A lab and showcase all wrapped up in one is what Fleischman | DS Architecture has created for itself in the historic L.N. Gross Building on Gougler Avenue in Kent.
The firm is moving 21 employees from its North Water Street office to the 1928 building, which originally was owned by the L.N. Gross Co., a women’s dress manufacturer before closing in the 1930s.
"It’s been around for 90 years now; hopefully, we’ll have it for another 90 years and continue its legacy," said Eric Pros, project design manager for the firm.
Jeff Meyers, principal architect and firm owner, said the building is a vast improvement for employees who were squeezed into five or six small offices on North Water Street. He also said the firm’s aspirations demand nicer digs.
"Our space across the river is worn; it’s broken up," he said. "We’re on the way to becoming the premier designer in northeast Ohio. The staff is jazzed beyond belief. This is something that’s been part of the vision for going on eight years."
In addition to being a comfortable, well-laid out home for designers and architects, Meyers said the building can serve as a showplace of what’s possible in an older building.
The exposed brick walls, original window treatments and exposed ceiling provide character, a glimpse into the building’s past, and a showplace of the firm’s talents when clients visit, he added.
The firm strives for fairness in all it does, Pros said.
"It’s not just fairness amongst people but with architecture in general and the world at large," he said. "[The building] had good bones but needed some attention."
Their focus on fairness could also be seen as a focus on justice, since part of that focus included seeking LEED certification, a standard for sustainable development.
The project qualified for LEED certification and a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office, which Meyers has said are sometimes challenging to reconcile.
"The windows, for example, you’ll notice are a little noisy," he said, explaining the front windows of the building had to be kept to qualify for historic preservation funds.
Following LEED standards strictly would have meant replacing the windows with energy efficient new ones, he said.
In redeveloping the building, Fleishman | DS Architecture obtained state and federal grants for historic preservation to help pay for the $6.2 million project.
In late 2016, the project was awarded $906,000 in tax credits toward the renovation of the project. A federal tax credit of $1.24 million also is being applied.
Meyers also said the layout allows maximum collaboration among designers and architects.
"The work stations are set up for more collaboration," he said. "That is the core value that drive design the most. I know my staff will be more productive than they have been over the last three years."
There are six studio teams within the firm, which are grouped together: Police, fire and administration; restaurant/retail; higher education; healthcare; K-12 education; and adaptive transformation.
"This project is an adaptive transformation project," said Pros. "Basically, it’s reinventing a building."
There’s a conference room for meetings with clients and also one for use by employees needing to concentrate on a given project.
The office also features a kitchen, which will be shared with Onus Aqua LLC, which Pros said plans to move in sometime in the next several months.
The office also features an elevated work area and a side exit from which large displays can be carried out.
Between Onus and the architecture firm is a tower with a small apartment, which Pros said is still available for rent, although he said he’s thinking about renting it himself.
Meyers also credited building owner Bob Cene, an architect himself, with creating an environment in which Fleischman | DS Architecture could be creative.
"What he strives for is architecture and design excellence," Meyers said. "It was almost like he didn’t want me and Eric to worry about money too much. I haven’t cried yet today, but I’ve gotten close a couple times."
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