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.
Prior to forming Metropolitan Architecture Studio, Mr. Hynds served as Director of Architecture for an interior design firm for 5 years, where he designed and managed dozens of projects including Kraftmaid Cabinetry Corporate Headquarters and interiors for Fortune 500 companies. Later he formed a joint venture Partnership with 3D International where he assisted in the construction management for the U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland.
Before settling in Cleveland, Mr. Hynds practiced architecture in Boston and Philadelphia, where he worked at Ellenzweig Associates, and Kling Lindquist Partnership, two of the preeminent collegiate academic and medical research designers in the country. There, he designed projects for major universities such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Hobart Williams and Smith College.
He has taught architecture and urban design at Kent State University and at Pennsylvania State University. Early in his career he was awarded the Young Cleveland Architect Award. 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.