Team B Architecture & Design

We make places worth caring about. Thoughtful, intellectually engaging architecture services for clients seeking uncommon solutions to their unique housing and commercial challenges.

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SEN

Project Type: Bars and Restaurants Location: Cincinnati - Over-the-Rhine Status: Built

Environmental graphics and stall fabrication for a food hall vendor. Project services included concept design, environmental graphics, and integrated design/build fabrication delivery with our sibling company Team C.

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DECIBEL CHICKEN

Project Type: Bars and Restaurants Location: Cincinnati - Walnut Hills Status: Built

Located along East McMillan Street on Paramount Square, Decibel Chicken is a small 250SF take-out space with a delivery window to their neighboring Esoteric Brewery. 

The perimeter walls of the front-of-house space mimic flattened architectural motifs–a wainscoting graffiti mural lines the left and right walls united by a large arch incorporating the brand’s logo in the center. The graphic qualities of the mural bring the scale of the unusually small, yet tall room to human proportions.

Simple geometric shapes and a simplified color scheme were used to unite the disparate built elements scattered haphazardly throughout the small floor plan. A gridded tile order counter greets you upon entry, with an open space frame menu above–complete with a backlit menu inspired by 80s fast food iconography. A takeaway shelf to the left is united with the wall through the use of a simple graphic circle. A merchandise wall to the right uses triangles and x’s and a stepladder color block to define space for t-shirts and hats to be sold. A gabled structure houses the soft drinks in the corner, proudly displaying the contents within.

The delivery window in Esoteric Brewery uses similar motifs found in the take out space next door. The bright yellow window encompasses by a circular graffiti mural stands alone as its on defined space in the brewery.

Though a small project with a small budget, the use of economic materials, simple palettes, and 2D graphics incorporated to 3D architectural objects creates a dynamic space that reflects the playful and loud brand of Decibel Chicken.

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SAGE YOGA OTR

The space is conceived as two opposing volumes, codified by black and white accents. A yin and yang diagram, activated by casual entryway spaces and focused studio spaces. The project was a collaboration between Model Group (landlord) and Sage Yoga (tenant), and the design was geared for a significant portion of construction and finish work to be self-performed by the end user.

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TABLESPOON COOKING CO

Project Type: Bars and Restaurants Location: Cincinnati - Over-the-Rhine Status: Built

Tenant improvements / interior design for an interactive cooking class environment. The concept brings the full functionality of a professional kitchen into an approachable social setting. Dining, lounging, bar service, and cooking instruction spaces all flow linearly through a light filled historic storefront. 

Custom dimensional mural design and install: Team B

Photos: Ryan Back Photography

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HILL HOUSE

Project Type: Housing Location: Cincinnati - Price Hill Status: Built

Located on a hillside overlooking downtown Cincinnati, this new construction, single-family residence considers site, context, environmental amenities and views in its design and execution. 

Guest bedrooms and storage are reserved for the ground floor, with a sculptural stair bringing you up to the social spaces which also provide a full panoramic view of the city and the Ohio River. With a flush exterior deck, the living room extends to the exterior during warm months.  The two volumes break up the mass to maintain an appropriate scale with the shotgun houses along the street. The joint between the two is exposed in the interior creating clerestory windows above the living room and kitchen, highlighting the axis to the private owner’s suite behind the kitchen. 

Projected for LEED Platinum, the house is heated with geothermal and built on piers for minimal site excavation. 

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PETTIBONE Project Type: Bars and Restaurants Location: Dayton Status: Built

Pettibone Coffee is a bar, lounge, and roastery that is housed in a former 4,000-square-foot automotive repair garage in Dayton, Ohio. A large central bar showcases Pettibone’s technologically advanced espresso and coffee-making process. 

Coffee roasting is showcased along the perimeter of the building, where an intimate bar offers a glimpse into the “lab” where experimental roasts are dreamed up. The opposing side of the shop offers lounge seating for small group discussions and conversation. Visiting artists frequent the space, using the coffee shop as an impromptu art studio. 

The space is organized around former garage stall bays, and relies on existing garage door openings for ample daylight, natural ventilation, and service shipping access.

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TOT LOT PAVILION

Project Type: Civic Location: Cincinnati - Price Hill Status: Built

The Tot Lot Pavilion is the result of working with Price Hill Will, Cincinnati Recreation Commission and Warsaw Business District to engage with the community to add missing amenities to the Warsaw Ave. Tot Lot, a playground for young children, which has expanded to exercise equipment and gathering spaces to provide for a diversity of ages in the community of Price Hill. 

The pavilion is a simple picnic area that provides sunshade and a presence to the street front, while also acting as a distracting mass from the unsightly electric substation next door. ADA picnic tables and a grill allow for parties and barbecues on site.

Working with local fabricators Sediment Design, we developed a tension-based sun-shading system that utilizes simple geometry--equilateral triangles in a hexagonal grid. Suspended above with double column arches, the canopy provides shade for parents watching their children play, people waiting for the bus, and families to grill out. 

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SILVER SLIPPER WINE BAR

Project Type: Bars and Restaurants Location: Dayton Status: Built

The Silver Slipper is a welcoming wine bar on the ground level of a historic building in South Park, Dayton. Located on a busy thoroughfare, the entry is flipped of a typical building through the rear entrance, while maintaining a proper facade on the front blending with the existing streetscape. Visitors are greeted by inlaid silver slippers in the tile next to a small open kitchen, for prepping small bites, instantly feeling at home. 

The small layout--restrooms, kitchen, main room and dining--is optimized for its specific use. A triangular bar is the focal point of the main room, maximizing seating capacity while maintaining clear accessible routes throughout the compact space. A custom bar top with radiused corners allows small groups to gather at the ends of the bar, the storage shelf above also accommodates lighting. Banquettes line the perimeter in the dining room, housing storage under the seats, HVAC vents in the toe kicks, and recessed cove lighting in the backs to highlight the textured walls. 

The materials of the space are simple and neutral to exploit the form of the bar, highlighting a sophisticated yet playful atmosphere for all to enjoy.

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21C CONCEPT

Project Type: Arts Location: Cincinnati - Downtown Status: Concept

Schematic design and pricing package for improvements to existing rooftop cocktail lounge. The design provides built-in climate enhancing features to extend the seasonal use of outdoor space. Features include a new outdoor bar area and enhanced seating varieties throughout the terrace. Entry and circulation patterns are modified to improve accessibility and guest experience.

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IMPERIAL THEATER

Project Type: Arts Location: Cincinnati - Over-the-Rhine Status: Concept

Situated at the base of a hillside in a historic intersection of Cincinnati, OH between the University of Cincinnati, the Historic West End and the Historic Over-The-Rhine, the Imperial Theater is to be renovated and expanded as a theater, class space, prop shop, cafe and event space. 

Programmatically, the spaces within the new construction compliment the adjacent existing space, with the levels of the new construction aligning with the sloping theater and the raised stage. A new lobby creates a main entrance space with a cafe that expands the building’s hours from a traditional, formal, evening event space to a casual, daytime use. A new props shop buried into the hill allows set design and production to happen in house.  The second floor contains a lofted space overlooking the lobby with private rehearsal spaces in the rear.  Due to the sloped site, the rooftop can be accessed from the rear alley entrance, and from the building. From the alley entrance, a serpentine ramp creates a meandering path with spaces for community garden plots, opening up to a rooftop space that houses the full community garden and an outdoor gathering space that links to an event space in the rear. 

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SQUIGGLE BENCH

Project Type: Objects Location: Cincinnati - Over-the-Rhine Status: Built

The squiggle bench endures as a study in formal iteration, site adaptation, and long-distance collaboration. This time around, fabrication was handled by our friends at Studio Radish in Detroit. Borne through a series of video chats, 3D model swaps, and material mock-ups, Squiggle Bench 2.0 debuted at the Dish/ Exhibit Opening in December 2019. 

Squiggle 2.0 is part of a broader series studying the relationship between two lines--a static, constant line (the partial height wall) and a curvilinear fat line (the bench), squiggle bench acts both as a piece of furniture and an architectural object defining spatial conditions and social interaction. The material qualities reinforce the line shapes--a hard straight wall, and a soft fuzzy bench.

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MID-CENTURY ADDITION

Project Type: Housing Location: Cincinnati - Amberley Status: Concept

Addition and renovation to ranch style dwelling in a mid-century subdivision. New construction totals over 2000 SF, giving the owners the flexibility to grow and adapt their family unit over time. A grand entryway and mudroom sequence ties together key existing spaces with a new 2.5-car garage and lofted suite. A roofline extension to the existing garage converts underutilized attic space to a dramatic new master suite. New windows and cladding treatments tie the existing structure to the contemporary form of the addition, creating a unified appearance at the curb.

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HERE CHANNEL

Project Type: Arts Location: Cincinnati - Over-the-Rhine Status: Built

Here Channel is a project by Caroline Creaghead that invites everyone in Greater Cincinnati - regardless of age, experience or anything else - to create and stream audio content of any kind. It provides independent creators with the gear, the know-how, and access to a platform on which to be heard. In collaboration with graphic design by Josh Jacob of Cosette and fabrication by Branden Francis of Sediment, Team B produced an energizing and inviting functional space for the community to learn, record, and broadcast their voices.

The design focused on creating a vibrant, textural and acoustically performative environment. The project was also operating on a tight budget, making it important to use affordable materials, but elevate them through detail and application. Acoustic foam in varying colors and wedge profiles defined three main spaces - the entry and lounge, the reception desk, and the recording booth - while a track of thick felt curtain was able separate a multifunctional performance space in the back. The bold graphic patterns of carpet padding and pegboard served as accent and overlay wall materials and were used create rolling stools for the lounge. The recording booth itself faced the storefront window, showcasing the activity within to the public and inviting curiosity into the space.

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REJECTED

Project Type: Arts Location: Columbus Status: Installation

Presented by the Knowlton School at The Ohio State University.

Curated by Team B (David Corns, Anna Kerr, Quinn Kummer, and John Stoughton)

Graphic Design by Garrett Corcoran.

Gallery team includes Banvard Gallery Chair Sandhya Kochar and Graduate Assistant Sanghyun Suh. Additional installation support from Shriya Ravishankar (Ohio State), Jamie Kruer (UIC) and Jaizhen Lin (Columbia University).

When and how did the idea for the gallery come together?

An initial version of this exhibition was held at our studio in Cincinnati to celebrate the opening of our practice in 2016. The idea to share the rejected work of our friends and colleagues was a way to expose often unseen design process and work that is in pursuit of a wider body of research, or way of thinking about design.

How were the pieces chosen and where are they from?

The show contains a collection of 100 drawings from over 50 practices. We invited a wide range of participants, from grad school students to professors of architecture to commercial practices with a global reach.

What is the most important aspect of the 'Rejected' theme? Why rejected?

We wanted to start a conversation about the messiness of launching a project - the swerves and corrections that are made over time, and ways to reassess or find value in fleeting images or ideas that might be otherwise lost or forgotten.

The show became a study on different interpretations and forms of rejection as interpreted by the invited firm. We have formalized this response in a forthcoming catalog / book that discusses the different forms of rejection brought to light from the show.

What do you hope people will gain from the exhibit?

Architecture today is widely consumed as an endless stream of images online - we can all scroll and swipe forever. A great deal of these images we only see for mere seconds, or milliseconds, before they leave our screen never to be seen again. This exhibit gives us an opportunity to slow down and re-visit some of the issues contemporary practices are actively dealing with, but have not yet resolved.

Why were the pieces rejected?

Rejection can and does happen at every stage of the design process. Whether it is from self-editing, peer review, client “tastes,” structural limits, etc. Each practice was asked why and how rejection affects their practice, and the specific project they chose to present in the show.

Is there anything about the exhibit you would like people to know?

We hung the images like clothing on a clearance rack, about 12” on center perpendicular to the viewer. This means you have two choices for viewing the drawings: you can walk with the images all facing you, or against you. If you choose the former, you will find you can walk relatively briskly through the gallery, absorbing images as we do on our phones at almost hyper speed. This renders the exhibition as a collective body of work, and you start to discover broad aesthetic similarities: colors, projection methods, formatting decisions, etc. Alternatively, if you walk against the grain, approaching the blank backs of each image, you will find this slows you down and allows you to discover and process each image individually.

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BROADWAY HOUSE

Project Type: Housing Location: Cincinnati - Pendleton Status: Built

Gut rehab of a historic mid-1800’s building in the Pendleton neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine.

The new interior layouts give a continuous transition from interior living areas to backyard patio, creating flexible, open social spaces for parties and gatherings.

The three stories are connected with a custom stair, integrating storage and lighting along the way. A new addition to the upper floor houses a master suite overlooking the historic neighborhood.

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BIRD BATH

Project Type: Objects Location: Cincinnati - Camp Washington Status: Installation

Team B’s original artwork exhibited at Midwest Markdowns, a group show at Cincinnati’s Wave Pool Gallery. Bird Bath and Beyond is an absurd object. It recalls the FOMO-inducing opulence of the ‘infinity pool’ - repackaged into a forgotten piece of backyard chintz. Motifs of digital craft suggest a 3D ‘section’ model come to life. 

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TAKING LIBERTIES

Project Type: Civic Location: Chicago Status: Installation

In light of Cincinnati’s beleaguered Liberty Street ‘road diet’ - Team B submits an unsolicited redesign for the vital Over-the-Rhine thoroughfare. Though unlikely to be adopted by the City, the proposal stands as an urban provocation: meant to question both our automobile dependency, and the current vogue of urban design techniques that privilege the pedestrian. Taking Liberties was featured at the 2017 Sideshow to the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Project description follows:

In 1959, the City of Cincinnati began efforts to convert Liberty Street from a narrow 2-lane urban corridor to an expansive 7-lane arterial thoroughfare. The project unstitched dense, established neighborhoods, dismantled immigrant communities and demolished many historic structures along the route.

Six decades later, the Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering began a traffic-calming study in the hopes of promoting pedestrian and bicycle traffic, ironically reversing the automotive conveniences prioritized by the last round of changes. Unveiled in 2016, the plan amounted to little more than a widened sidewalk here, a row of trees there, but mostly straight sailing for cars, buses, and trucks that continue to dominate Liberty Street.

In response, Team B asks: In what way could this plan reduce the hegemony of the automobile? Taking Liberties picks up where the city left off, imagining a more creative traffic-calming strategy for Liberty Street. Recent years have seen a wave of popularized urban streetscape designs by means of formal reconfiguration of the street (chicane) and sharing of land (woonerf).

Taken to their logical extreme, these strategies form an eccentric, articulated path. Stretched to twice its present length, then squeezed back into place, the new Liberty twists and bends through the urban grid like a picturesque English Garden, filling gaps of underutilized land left by Urban Renewal-era demolition with public spaces and unexpected opportunities.