Project: To Reimagine Memorial Junior High School

Written by

Memorial Junior High School Project
ThenDesign Architecture is taking on the project to reimagine Memorial Junior High School. It will become the home for our new offices. This historic building has stood in the community for almost 100 years. In order to maintain the unique historic nature of Willoughby, TDA decided to repurpose this old school building instead of demolishing it. We invite you to view the progress.

ThenDesign Architecture is excited to undertake the project to reimagine Memorial Junior High School. 

Willoughby Ohio has rich historic roots. Structures downtown date back to the 1800’s with many members of the community being life-long residents.

ThenDesign Architecture (TDA), has operated out of Willoughby Ohio for the past 68 years. Located in the Carrel building downtown, TDA is a leader in K-12 school design, having partnered with over 120 districts throughout Ohio. We specialize in architecture, planning and interior design.

Our two partners, Bob Fiala and Chris Smith, have assembled a group of 50 creatives across 7 countries.

In order to maintain the unique historic nature of the city, TDA took on the project to reimagine Memorial Junior High School. This historic building has stood in the community for almost 100 years. Rather than demolish it, TDA, decided to repurpose this old school building. Ultimately it will become the future home of ThenDesign Architecture.

The 24,000 sqft renovated building houses a 2 story architecture studio for designers working on school and other public buildings.

Currently, site work is being done to accommodate staff and visitor parking at the rear of the building. An effort was made to keep this area pedestrian friendly to better connect it to the downtown Willoughby environment.

New windows were installed to maximize light entering the building and restore the façade in its original design.

Interior structural elements and historic details are being left exposed, so the office can exist as a living museum, showcasing current and historic architectural trends. Gypsum walls only extend 8’ exposing the upper walls and ceiling. This allows occupants to make a visual connection to the systems that make up the building.

Iconic details were maintained throughout the school. New windows that replicate the original look were installed. Some lockers were left in the entryway to harken back to the original use and textured masonry will be left exposed in various places throughout the building.

New sidewalks were installed to beautify the site and allow for better pedestrian use. Future areas for landscaping are being planned that take into account views to Wes Point Park.

Site work includes clearing old sidewalks and debris so new stairs and paths can be installed.

TDA is excited work on the project to reimagine Memorial Junior High School as a place where the future of education can be shaped.

To learn more about us and our work, subscribe to our YouTube channel or TDA Insights.

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

Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

Get our newsletter with insights, events and tips.

Facebook Linkedin Twitter Instagram

Recent Posts:

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.
See more Posts

Reimagining Memorial Junior High School – A New Chapter

Written by

Reimagining Memorial Junior High School – A New Chapter
At a time when historic buildings are sometimes not valued, a small piece of downtown Willoughby is being repurposed as an architecturally symbolic landmark in our city.

Across the nation, cities large and small are faced with the difficult decision of how to deal with structures dating from the turn of the century. In many cases these structures haven’t been maintained well, with damaged facades and interiors which are difficult to use in modern settings. When the costs to update it outweigh the building’s usefulness, it will either sit vacant or be demolished. However, as these beautiful old structures disappear, so does the history and collective story surrounding that structure. Entire neighborhoods can suffer when landmarks that define a particular “place” are erased.

One landmark in Willoughby Ohio, is Memorial Junior High School. Sitting between the converging roads of River and Center Street, this old school faces downtown Willoughby and can easily be seen from Wes Point Park and by pedestrians. The building which has been standing for 95 years, appears in many of Willoughby’s early photography and is known by almost everyone in the community.

Named “Memorial” after soldiers who died in battle since the Civil War, this brick structure was a school for junior high school students at its initial opening in 1925. As the population of Willoughby grew in the late 1950’s, a new high school was built on Shankland Road on the site of the former Chandler Farm. The former high school next door became the Junior High School and Memorial became its annex. It continued to serve as the Junior High School until 1972, when it transitioned to a vocational school and career center.

For the last several years, the building has fallen into disrepair and sat abandoned and vacant—until recently.

Exterior:
Previous
Next

ThenDesign Architecture (TDA) is reimagining Memorial Junior High School near downtown Willoughby to renovate the structure and move our offices to that location.

TDA, is an architectural, planning and design firm that has operated in Willoughby for almost 70 years. For the last 21 years, we were in the Carrel Building, another historic structure constructed in 1885. With the expansion of our 60 + staff and operations, we needed a new home.

Our two partners of the firm, Chris Smith and Bob Fiala, have led the firm’s growth and expansion. Chris Smith who serves as our president, joined the firm in 1998, and was named partner in 2004, as part of a well-crafted succession plan. Bob Fiala, who currently serves as the Mayor of Willoughby, is no longer involved in the day to day operations but provides strategic oversight and helps to maintain the culture. They both appreciate the historic character of downtown and sought to maintain that aesthetic with this new facility.

In fact, the project manager for the building’s renovation, Jeff Henderson is a longtime member of the community and former Memorial Junior High School Alumni. He never thought he would come back to school this way, but we feel we couldn’t have picked a better leader for the design team.

Studio Space:

While there are significant challenges associated with renovating this beautiful 24,000 sqft structure for our use, the design team is working to maintain both the unique characteristics of the building, while updating and modernizing the facility for the 21st century. Our design philosophy on this site involves showcasing the many intricate details of construction that went into the building. As our team developed designs for both the interior and exterior of the space, we found many opportunities to highlight the historic construction materials, while modernizing it for a fast paced, technically progressive architecture firm. Instead of finishing the construction details, many of the old ceilings, walls and finishes throughout the structure are remaining exposed. This in effect makes our new headquarters a living museum, showcasing not only current architectural designs but historic ones as well.

The completed reimagining of Memorial Junior High School includes an open mezzanine studio space with high open ceilings, a multipurpose recording studio, an open and flexible gathering space and classroom along with boardrooms and offices. Technologically, the building is being retrofitted with high speed internet connections, audio, and video hookups, along with the electrical connections needed to support all the advanced tools in the creative design fields. This unique office environment is designed with modern workspaces in mind, while preserving and celebrating the character of the historic building. This is a complete reimagining of Memorial Junior High School.

Interior Spaces and Stairwells:

With TDA’s role in educational facilities’ design and our involvement in downtown Willoughby, this move has been both a symbolic and practical one for us. Having worked with over 120 school districts in Cleveland and the surrounding areas, educators and administrators rely on our expertise in architecture, master planning and educational visioning. We felt a strong connection to this beautiful historic school building when considering locations for our new facility. Not only can we renovate this piece of history, cementing its future in the community, but also celebrate the significance of using a historic school as our new headquarters to continue innovating in educational design.
 
In order to stay updated on construction and future plans, subscribe to our newsletter and social channels to see what is next for this beautiful structure and the ever-changing field of education.

Building Details:
Do you have memories of this historic building? We would love to hear them. Reach out and let us know.
ThenDesign Architecture

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

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.
Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

Get our newsletter with insights, events and tips.

Facebook Linkedin Twitter Instagram
Recent Posts:

A Virtual Groundbreaking: Brecksville Celebrates Construction of New School

Written by

A Virtual Groundbreaking: Brecksville Celebrates Construction of New School
ThenDesign celebrates the groundbreaking of a new educational facility in Brecksville.

In order to stay safe and hamper the spread of Covid-19, large gatherings and public events are largely being limited to halt the spread of the virus. However, that does not mean that all design and construction phases have been stopped. While districts, designers and construction officials may be in a difficult moment, safety measures can be put in place, so a variety of projects continue moving forward. Across Ohio, administrators and districts continue to plan for additional school projects with several groups in the Cleveland area moving forward with construction projects.

One such city, Brecksville, Ohio, marked the beginning of construction of their new Brecksville-Broadview Heights City Schools’ PreK-5 facility on July 21st with a ceremonial groundbreaking on a hot and overcast day. This project, which follows principles in modern educational design, offers students a variety of opportunities for collaboration, technology integration, and multi-purpose learning spaces to further their education. Several dozen dignitaries from the city, the school superintendent, as well as the mayor and many other design and construction team members, attended to celebrate the commencement of construction. Following comments made by Superintendent Joelle Magyar, the Honorable Mayor Jerry Hruby thanked citizens for their support of the project and highlighted all that this new facility can provide students in the future. Ceremonial shovels (spaced six feet apart) were used to move the first bits of earth and posed for pictures.

With the distancing guidelines in effect, the event was captured from a variety of camera angles and live streamed to social media for parents and students to take part. An aerial video system (drone) took footage of the construction site and event, while several additional angles were captured on the ground for post-production.

In order to support the district, the design team from TDA, attended. Chris Smith, Ryan Schmit, Mia Katz and Jeff Crocker who completed the design phases of the building attended with a photographer. The project now enters construction administration and TDA is working closely with Shook Construction to ensure the building is completed successfully. The entire team is committed to supporting the district from all aspects of production, whether that is in design, construction, or communication.
"School buildings have the opportunity to serve as hubs for the community and serve the population for decades to come..."
ThenDesign Architecture

These types of groundbreaking events are key to furthering public support, communicating the project’s progress, and provide an avenue to bringing teachers, parents, and students inside the process. School buildings have the opportunity to serve as hubs for the community and serve the population for decades to come and TDA works with stakeholders, engaging the community to ensure the end product is a well-designed space that makes a positive impact in on students’ lives for years to come.

We are all navigating through a challenging time due to the pandemic. Our work helping districts plan to reopen the schools in the fall, and assisting those communities that continue to plan for educational opportunities for their students and staff, will help them to confidently move forward from a position of newfound safety and strength.

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

Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

Get our newsletter with insights, events and tips.

Facebook Linkedin Twitter Instagram

Recent Posts:

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.

City of Willoughby: Historic Center of Medical Education

Written by

City of Willoughby: Historic Center of Medical Education
Even though Willoughby is a small city, it's impact is huge in the educational and medical fields in Ohio. How much do you know about the City of Willoughby?

Willoughby Ohio is known for being an idyllic “small town” in Northeastern Ohio. However most don’t know that even though it’s small, it made a huge impact in the founding of modern medical and educational facilities in our state. The secret to understanding this, is found in the name of our city…Willoughby.

It’s easy to ignore a town’s name, relegating it to the “dust bin,” of history, but there is a lot in a name. Charlton, Chagrin and Chagrin Mills–all of those were given to our community before the early citizens settled on Willoughby. In 1834, the residents (under 400 people at the time–and a lot of cats from the grist mill) changed the town name to “Willoughby,” after Dr. Westel Willoughby, a medical doctor serving in New York state. The suggestion came from Dr. George W. Card and Dr. John M. Henderson, two of his students, who founded the Willoughby University of Lake Erie, trying to draw their teacher, Dr. Willoughby, to support their medical school. Their big ambition? To create the most advanced medical school in Northeast Ohio.

Unfortunately, the doctor didn’t relocate to Ohio, but was so honored by their efforts, that he donated a complete medical library, he outlined the first year’s curriculum and sent $1,200 in support to the fledgling school. They had his blessing, despite the long distance. Around that time, the city incorporated and adopted his name. This signaled the beginning of advanced medical education in Northeast Ohio.

From the start, education influenced the story of our city.

Educations Impact in Willoughby

While hopes were high for the school, The Willoughby University of Lake Erie only operated between 1834-1846. It produced 618 graduates, 160 of which were doctors. They fanned out across the region, helping those in need and starting practices all over the state. This group was educated in modern methods of medicine (like using anesthesia for surgical operations—aren’t we glad for that?) and included anatomy, chemistry and surgery. Many of their techniques were controversial and when the source of cadavers for the anatomy classes were discovered, there was a huge public outcry. (Grave robbing always gets you in trouble with the public!). This, combined with a loss of funding and internal disagreements shuttered the university in 1847. The faculty dispersed but many of them ultimately seeded medical schools elsewhere in the state. Both the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and The Ohio State University College of Medicine, trace their roots through these early pioneers.
Previous
Next

Specifically, the OSU College of Medicine traces its lineage through the original Willoughby University of Lake Erie. OSU states, “The College [of Medicine] stands upon a foundation of six medical schools with a continuity of college life spanning 178 years.” This makes them the second oldest medical college in the state incorporating all the major medical disciplines.

So even though the Willoughby University of Lake Erie was shuttered in 1847, The Willoughby Female Seminary assumed the building and opened shortly afterwards. This educational institution was one of the first female colleges in Northeast Ohio. It was novel at the time since opportunities for women to enroll in higher education was not a common occurrence. It was dedicated to educating women in math, music, art, language, and philosophy. Due to its popularity, it enrolled 100 women in the first year of operation.

So, the little town of Willoughby, was named after an educator and doctor. While it wasn’t specifically known for medicine or education, it seeded world renowned medical and educational schools, was home to advances in medicine and supported women’s education, long before this was commonly accepted.

All that buried in the name of our city!

Transition to Modern History

During the late nineteenth and early 20th century, Willoughby was a peaceful oasis outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Later this idea would be further popularized by the Twilight Zone episode, “A Stop at Willoughby”. Cleveland, which was a busy metropolis, offered many economic opportunities for American workers and its proximity to nearby communities fronting Lake Erie, furthered its appeal. Even though automobiles were common in Cleveland in the early 1900’s, the advent of expressways in the early 1940s shortened time it took motorists to travel outside the city. When the national Interstate Highway System came through in late 1950s and mid-1970s, it more easily allowed those living in Cleveland to enjoy cottages or second homes in the surrounding cities–Willoughby being one. Cleveland continued developing and more and more people living in this urban environment, could easily travel and enjoy smaller lake front communities.

Today, Willoughby continues to build on its “small town roots” but still providing easy access to Cleveland. A thriving downtown promotes many community activities. One activity is the annual “ArtsFest.” This downtown gathering brings together over 140 juried artists, musicians, and local food, all centered around the downtown neighborhood. Another event is the “Last Stop Willoughby Parade” which celebrates the Willoughby’s historic connection to the rail industry in Cleveland.

City leadership regularly, meets with surrounding municipal leaders to strategize on issues facing their communities. (Even if it’s just to record a Facebook video together, encouraging citizens to enjoy a doughnut or beer when businesses reopen.) In 1980, Richard Gaede F.A.I.A. was hired to conduct a study of Downtown Willoughby, redesign the streetscape, foster economic viability, and preserve the central historic district. On November 29, 1995 approximately nine blocks centered around the junction of Erie and River Streets and Euclid Avenue in Downtown Willoughby were placed on the National Historic Register, recognizing the architectural importance of the structures to the community, and further promoting business downtown.

"Historically, Willoughby foreshadowed a major impact in education, medicine, and the arts."
ThenDesign Architecture

While there are always ups and downs, education continues to be a regular focus of the Willoughby-Eastlake communities, with a recent $155 million bond issue passing narrowly, providing funding for the construction of three new schools in the area, along with a new YMCA and senior center.

The Fine Arts Association, was established by Jim and Louise Savage. Early on, it was hosted in their home, but has expanded through the generations to its current home on Mentor avenue. The Association is provides music and art lessons for young people, grants scholarships and sponsors other art related activities in the community. The Savages, who were masters at “getting things done” dedicated themselves to creating a space to provide opportunities for education in the fine arts. Now, 62 years later, the FAA enhances the lives of over 60,000 people annually through classes in theater, music, dance, and art, and stands as one of the preeminent organization to advocate for art education in Northeast Ohio.

What is in a name? Historically, Willoughby foreshadowed a major impact in education, medicine, and the arts. Our community continues its tradition of promoting education, and fostering a strong sense of civic pride and that reaches far back to its historic roots.

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

Ryan Caswell

Ryan Caswell

Communications

Get our newsletter with insights, events and tips.

Facebook Linkedin Twitter Instagram
Recent Posts:
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.