A new home for design in Over-the-Rhine

A newly renovated space in Over-the-Rhine called The Cincinnati Center for Architecture + Design (CCAD) will be the home space for five major Cincinnati Design Awards environmental and creative organizations to collaborate on future projects.

The organizations include the Cincinnati Chapters of American Institute of Architects (AIA), Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD), the Ohio Kentucky Chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), the Ohio Chapter of The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and the Ohio Chapter of The American Society for Landscape Architects (ASLA).

AIA Cincinnati has five goals “vision, member value, impact on the community, and engage young professionals to engage in conversation,” says architect and President and CEO of AIA Cincinnati, Greg Tilsey.

"It's a big goal of the SEGD to continue to make connections with our ally organizations and friends in the design community," says co-chairman for the Cincinnati chapter of SEGD, Hannah Anderson. "What's interesting, yet still unknown, is figuring out the different ways we can take this collaboration to benefit members of the design community and beyond."

Tilsey helped come up with the idea to have the center on Race Street, a thriving area in OTR.

The original idea was to find rental space for the Executive Director for AIA Cincinnati, Patricia Daugherty. It eventually developed in to a bigger project.

It has office space as well as meeting rooms holding up to 30-40 people. Design firms can rent the space located right on 1116 Race St. right across from Washington Park.

The SEGD Cincinnati Chapter delivered a proposal fall of 2017 to develop the brand and visual identity for the Center. The Phase 1 assets include a name and brand mark for the front door which will be ready before the first event in 2018.

"This early identity initiative for the Cincinnati Center for Architecture + Design is a clean slate, if you will, for our five organizations to put what they do out there on a platform," says Anderson. "These organizations, including SEGD, have not had a permanent address or location which we will be able to tap into now."

Each of the organizations will operate per normal, with the intention to collaborate for future projects. Funding for the Cincinnati Center for Architecture + Design is predominately provided by the AIA, who are leaseholders of the space along with the existing tenants, Lynn McInturf & Associates.

Stay tuned for more information later this spring as CCAD plans to host an official open house for the design community.