John Reed grew up in rural Carlisle, PA the son of an architect. Interestingly, John Reed’s father also grew up in rural Carlisle, PA the son of an architect.

In 2013, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles opened a permanent exhibit focused on the life and legacy of Anne Frank. At just under 4,000 square feet, the exhibit is relatively small, but its impact hits you straight in the heart. Aside from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, it is the most extensive exploration of Anne Frank’s life in any museum. The exhibit draws attention to the devastation of the Holocaust while highlighting Anne’s infectious spirit and the future life she hoped to have. Working alongside Mehrdad Yazdani, Mimi Lam, a senior designer in our Yazdani Studio, led the design of the exhibit. In what she calls both…

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), its members, network of LEED professionals and community leaders, acknowledges CannonDesign’s significant contributions to green building leadership in its annual list of the Top 10 States for LEED, noting our Chiaravalle Montessori School project.

Set to open in spring 2018, the programmatic aspirations of the new student are to create a “living room” for student life that is broadly embraced by the diverse campus community.

The annual AIA St. Louis Design Awards celebration is one of my favorite nights of the year. Being from St. Louis and a proud member of the city’s design community, I’m always excited to see the best work from the past year – and the people who made it possible – recognized. Fortunately, the design awards often prove especially rewarding as CannonDesign consistently brings home multiple awards. This year proved no different for our firm as CannonDesign received an Architecture Merit Award for our work with the University of Missouri – St. Louis Recreation and Wellness Center and a Merit Award for Unbuilt Architecture for the Maryland Heights Community Center….

When certified in June 2011, A.E. Stevenson High School became the first LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EBOM) Gold high school. This certification recognizes the school’s commitment to responsible operations and maintenance processes, and reflects a deeper commitment to engaging the local community of stakeholders in environmental responsibility. CannonDesign provided the visioning, guidance and LEED project administration to ensure their diligent attention to green operations was recognized against a national sustainability benchmark. Unlike the more familiar LEED rating systems for new construction and commercial interiors, LEED-EBOM buildings must recertify periodically to demonstrate ongoing achievement. Stevenson re-certified Gold after five more years of consultancy. Learn more about our Sustainability…

The University of the District of Columbia’s “super sustainable” student center is featured on Curbed Washington DC. The article draws attention to the role the building is playing in creating a new front door for the university, as well as shifting the university’s image from being a commuter campus to one that engages students socially and academically outside of the classroom. Designed by our Arlington office in association with D.C.-based Marshall Moya Design, the building is positioned to be the first LEED Platinum student union on the east coast and one of only a few in the entire country. Highlighted sustainable features include a 14,000-square-foot green roof, a rain garden,…

Everyone loves talking about innovation And, today’s students are surrounding the word with others like “make,” “hack” and “prototype” as they get set to head back to school in the month ahead. Colleges and universities are listening to the dialogue and responding with new learning facilities billed as “innovation + incubator + maker centers” to support the shifting ambitions of students. These centers focus on multi-disciplinary inquiry that can foster partnerships with industry and fully leverage available grants and funding for research. However, there is no one-size-fits-all innovation center universities are turning to for success. Instead, our education team recognizes three specific types of innovation centers – each with their…

It’s an exciting time at the Newton, Massachusetts, institution Lasell College where they broke ground for the construction of a new academic center on Saturday, May 14. This private, liberal arts college is making a significant campus investment with a 45,000 sf new and renovated facility that will optimize classroom sizes, create flexible spaces – inside and outside of the learning environment – while adding state-of-the-art science labs. “Lasell College’s vision for evolving their academic curriculum is an exciting endeavor for our team,” said Colleen McKenna, principal, CannonDesign. “Our partnership in designing for this campus hub goes beyond the physical spaces. It will encourage socialization and interaction among the Lasell…

In partnership with Chiaravalle Montessori School and Bulley & Andrews, CannonDesign is pleased to announce that Chiaravalle’s North Wing Addition has achieved LEED Platinum Certification. When replacing their 60-year-old gymnasium annex, Chiaravalle Montessori, a PK-8 school located in Evanston, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago with a population of roughly 75,000, seized a rare opportunity to design a Montessori building to meet the needs of their Montessori program. Community-based planning served as a catalyst to build student centered learning environments, which celebrate the Chiaravalle community and Montessori curriculum. Designed with abundant natural light and a focus on bringing nature inside, the new 19,000 sf North Wing expands Chiaravalle’s programming options…