Introduction

Three architects formed CAF in 2018 to elevate the design culture in Northeast Ohio.

We felt that making the distinguished works of the region’s architects legible would enable people to understand and value our heritage and its significance and in doing so, raise education and understanding about the relationship between design quality and community.\

The importance of history and the meaning of architecture should be known by architects and architecture students before designing. Each of us has a historicity point of view on our life as designers, architects and/or citizens. Thus, we experience and design our new creations by using images from memory and references that are our personal data on our own historicism. Our effectiveness as citizens and our success in navigating our built environment is related to our knowledge and understanding of our own experience of architecture (Sagdic, Kosava, 2013).

The built environment informs us about a given location, its people, their values, aspirations and culture – what they value that makes them feel alive. Architecture is what tells us about who we are, who we were and where we have been and where we are going. What we build is our legacy in what is left behind, informing by offering insights into the socio-political, economic and cultural reality of the time. There is great value in teaching this architectural history to eager minds in our roles as practitioners, citizens and educators (Marouka, 2016).

By understanding our history and the evolution of our values, our culture and our places, we are more able to effectively contribute to the current and future landscape through contemporary architecture, with green buildings and smart city designs with mobility optimized, layouts of efficiency, functionality, and a brighter, more sustainable future for cities and their inhabitants.

In creating a coordinated and searchable database of significant Cleveland architecture and architects, CAF will advance the science and art of planning, design and building by advancing the quality and quantity of information available to elevate the standard of architectural, training and practice.

CAF is a 501c3 organization. Our initial priorities have focused on video interviews of our most prominent architects – Richard Fleischman, Piet van Dijk and Norman Perttula, found on the Cleveland Public Library Oral History website and an archive initiative to digitize significant works. At present, we have begun digitizing the works of Robert Little, Fleischman, van Dijk and Perttula.

CAF’s events have included guided tours of Cleveland’s urban neighborhoods and the co-sponsor of Prof. Thomas O’Grady’s 2020 lecture on the life and works of Levi Scofield, architect of the Mansfield Reformatory, the Scofield Building and the Soldiers & Sailors Monument on Public Square.

CAF’s archive challenge is monumental. Rather than be a library, CAF seeks to tie together the assets of the area’s seven existing repositories of architectural archives with an integrated database, making all materials searchable. By comparison, Columbus Architecture Foundation completed its archive initially in 1973.

CAF’s resources will be utilized by engaging architectural, library science and media college students to digitize archive materials, photograph selected works, conduct research, assist with video and exhibition/publication/ presentation preparation and production.

CAF has developed a free A Guide for the Thoughtful Evaluation of Architecture to assist landmarks organizations and architectural review boards in assessing proposed new works.

CAF seeks to expand its Board, Advisors and volunteers to develop its brand, produce events, exhibitions, presentations, expand digital archives, video interviews and maintain and update our website as a tool for learning and cultural enrichment.
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