Entries by Lisa Gomperts

Unlocking the Future of Housing: Designing Bloomington, Indiana’s ADUs for Sustainable Living and Vibrant Communities

In recent years, the concept of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) has gained prominence as an innovative housing solution. ADUs, also known as granny flats and in-law or secondary suites, are self-contained living spaces located on the same property as a primary residence. These versatile structures offer homeowners many benefits, from increased rental income and property […]

Designing Accessibility On Campus

How Schmidt Associates Designers Made the Alumni House at Allison Mansion Welcoming to All Emulating historical character and turn-of-the-century charm, Allison Mansion housed the family of transportation pioneer James Allison when it was built in 1911. Possessing opulent taste, the mansion was outfitted with an imported German chandelier, a sunken conservatory, a music room with […]

Adapting, Expanding, Prevailing

Schmidt Associates designers work to re-imagine existing space for Spalding University’s physical therapy program On the Spalding University campus in downtown Louisville, Ky., a new school of physical therapy will begin educating the next wave of compassionate, caring, and skilled physical therapists in a $7M building beginning in fall 2023. Located along Spalding’s Health Sciences […]

The 4 P’s of Facility Condition Assessments

Facility condition assessments are an important tool for school districts and other organizations to appropriately plan for deferred maintenance or create a long-term master plan. Remember the 4 P’s of facility condition assessments: Proactive One of the benefits of initiating a facility condition assessment is moving from a reactive state—where you are constantly putting out […]

What are the Roles of a Design/Build Team?

Typically there are three primary team members on a design/build project. They include the Owner, the criteria developer, and the design/build (D/B) contractor. Each one is explained in more detail below: 1. Owner •  Work with criteria developer to capture needs and desires in criteria documents/contract documents •  Implement a process to select D/B contractor […]

How to Create Engaging, Productive Open Office Spaces

Open office spaces are popular, but not necessarily because they make employees feel more engaged or productive. Although, in theory, they seem to check all of the boxes, some studies show that they can be problematic for certain types of workers who may need quiet, isolated space in order to focus and feel relaxed. That […]

Case Study: St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church

HVAC & Accessibility Renovation – St. Joan of Arc Sanctuary Project In preparation for the Centennial Celebration in 2021, the Schmidt Associates team kicked off the first phase of the St. Joan of Arc Sanctuary Restoration Project in 2017. This phase included: Updating/adding HVAC and electrical components Making the sanctuary more ADA accessible Adding a […]

User Engagement Early in Design

Here at Schmidt Associates, we like user engagement to happen early in the design process to help determine how the spaces need to work and how the facility can best help them meet their mission. We prefer one or two meetings during schematic design and another at the end of a project through a room-by-room […]

Hands-On Healthcare Education

What makes a successful learning environment for training much-needed healthcare providers? Facilities geared toward experiential learning! Students today must learn differently while new information is being generate faster than ever before. Designers of healthcare teaching facilities are tasked with creating flexible, experiential learning environments to fulfill this need, and Schmidt Associates has worked with many […]

Adding Value

Schmidt Associates was founded on the guiding principle of Servant Leadership. This value threads itself through every interaction we have both internally and externally, resulting in a constant search to add value in every project. Flip through the magazine below to see five examples of how we have added value to our recent projects by focusing on […]