenge that designers faced with this project was incorporating a significant 9′ elevation change from the north end of the site to the south. To prevent costly extensive sitework, the central corridor was constructed to slope across the building. This slope, being ADA compliant, eliminated the need for stairs at various points in the school and further emphasized the concept of movement throughout building.

The school responds to the site elevation changes and its contextual surroundings. Near an existing elementary school on the east side of the site, the Richmond Heights Upper School reduces to a single story so as not to tower over the shorter school . The circulation paths were designed so elementary school students could have access to the new upper school. It also takes advantage of existing traffic patterns, using existing roads for bus transportation and library access. Additionally, the schools’ new athletic facilities and locker rooms were carefully placed to allow students easy access to the existing track and field.

Richmond Heights Upper School, Classrooms and Building Details
"It's surreal, because I remember stomping the streets, knocking on doors, speaking to homeowners’ associations, trying to sell a vision and now the vision has come to reality."
Dr. Renee Willis
Superintendent at Richmond Heights Local Schools

Cuyahoga County Library

A unique feature of the new school is the inclusion of a branch of the Cuyahoga County Library. This public space provides opportunities for both community access and student collaboration. During design, the Richmond Heights Local School District, along with the Cuyahoga County Public Library provided input on the library’s design. The location of this 5,600 sf branch was carefully chosen, and allowed the library to have its own separate entrance while also connecting to the Upper School’s entrance lobby. The library features small group rooms for use by the community , including the YMCA’s Silver sneakers program, with technology-rich connectivity. Easy parking is provided for public access, even while school is in session.

At the “Unity in the Community Back-to-School Extravaganza,” an open house for the school, educators, students, vendors and community members all came to tour the facility, to learn more about the District, support local businesses and celebrate National Night Out, among other activities.

At the event, Superintendent Willis talked about her hopes for an impact on the broader region. “People in the community are excited about the school and hopefully other ideas come from this because I want it to be a city school collaborative.”

The school having been designed with a focus on technology, flexibility and collaboration presents many future opportunities for student and residents.

Richmond Heights Upper School, "Unity in the Community" and the Cuyahoga County Public Library

Designed with Flexibility in Mind

A hallmark of the Richmond Heights Upper School is flexibility. The student dining space is an excellent example of this. During the school day, the space is used for student dining, while in the evening, it can transform into a community space that can be rented out. This assembly space is outfitted with wall mounted mechanized seating for 210 people. A raised platform serves as a stage with lighting and acoustics to support both school or presentation functions.

Middle School academic spaces feature overhead doors that can open into an extended learning area. Educators can open their classrooms and combine with other educators to collaborate on large group projects.

The school’s “Technology Commons” provides a flexible environment for students to meet in smaller informal groups and use the learning stair for presentations. Connected to the Tech Commons is a “Makers Lab” that includes 3D printers, and other modern digital creation tools. These spaces further promote the concept of movement and activity since glass curtain walls allow visibility to the central corridor.

“How do we transform what was yesterday, into what see today…and what we want to see tomorrow?

James Cowan believes that flexible building design can help students incorporate technology to face challenges they will see in the future. “It is hard to respond to changes in technology since it moves so quickly, but we can definitely provide space for students to explore technology. In this school, we provided a blend of modern and traditional spaces for the District to educate their students in.”

James credits the wide variety of stakeholders and leadership from the District.

“This is partially a result of the input we had from stakeholders such as the school board, superintendent , community, students, educators, consultants and interior design teams. Everyone was asking themselves—‘How can we have a balanced, realistic approach for a unique school district like Richmond Heights Local Schools?’

Richmond Heights Upper School, STEAM focused "Clean Makerspace" and the new gymnasium facilities.

"There's no longer just traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic, you now have innovative electives that excite students. Our teachers are also connecting those electives to their core teachings."
Dr. Renee Willis
Superintendent at Richmond Heights Local Schools

Impacting the Community with the Richmond Heights Upper School

“A student’s experience is the most important part of school design, thinking about that is the “bread and butter” of an educational architect’s work.” reflected James on the design process. “There was a point in design where we presented an animation of the building before construction. A middle school student who wasn’t a part of Richmond Height’s Upper School yet, was brought in by the Superintendent to watch the animation. I won’t forget the look on his face, and he said ‘Wow, I can’t wait to see that building next year!’ and that really pumped me up. He is probably attending the new school now.”

The superintendent echoed the same sentiments in bringing that vision to the community during design.

“It’s surreal, because I remember stomping the streets, knocking on doors, speaking to homeowners’ associations, trying to sell a vision,” Dr. Willis commented standing in one of the extended learning areas in the new school, “and now the vision has come to reality.”

Good architectural design can positively impact a community in multiple ways.

“It’s not just about transforming an environment,” commented James, “the school can bring new energy.”

The motto at Richmond Heights Local Schools is: “It’s a new day for the Richmond Heights Way,” James reflects, “I feel like this building embodies that saying. ‘It’s a new day.’ We hope to transform the community with this new beacon for Richmond Heights.”

Project Design Challenges:

  • Develop an efficient 7-12 facility that aesthetically ties into its immediate site, while taking cues from the surrounding site, such as an existing elementary school and residential areas.
  • Incorporate a 9' elevation change running north/south in the school without disrupting circulation on the interior.
  • Develop a 5,600 sf branch of the Cuyahoga County Library inside the school, allowing it to be easily accessible to the public during school operation.
  • Provide clear spatial separation between middle and upper schools and emphasize safety and security measures while also maintaining an open and dynamic interior environment.
  • Utilize existing site circulation to service both the Upper School and Cuyahoga County Library.

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 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.

Internship Experiences: Sophia Blatnik

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Internship Experiences: Sophia Blatnik
Committed to helping educate architects of the future, ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) accepts interns into our office each year. Sophia Blatnik spent the summer as an architectural intern for TDA. Having a natural desire to get involved in public architecture, she was most interested to see how educational design could positively affect a community.

Sophia Blatnik - Architectural Intern

Sophia Blatnik spent the summer as an architectural intern for ThenDesign Architecture (TDA). Having a natural desire to get involved in public architecture, she was most interested to see how educational design could positively affect a community. She found that by integrating 3D visualization techniques into communication, it helps stakeholders better understand many complex architectural ideas. 

"ThenDesign Architecture does a great job thinking about what the future holds for students and then designs buildings to allow for their growth.
Sophia Blatnik
Architectural Intern

Questions for Sophia Blatnik

What is your typical day like?
When I get in, I get my desk ready and refresh my memory on yesterday’s tasks. Each time I have a meeting, I make a lot of notes and what I need to work on. That keeps me on track. Before I leave for the day, I note what needs to happen first thing in the morning. So it refreshes my memory. I work through my assigned tasks and if I have any questions, I either find information on the server, or someone in the studio can help. It is such an open space, it fosters creativity.

Who have you worked with the most during your internship?
I worked with so many people, but the majority of my time, I worked with Claire. She has been an amazing mentor and has put so much trust in me. I really appreciate this because it is my first internship. I have been on many different projects and have gotten a wide range of architectural experiences, from schools to aquatic centers. 

What did you learn that surprised you the most during your internship?
I saw how “forward thinking” architects need to be when designing schools. TDA is always looking to the future, since educational architecture will be used by future generations. It was surprising to see how much thinking goes into how students will be affected in each space. You really need to think about how they feel and whether they will be inspired in that room. I really wasn’t expecting that part of design.

What was the most memorable time of your internship?
The interns were charged with coming up with a “patio lunch” idea and we took charge of that! We had everyone come up with a theme and ideas for food. We all decided  on the foods and figured out what else we needed to bring in for a successful “community gathering.” Everyone chose a “Mamma Mia” theme which is what we were hoping for. It was exciting to design all aspects of this event, even if it was just a patio lunch. That was a lot of fun!

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.

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

Sophia Blatnik

Sophia Blatnik

Architectural Intern

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Sophia Blatnik

Sophia Blatnik

Sophia Blatnik spent the summer as an architectural intern for ThenDesign Architecture (TDA). Having a natural desire to get involved in public architecture, she was most interested to see how educational design could affect a community for the good.

Student-Centered Learning: A Catalyst for Revolutionizing Contemporary Education Design

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Student-Centered Learning: A Catalyst for Revolutionizing Contemporary Education Design
Student-Centered Design” is an architectural strategy in K-12 educational facilities that provides students a variety of spaces for individual and group work, flexible furniture, and modern technology. This empowers them to adapt their environment to how they learn best. Districts across the U.S. are incorporating these strategies into both their curriculum and schools while experiencing greater student satisfaction, fewer disciplinary issues and increased academic time.

Student-Centered Learning: A Catalyst for Revolutionizing Contemporary Education Design

All educators are challenged with identifying the best ways to teach and engage their students. New curriculum methods, school design and academic programs are tested and deployed to capitalize on how kids learn. Recently, more research has been devoted to understanding how a student’s academic success can be impacted by the layout of their physical space. This model, known as “Student-Centered Design,” empowers students to learn how they are most comfortable while providing flexible spaces for collaborative activities. It is currently being adopted by school districts across the United States.

The North Royalton City School District, located in Northeast Ohio, performed extensive Educational Visioning and community engagement to understand whether this style of facility would work for their community. They then embarked on a capital improvement program to develop their schools to support a “student-centered” learning approach. The program incorporated an addition and renovations to their high school, renovations to their middle school, and a consolidation of their 3 elementary schools into one new building. The North Royalton Elementary School is a $35 million, 148,000 sf, building that embodies these principles in its architecture and demonstrates how good educational design benefits each student’s educational outcome.

North Royalton Elementary School: Education in Motion
"I am excited for the kids who will have a combination of a traditional school arrangement and options for flexible activities in the collaborative spaces. I love what this building provides for our teachers and our kids."
Michael Laub
Superintendent of North Royalton City Schools

Developing Educational Environments

Trends in teaching styles, curriculum and school layout have changed over the decades, with “traditional” double loaded corridor schools appearing in the 50’s and 60’s, more “open concept schools” appearing in the 70’s and 80’s, and more technologically advanced buildings replacing blackboards with computer labs and white boards in the 2000’s. Each generation attempts to improve the educational opportunities for their students. Methods that served communities decades ago may not be relevant in today’s fast paced, technologically rich environment.

Since so much time is spent in a school, it is important for educators and architects to work closely together while determining how to best design a learning environment to serve a community’s needs for decades to come.

This is where using a model of “Student-Centered Learning” helps determine timeless priorities that will serve students no matter the decade.

Supporting the Educational Vision: North Royalton City Schools

What is "Student-Centered Learning?"

“Student-Centered Learning” is an educational model that focuses on how students retain information by encouraging collaboration and “active learning” in their day-to-day routines. This model emphasizes small group work between students and opportunities to work “hands on” with their peers and take a more self-directed, sensory approach to education. Students and teachers are encouraged to adapt spaces and furniture to accommodate small group discussions, large presentations and find new ways to collaborate.

“Many districts we talk with are moving towards a “Student-Centered” approach,” reflected Claire Bank, an architect with ThenDesign Architecture who worked on North Royalton’s new ES. “No one has a crystal ball to see the future, but it’s important we build flexibility into the space so it can transform as education transforms.”

In the past, spaces were designed to primarily support lecturing students, who were expected to retain information by listening and taking notes. As student retention has been studied and better understood, spaces have evolved to support the types of activities that help students to learn.

Different Approaches to Education

Education in the 1950's
Education in the 1990's
Education in the 21st Century

The Architectural Approach for "Student-Centered Learning"

In terms of architecture, a “traditional” school layout is characterized by similarly sized classrooms joined by a corridor. In this model, educators teach in a classroom with rows of desks facing the front of the room. Generally, it is inconvenient to rearrange furniture without wheels for small group activities and access to other spaces is limited. The traditional arrangement is good for “lecture style” learning but doesn’t provide easy options for collaboration and active learning.

Architecturally, “Student-Centered Design” calls for a range of flexible spaces that students and educators can easily adapt to change over time with new needs.

One major characteristic of this model is incorporating variously sized spaces and movable furniture specifically designed to accommodate the intended activities. This may include an open collaborative space with flexible soft seating for larger presentations and gatherings, a small group room that supports discussions between smaller groups of students, classrooms with movable walls, and project labs with high-capacity cabinetry and durable furniture to support creative projects. Each space incorporates modern technology including internet connected devices, touch screen projectors, powerful Wi-Fi, and other collaborative tools.

“I think back to our old buildings, and we loved our time there, but they were all the same, classroom after classroom,” recalls Kirk Pavelich, Principal of North Royalton Elementary School. “You come into our learning communities now, and there are all these different types of projects going on. We never could have done this before.”

The result of this model is educational spaces that provide teachers and students dynamic environments that can be easily adapted for movement and specialized lessons.

Traditional School and 21st Century Learning Models

Traditional Classroom Layout
21st Century Classroom Layout
"The new school is good for the community because it provides such a great space for their kids to learn. It's comfortable, it's flexible, and it makes the students excited to go to school and learn."
Claire Bank
Architect

North Royalton City Schools, Educational Visioning

The North Royalton City School District serves around 4,000 students. Faced with aging infrastructure, they decided they wanted to update their curriculum and facilities. For over a decade, the District conducted planning, educational conversations, and community engagements on what the future of education should look like for their community.

In 2015, an Educational Visioning session was held to explore this question and work through ideas with community members, teachers, city officials and District administrators. The result was a forward-thinking plan to redesign their high school as well as consolidate their elementary schools, combining them into a single educational facility to house PreK-fourth grade. Here principles of student-centered learning were discussed.

North Royalton City Schools: Educational Visioning Session

Leading up to and during the design process, ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) gathered information from the School District on how they envisioned education in their community. This crucial exercise provided insight into how the new facilities would be laid out.

It was here that a “student-centered approach” was adopted for both their curriculum and architecture.

TDA began laying out spaces to meet the vision shared by the District. Meeting regularly in building focus groups, educators at each grade level shared how they wanted the spaces to function for their students. Decisions from these groups were incorporated into the building designs. Operable partition locations, furniture choices, “teaching wall” placements, and storage options for classrooms were discussed and incorporated. The spaces were tailored to how teachers from those grades would operate.

These focus groups also toured facilities in surrounding districts, to see how they approached their new buildings.

Transitioning to this type of building model must be deliberately approached. Teachers in a learning community have to coordinate with their colleagues about use of the new spaces. Professional development for the District is often undertaken by educators to prepare for the transition and ensure they are ready to use the new spaces.

The District sponsored professional development to prepare educators for this new model of education when the facility was completed. This was performed over two years and consisted of collaborative staff meetings that involved faculty from three elementary buildings. The team worked through the concepts of student-centered learning and shared flexible spaces, all while striving to develop the teams they would be working with once in the new building.

Vision in a Word

"It's all about the kids. From the moment I started teaching, to being an administrator, it's only what's good for the kids. It starts with getting great educators in the classrooms, but then providing the best facilities to teach in. This facility allows them to move from good to great.”
Greg Gurka
Former Superintendent of North Royalton City Schools

North Royalton Elementary School Layout

The North Royalton Elementary School is a $35 million, 148,000 square foot building that supports over 1,450 students and replaces three elementary schools.

The school resembles a capital letter “E” laid on its back, with 2 large outdoor spaces between each wing. Students are divided into separate learning communities spread across Kindergarten to Fourth grade. Each grade is divided into 3 communities, each with 4 teachers and approximately 100 students. Students spend the majority of their time inside their learning community of 100 students, which allows the young students to thrive in a large facility.

“This is a great facility because we deeply thought about how to meet the needs of the community and flexible workspaces,” commented Greg Gurka, the District superintendent during the design of the facility. “When you see what we have done with the design and construction team these spaces can change year-to-year or week-to-week based on the needs of the students. This building will do that for generations to come.”

Spatially, each community consists of an open collaborative space, 2 classrooms, a small group room, and a project lab. They also have access to the central two-story student dining at the heart of the building, music rooms, art rooms, a gymnasium, and media centers which feature collaborative stairs. Minimized corridor space between areas, creates a more efficient floor plan and results in more usable educational square footage per student.

The perceived scale of the new school was reduced by dividing the large building into smaller communities, limiting the number of people students interact with daily. This prevents them from being overwhelmed but still provides opportunities to collaborate with other learning communities.

North Royalton Elementary School: Space Breakdown

The North Royalton Elementary School hosts a wide variety of spaces that educators make use of daily. Below are a few examples of the new spaces offered in this facility and how they are used.

Student "Community"

This 5-space grouping is the foundation of where students spend the majority of their academic time. The open collaborative space joins individual classrooms and features an open area for educators to rearrange students’ desks to accommodate lectures, group activities, technology use and reading activities. Circulation is located on the edges of the space, with most furniture being on wheels to be easily rearranged. The collaborative is designed for active group work and dynamic activities.

Classrooms are a technology rich environment, with interactive short throw projectors and operable walls to join the classrooms together when doing group work.

Student Dining

Student dining is a hub of the school. Connecting to the servery and kitchen, this 2-story tall open space can fit 1/3 of the student population at once, with a large collaborative stair that can fit an entire grade level. The multitiered floor gives students interesting options to sit with friends, with both hard and soft seating options. Students can access one of the main outdoor spaces. A large collaborative stair is equipped with professional stage lighting, and can serve as a stage when in use as an auditorium space.

Media Center

The school is equipped with two, open media centers. These spaces serve as shared libraries for media storage and are used for classes who need quiet reading times. During the day, students rotate in and out of the space to promote reading, literacy discussions and to relax with a good book. The stair is carpeted so students feel more comfortable lounging there or on the soft furniture in the space.

Travel Zones

During lunch periods and in between classes, travel zones are designated throughout the building. Since traditional corridors have been minimized, students often pass through occupied collaborative areas. Colors of the floor and furniture layouts quickly direct students through these spaces easily and quietly.

Morning drop-off from 36 busses is facilitated through designated doors along the main circulation spine of the building. All 1,450 students can enter and navigate to their communities in under 15 minutes. This feat wasn’t possible in the previous schools.
"This school is different from what some may have experienced, but the kids come right in, get used to it and love to learn in this environment. We can take their passion and energy and provide them with facilities to be successful at anything they aspire to.”
Kirk Pavelich
Principal of North Royalton Elementary School

A Student-Centered Learning Approach

The “Student-Centered Learning” model presents many opportunities for current and future children. The flexible and collaborative design allows students to engage with their peers and teachers more actively while adapting their environment to learn in a more natural way.

School buildings are used by and supported by their communities for decades, and they influence the thousands of students who use them. Having a building that can transform to meet the needs of education in the future is paramount. Focusing on a student’s needs first ensures them a better foundation as they advance in their educational careers.

“I think education is the great equalizer. It’s not our job to teach kids what to think. It’s our job to help kids learn how to think, how to make decisions, how to problem solve and how to work together,” commented Superintendent Laub. “This is what helps them become successful contributors to society as they grow up.”

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 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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Oberlin City Schools Elementary School Ribbon Cutting

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Oberlin City Schools Elementary School Ribbon Cutting
The Oberlin City School District celebrated a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for their new Pre-K through fifth grade elementary school. Attended by the community, district officials and other dignitaries, the new elementary school provides a modern, collaborative learning environment and features environmentally friendly features that make it a model for sustainable school design.

Oberlin City Schools Elementary School Ribbon Cutting

The Oberlin City School District, community, dignitaries along with construction and design professionals gathered on September 12th, to celebrate the opening of the new Oberlin elementary school. This 62,000 sf, 21st century learning facility, features collaborative spaces and advanced environmental control systems. Interior spaces can be reconfigured to meet the changing needs of the district and provide educational opportunities for students of all ages.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. David Hall commented, “Oberlin City Schools embarked on a journey almost 10 years ago to redesign our pre-K 12 facilities. This journey was led by instrumental community leaders,” referring to previous superintendent John Schroth and former OCS Board President Barry Richards. “A facilities team was formed consisting of community members, staff, parents and administrators to make that vision a reality. It implements 21st century teaching strategies across a new facility and all of these stages were critical points to move the district forward.”

Dr. Hall thanked the community for their support of the longtime project.

Superintendent of Oberlin City Schools, Dr. David Hall, gave an opening address, along with Oberlin City Schools Board President, Jason Miller and Ohio State Representative Joe Miller and architect, Brad Gellert.

"Oberlin City Schools embarked on a journey almost 10 years ago to redesign our pre-K 12 facilities. This school implements 21st century teaching strategies across the new facility and all of these stages were critical points to move the district forward."
Dr. David Hall
Superintendent of Oberlin City School District

Celebrating a New, Sustainable Elementary School

The facility cost $17.8 million dollars and was a collaborative project that brought together Oberlin residents, Oberlin City School Staff, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, City Government, Oberlin College, Greenspace Construction, and ThenDesign Architecture. The project responds to the schools IB curriculum and includes a number of forward-thinking design elements.

Project Manager, Brad Gellert commented, “The district and community had a goal in mind of creating a building that met current the needs of Pre-K through 5th grade students and also the future student needs by constructing a building that could be reconfigured due to changing conditions.”

As a result, the building features a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Lab, an extended gymnasium space, open and flexible classroom spaces, advanced environmental controls, and an emotional sensory room.

Dr. Hall spoke about the importance of the building’s environmental impact, “Sustainability is important to the district and our community.” Continuing the theme of a collaborative design project, Dr. Hall recalled, “We created a sustainability committee which provided valuable information on our new Pre-K-5 sustainability initiatives.” These initiatives included, a solar installation that provides 80% of the building’s energy needs, electrical power vehicle charging stations and an environmental dashboard that monitors energy use.

This environmental dashboard, which was partially funded by a grant from Oberlin College Green Edge Fund, can be used by future students to better understand how the building’s energy use affects the environment.

Other low-cost sustainability measures included enhanced insulation in the building’s envelope, orienting the building so its longest side faces north, while also adding larger windows to that façade. This minimizes heat gain and the need for greater cooling.

Attendees included community members, dignitaries, school administration and students.
"This is a prime example of what we can accomplish together, not by working in silos, but working in unison. No one person or institution has the answer, but the unity of the whole is needed for success."
Jason Miller
Oberlin City Schools Board President

Oberlin's "All Inclusive" Public Education

The ceremony was also attended by Ohio State Representative, Joe Miller. Miller, who also attended the building’s groundbreaking ceremony commented on the historic importance Oberlin placed on public education, “It didn’t matter whether students were black or white, Christian or Jewish, it just didn’t matter.” Miller continued, “The Oberlin community said, “We will educate all (185 years ago),” this was public education at its best, they pioneered it and that’s something to be proud of.”

Miller, a former high school social studies teacher, is a strong advocate of public education, and felt Oberlin’s example of inclusion and diversity was admirable.

“Together we will provide education for all children, their zip code doesn’t matter, their socioeconomic status doesn’t matter, where they’re from originally doesn’t matter. They all have an equal shot. You have provided a facility to meet everyone’s needs. I’m so proud of you for doing that.”

After the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Dr. Hall who is passionate about educating Oberlin’s students commented, “I’m blessed, this is the job I want to do, and can’t think of anything else I would rather do. The last year has been an obstacle, it’s been challenging, but we are overcoming that and looking forward to the future.”

The New Oberlin City Schools Elementary School Opened for Tours

"These designs are a long-term commitment. It's not like writing a book report, it's a 10-year effort. Oberlin stuck with it and when you tour the building, you will see the results."
Brad Gellert
Architect

Oberlin City Schools conducted a dedication ceremony for the new Oberlin Elementary School on Sept. 12. From left: Ohio State Rep. Joe Miller, Oberlin City Schools Superintendent Dr. David Hall, Oberlin City Schools Board President Jason Miller, and board members Farah Emeka, Anne Schaum, and Oberlin City Schools Vice-President Dr. Ken Stanley.

A Successful, "Forward-Thinking" Project

Brad Gellert, the architect on the project commented on why it was successful, “We built it on a very tight budget and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to introduce many new sustainability features like a solar array that powers 80% of the building, the electric vehicle charging stations and the environmental dashboard. These are all very innovative initiatives for a school.”

Sustainability and collaborative learning are the hallmarks of this new educational facility and display how elementary schools can embody these principles.

“To create positive change in the world, you must work collaboratively with others,” said Brad Gellert adding “spending years assisting the district with this project is personal. We are proud to be part of that collaboration, and know you will enjoy the building for many years to come.”

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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Meet the Designers: Cynthia Haight

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Meet the Designers: Cynthia Haight
Meet Cynthia, she brings a high level of sophistication and creativity to her role, has a keen eye for detail and passion for educational design.

Cynthia Haight - Interior Designer

Cynthia Haight works as an interior designer for ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) and is driven to provide the best educational environment for students, she integrates, color, texture and detail in all of her projects. Having a background in psychology, Cynthia integrates this understanding into each space she works on to better create comfortable environments that allow users to succeed.

"The design of schools is 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."
Cynthia Haight
Interior Designer

Questions for Cynthia Haight

Why did you become an interior designer?
After working in the field of Psychology and then raising my children, I wanted to try something new, something creative. I have had a passion for dance, music, and art. Interior Design addressed my desire to be creative while remaining practical as well. It is not just about aesthetics but also about solving problems and making a building work for the end-users.

What’s your favorite part of a project you’re working on. Why?
My favorite part of a current project is considering the needs of the special education kindergarten students who will be using the building; making the spaces bright and happy as well as considering the effect of the finishes in terms of all the senses. These renovated spaces will also respect the history and original design of the building.

What will be the biggest changes in education interior design (or interior design in general) in the next few years?
School districts are approaching education from a different direction, one that involves learning though engagement and collaboration. This requires a different approach from designers as well in terms of space planning and furniture types. Our design must support the activities in the spaces.

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.

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

Cynthia Haight

Cynthia Haight

Interior Designer

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Cynthia Haight

Cynthia Haight

Cynthia Haight works as an interior designer for ThenDesign Architecture (TDA). Driven to provide the best educational environment for students, she integrates, color, texture and detail in all of her projects. Having a background in psychology, Cynthia integrates this understanding into each space she works on to better create comfortable environments that allow users to succeed.

North High School – Mind, Heart and Body

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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 City 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.

North High School, Eastlake Ohio

North High School in Eastlake Ohio is a 9-12 facility embodying the educational ideals of the Willoughby-Eastlake City School District. It promotes student/teacher collaboration and integrates advanced technology, enhancing education in the region. This 2-story, 187,000 sf facility serves its 1,100 students and houses a state-of-the-art performing arts center that seats 500 guests. A central “Student Union” acts as the main circulation hub which leads to a competition gymnasium, media center and dual academic collaboratives. Having been developed in parallel with its sister school Willoughby South, North High School is a 21st century learning facility that exemplifies the district’s goals of modernizing its curriculum and provides flexible spaces to support student centered learning.

Innovative Learning

Innovative student education is nothing new for the Willoughby-Eastlake City School District. Having renovated a training building on the former Eaton Corporate Campus in Willoughby Hills, they began experimenting with modern forms of student engagement and teaching. This educational initiative is known as the Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation.

The School of Innovation was a testing ground for the Willoughby-Eastlake City School District and they began implementing a “student centered learning model” with select students on a small scale.

Instead of the typical double loaded corridor which connected relatively small classrooms and focused on teachers lecturing students from the front of the room, this new educational model focused on “project-based learning,” where students were encouraged to collaborate with each other in small groups. With a more flexible open environment, educators were able to teach in a way that traditional educational facilities didn’t support.

As this program developed, the district began seeing successes in the form of student satisfaction and greater engagement in coursework. From these positive early results, they knew this “student centered” approach would be a good fit for their community.

The district then began to create a facilities plan that would address each school in their community, bringing this new model.
"Everything that's happening in public education right now is very exciting... Good design really facilitates many different methods of learning."
Abby Rainieri
Educational Design Lead

Educational Visioning

ThenDesign Architecture assisted the district by conducting an educational visioning session. This event brought together community members, district administration and students to define how they wanted to address education in their area. This session identified a vision for education and helped lay the groundwork for how future buildings would be designed.

After passing a bond issue to fund the project, the district decided to create three new buildings, Longfellow, a PreK-5 building, two new high schools (North High School and Willoughby South) and then renovate the rest of the existing schools.

This community-wide update changed the course of education in the district.

Abby Rainieri, Project Manager for North High School commented, “I think student centered learning is very effective at the high school level, because at this stage of education, every student is different. Whether their path takes them to higher education, or right into a career, these spaces are tailored to suit that direction.”

North High School

Located off Stevens boulevard, in Eastlake Ohio, the curved and sweeping exterior uses metal panels and brick to mimic the dynamic forms of Lake Erie in this lake front community.

North was conceptually organized around the idea of unifying a student’s “mind,” “heart” and “body.” A centralized “Student Union” is the entryway to the school, includes student dining, and serves as the “heart” of the building. This space was named after the historic “Union High School,” and is the largest collaborative space which leads to all other locations in the building. The gymnasium and performing arts spaces are the most active learning spaces and symbolize the “body” portion of the building, while the academic spaces symbolize the “mind.” These 3 components, mind, heart, and body are the organizing principals and serve as a “living diagram” for the building.

The academic spaces are divided into the STEM and Humanities programs. Each one is organized around an open collaborative space and likened to the right and left halves of the brain–two necessary elements of a functioning whole. Classrooms in each collaborative are connected to their hub by overhead doors which allow the common space to become an extension of the classroom. Architecturally, the STEM and Humanities hubs are linked by a circulation bridge which overlooks an outdoor “learning commons.”

The second floor of these hubs host small group rooms that are separated by glass walls with integrated technology. The glass provides a visual connection, while maintaining privacy to allow teachers the ability to work with individual students, or for groups of students to prepare and rehearse presentations in a more formal setting.

"Students are free to use the collaborative areas to suit their needs. They want to interact with their friends like at a coffee shop or in their house."
Abby Rainieri
Educational Design Lead

Interior Finishes

Similar to the deep collaboration among district administrators, community members and designers, both the architectural and interior design teams blended together. Designs for interior circulation and educational program integrated with color schemes, interior textures and furniture.

Within the Humanities hub, warmer colors and soft surfaces were used to reflect a learning style that promotes conversation and idea sharing. In the STEM collaborative, building systems were exposed, harder textures were used along with cool colors. This way the architecture mimicked the science and math fields practiced there. In addition, both academic wings have access to a central learning courtyard where students gather to perform outdoor experiments.

Commenting on how the flexible spaces are used by students, Abby explained “What is rewarding is seeing students using those spaces in ways we didn’t foresee.” Students are free to use the areas to suit their needs and feel personally connected to them. “They figure out how to use spaces in their own unique way. They don’t want to sit in the rows all day. They want to interact with their friends like at a coffee shop or in their house.”

The school can be a beautiful and functional hub where students want to stay and work together.

“They might be sprawled out on a learning stair, or laying down on carpet, or leaning back on an ottoman, and that mimics how they naturally want to interact with each other and learn”

When students are free to explore and personalize the space, they take better care of it and make it their own.
"There are often two full classes in the collaborative areas. They may be stretching out and writing, sitting on the soft seating. The students are far more productive that way. As long as they are engaged, what difference does it make where they learn?"
Steve Thompson
Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools Superintendent

Performing Arts Center

Since both North and South High School were developed in parallel, they mirror each other in terms of academic program. However, South High School received expanded athletic facilities, while North High School enjoyed an expanded performing arts and music space. In the Willoughby-Eastlake City School District, students can choose which school they would like to attend based on interest.

Just off the main entrance of the school is an anteroom for the main auditorium. This community focused performance space can be accessed through its own separate entrance after hours, or opened during the school day, extending the student union.

The auditorium includes state-of-the-art lighting and acoustic treatment, seating up to 500 guests. Adjacent to backstage is a set construction lab, which is connected both to the exterior and interior by overhead doors. This way large “set pieces” can easily be moved from the construction bay to the stage by students.

North High School Fulfilling the Educational Goals for the District

With the district having identified and tested educational programs through the School of Innovation on a small scale, they were able to scale this program and develop an architectural solution that ensured it would benefit the broader student population.

For Abby, the design at North High School represents an opportunity to create flexible space where students are free to use spaces as they see fit. “I think you have to learn in the way that’s best for you, whether that’s being a visual or auditory or kinetic learner, you know the way works for you. These flexible spaces “level the playing field” and allow you to be successful regardless of your learning style.”

This project allows students to learn how they are most comfortable and prepares them for their future.

Abby is optimistic about the future of education, “Everything that’s happening in public education right now is very exciting. Good design supports education by creating different types of spaces, different types of furniture, allowing access to new technology, and making easy access to the outdoors. It really facilitates many different methods of learning.”

Project Design Challenges:

  • Develop North and South High Schools in parallel so their program of requirements matches, but are designed specifically for their site.
  • Incorporate the "student centered learning" principles gleaned from the Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation into the spacial layout of the high school.
  • Organize the building layout around a series of "collaborative hubs" that serve the curriculum in the school.
  • Align the architectural design, interior finishes and building color to support the coursework in that particular area.

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 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.