ABOUT US
PROFILE
Metropolitan Architecture Studio is a full service architecture, planning and interior design firm, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. We are interdisciplinary architects, and create thoughtful design solutions for education, healthcare, laboratories, workplace environments, preservation, and public buildings and spaces. Our clients have included universities, medical centers, school districts, corporations, cities, institutions, and private developers.
PHILOSOPHY
For Metropolitan Architecture Studio every project is a creative, collaborative effort between our office and our clients. Our clients’ concerns are our top priority and we take pride in our responsiveness to their issues. A keen awareness, sensitivity and understanding of client requirements such as budgetary constraints, scheduling issues, and design criteria, along with our knowledge of architecture and the construction processes allows Metropolitan Architecture Studio to best meet the needs and desires of our clients and to go beyond their expectations.
SUSTAINABILITY
Metropolitan Architecture Studio is committed to environmentally sensitive design. We seek to use sustainable design strategies at every level of design. Additionally, we realize that environmental factors, such as indoor air quality, day lighting, building materials, and building orientation greatly affects the quality of life of individual occupants.
CERTIFICATIONS
Metropolitan Architecture Studio is a certified small business and local business enterprise. Certifications include the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.
ABOUT US
Michael Hynds
Principal
Mr. Hynds is founding partner and Principal of Metropolitan Architecture Studio. He has over 25 years of professional experience on various project types such as academic, health care, laboratories, research and development, entertainment, telecommunications, historic preservation, religious, corporate offices, and residential.
As a Partner at Metropolitan Architecture Studio, he oversees the delivery of projects from design development through construction administration, ensuring that every project is a project delivered on schedule, within budget. His higher education project experience includes residential district planning at Ohio State University, building renovations at Kent State University, and the enrollment facility design at Cuyahoga Community College — work that has given him a practical understanding of how different types of universities approach capital projects, manage construction risk, and evaluate the success of their design partners.
He brings that understanding to every higher education engagement, working collaboratively with facilities teams to develop construction strategies that protect academic operations while delivering results on schedule.
He is committed to the idea that great universities deserve great architecture — and that great architecture, in a campus context, means buildings that are built well, built on time, and built in ways that serve the institution for generations. That is the standard he holds himself to in every higher education project he leads.
He holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. He is a registered architect in Ohio and is NCARB certified. Mr. Hynds is also a LEED accredited professional.
Kathleen Tark
Principal
Kathleen Tark is principal in charge of design at Metropolitan Architecture Studio. With over 19 years of practice, she brings extensive architecture, planning, and urban design expertise to Metropolitan Architecture Studio.
She has designed projects for education, healthcare, laboratories, corporations, institutions, communities, and residences. She has been the design lead for Metropolitan Architecture Studio on 11 of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s new schools.
She has a background in neighborhood design and master planning and is an accredited member of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Prior to joining Metropolitan Architecture Studio, she was principal for City Architecture, Inc. In her 11 years there, she served as design lead for award winning architectural and planning projects such as Trinity Commons, East Mount Zion Educational Wing, the Midtown 2000 Plan, Third Federal Corporate Headquarters, and Pierre’s Ice Cream Corporate Headquarters.
She holds a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Ms. Tark graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Cincinnati, with a Bachelor of Architecture and early in her career, she won the Premier Prix at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts Americaines, in Fontainebleau, France. She has taught architecture and urban design at Pennsylvania State University, Kent State University and Cleveland State University. She is registered in the State of Ohio and a LEED accredited professional.