A renaissance is taking place to restore Cincinnati to a walkable and sustainable community. Locating this office project in the inner city represents the best in historical reuse and renewal. This project, in the second floor of a three-story rowhouse, houses the office of Lohre & Associates Marketing Communications, www.lohre.com, and Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy, www.green-cincinnati.com, the second floor tenant. The building is among other older inner-city buildings undergoing renovation. The firm is a marketing communications agency that designs literature, web sites, photography, and trade show exhibits primarily for industrial clients, and which has a green building education and marketing division. There are four full-time employees, two-part time employees, and dozens of specialized associates. The building is used as an office on the first two floors and a residence on the upper floors. This project earned LEED Platinum at a low cost due to material salvage and reuse. The motivation to pursue LEED certification was the owner’s green building division, which prepares students for the LEED AP exams. The project's most significant success was in demonstrating that LEED certification, even at the highest level, does not have to cost more. It is projected that energy savings are 25% and return on investment will be four years, excluding a $3,500 sawdust pellet stove that was purchased to serve as a centerpiece and conversation starter for the office by demonstrating renewable energy.

MSA has led the design effort to transform this series of industrial 1970's era buildings into a new career development campus.  Extensive campus wayfinding and landscape renovation occurred as a part of the building expansion and renovations. The main building was expanded with a new entry, media "Cybrary", administration offices, and new circulation routes to major nodes throughout the building.  Other renovations include classrooms, soft labs, adult education labs, and a new culinary arts institute.  Subsequent renovations have included a new cafeteria, program labs, science labs, high bay skills labs, and other support spaces.  New areas were constructed for Surgical Assisting, Biotech Forensic Science, and Practical Nursing Labs.   Other buildings on campus have been renovated including the Public Safety Services Center, Instructional Resource Center, District Offices, Veterinary Technology, and a Fire Training Facility. 

The Blue Ash Recreation Center involves a significant renovation and addiitions to the existing facility.  The new areas include fitness areas, gymnasium, 160 meter indoor track, weight training & aerobic areas, and new locker rooms and saunas.  Exterior design features include new entry towers, heavy timber trellises, and complimentary materials to the existing building.  The project utilizes energy efficient glazing with sunscreening at the south facade and an off-peak energy storage system to reduce utility costs.

Built on an empty lot in Hyde Park, this new 4,100 square foot home was designed to be authentically traditional both inside and out, while addressing the contemporary lifestyle of a couple with three young children.  Emulating a traditional, four-square home, the formal spaces, including the foyer, library, and dining room are located toward the street.  The more casual spaces are centralized with the kitchen, breakfast, and family room defined by beams and flanking columns without compromising the feeling of openness.  French doors lead to a sitting room that resembles the enclosed porches commonly found in the neighborhood.  Between the kitchen and the side porch leading to the detached garage, an owner’s entry complete with a cubbies for each family member, a memo blackboard, and “mom’s desk” serves as the staging area for the family. One of the most important features of this home is its thoughtful circulation. Accordingly, the home features two separate stairs. One connects the rear patio/play yard with the lower level recreation room and future guest suite.  The other, with its artfully detailed balustrade ascends from the foyer to the second floor hallway featuring an inviting window seat flanked by bookshelves.

Following up on the successful transformation of a concrete block futon store into a comfortably scaled, forty seat Asian restaurant and sushi bar, the design team was asked to expand the space to include a much needed waiting area, two Hibachi grills, a dedicated liquor bar, additional space that could be reserved for private parties, and outdoor dining space.  The expanded restaurant allows patrons to choose from a wide variety of dining experiences.The most significant challenge for the design team was to maintain the intimate feel of the original restaurant while nearly tripling its size. This was accomplished by clearly defining the distinct functional areas while carefully composing views from one space to another.  Most notably a framed bamboo thicket separates the activity of the hibachi from the dining room. For private parties, this opening can be further screened with an automated scrim. The design team was fully responsible for the selection of furnishings, finishes, lighting, accessories and artwork.  Sustainable measures include insulated translucent panels that illuminate the space with soft, natural light, floor tiles with recycled content, recyclable carpet tiles, sound absorbing ceiling planks made from fast growth wood fibers, and bamboo paneling.

Creating a modern aesthetic and a sense of openness within an existing footprint were the primary goals of this project.  While the entire Master Bath was completely remodeled, fixture locations and interior/exterior openings remained in their previous locations.The compartmentalized shower was opened on two sides with glass panels to create open sightlines.  By flooding the space with natural light, both the shower and the bathroom feel much larger. The cantilevered stone counter also helps to enlarge the space by holding the millwork off the floor & walls to expose all edges of the room.  A custom medicine cabinet also appears to hover in mid-air, permitting mirrored panels to slide behind and conceal additional storage shelves.  Stock components used in an unconventional manner ensure that task lighting is not compromised, and adds to the layered arrangement of the vanity.  Detailing of the tub deck matches the vanity, and fixture selections enhance the modern aesthetic.  A tub apron clad in mosaic tile complements the stone flooring, and will provide years of durability.

Renovation of a 70-year-old house into executive administration offices on the same campus as the new mental health treatment center for Lindner Center of HOPE.

Adaptation of a protoype building design, for a major regional bank, to finish out the shell of a developer's new retail center.

In April 2009, Sara Lee unveiled its new state-of-the-art R&D campus, known as the Kitchens of Sara Lee, at its headquarters in Downer's Grove, Illinois.  The 120,000 sq. ft. campus space, comprised of the R&D center, office space and food plants (including bakery, meat, and beverage operations), was designed by Hixson using a variety of innovative approaches to create productive and creative workspaces for more than 100 Sara Lee personnel, including chefs, scientists and engineers and others related to food and beverage R&D product development and production. According to Sara Lee, this marks the first time these professionals have been together under one roof, in a collaborative, creative working environment.  The unification of art and science not only fosters innovation but also speeds the company's time-to-market capabilities. Key points and features of the project, which Sara Lee CEO Brenda Barnes noted was completed on-time and on-budget, include: The Kitchens of Sara Lee team used this project as the opportunity to capture the excitement of the changes through a significant branding effort, conducted with Hixson. New brand elements, special product displays and more can be seen the minute one enters the front door and lobby for the facility and are designed to let everyone who visits to know they have arrived at the Kitchens of Sara Lee. The project involved the coordinated efforts and input of more than 20 groups within Sara Lee, plus a multitude of vendors and consultants in areas such as kitchen, furniture, equipment, labs, specialized utilities and more. The new kitchens and pilot labs were designed to accommodate the ability to "plug-and-play" equipment in the configuration that would be required for each project. This allowed the project team to conserve space rather than accommodate, in a fixed installation, every piece of equipment that could be required. Further, this modular innovation allows unused equipment to be stored, eliminating the need to clean and maintain it when not in use. The storage space in one area was doubled to accommodate the plug-and-play equipment through the installation of a modular mezzanine system, as well as a lift that provides access to both floors. In addition to providing greater flexibility, the mezzanine system can be classified as equipment, enabling faster depreciation, and be moved/reused elsewhere in the future. This project truly took advantage of Hixson's multi-disciplined capabilities. Throughout the course of the project, 14 of Hixson's 16 in-house disciplines were called upon to provide their specialized knowledge and experience.  

Renovation of a troubled neighgorhood bar into an upscale bar with a big city feel. Custom interiors, custom artwork, and an outdoor room are all exquisitely detailed to create a balanced whole.

This renovation and expansion of the Cheviot/Westwood Post Office more than doubled the size of the existing facility by expanding into an adjacent former bowling alley.  Exterior work included a structural silicone-glazed curtainwall and entrance structure for the new public facade, aluminum panel clad structure, and building-supported aluminum canopies. Construction was phased to allow the post office to remain  functional, including maintaining the security of operations.

This project involves the renovation of existing office space in an historic district.  Over 700 square feet of renovations include independent offices and additional conference space. Roth Partnership also performed master planning for the main office branch in its current Downtown location.  Included is an analysis of furniture, files, and department location options.

The architectural design and planning for this 550-acre boy scout camp features a new structure for Cub World activities, a camping facility, an eighteen-acre lake, a climbing tower and general ancillary support areas.  Also designed for the campus are sixteen staff lodging cabins, each capable of housing four staff members.  In addition, a large residence for the ranger is included on the premises.