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An award-winning interior designer, Lynda strives to design unique interiors that will have a positive impact on her clients’ lives. With more than 30 years of commercial and public space experience, she possesses an innate desire to create and design interiors that exceed clients’ expectations. With an eye for quality, a superior sense of style, and an end-user focused approach, Lynda has proven herself as an innovative designer. She offers a balance of creativity, collaboration and forward thinking with a structured, organized and detailed mentality; enabling her to deliver focused development, follow through and total completion to each aspect of the design. What inspires you? I am inspired by people who see and hear the world from a unique perspective: Children Matisse and Satie and other early 20th century artists and composers Jane Austen and other independent minded authors Strong women like Eleanor Roosevelt and Barbara Bush. What do you enjoy doing on your free time? Playing the piano: "I enjoy taking piano lessons and practicing, Chopin, Schumann, and Faure to name a few." Painting: "My favorite medium is oil, and my favorite subjects are people." Reading: "I recently finished “The Secret Lives of Color” by Kassia St. Clair and “The Lives of the Great Composers” by Harold C. Schonberg." What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received? “When I stop learning, it’s time to retire.” What have you gained from working at Synthesis? Friendships, camaraderie, and positive project outcomes #Synthians

Meet John Gilligan who has been with Synthesis for only a couple of months. He’s worked in public accounting for 29 years specializing in small business consulting, management and business growth. What inspires you? My family is my biggest source of inspiration. I have a very close family and we all support each other. It’s fun to celebrate life’s victories with my family, but even more rewarding is knowing I have a built-in support network. This inspires me to be a better father, husband, brother, and son. What do you enjoy doing on your free time? I love traveling with my wife. We have recently went to London, Paris, and Alaska. We are looking forward to more travel adventures. Reading consumes a fair amount of my free time. I probably read two or three books a week. I mostly read fiction, but also enjoy history and business books. I always wanted to ride motorcycles as a teenager. I never did until a few years ago when I decided it was time to learn. I love the feeling of riding on a solitary country road rode by myself. It lets me clear my mind. What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received? Always keep learning. My Father started as an office manager in the business he eventually owned and retired from. I watched as he worked his way through management and realized that he was constantly absorbing knowledge. He once told me that school wasn’t the end of learning, it was just the beginning. I’ve tried to take that to heart and be open to continued learning. What have you gained from working at Synthesis? Synthesis has allowed me to step into a role where I am able to provide financial and management information that is needed by leadership in the studio. Being able to step into such an important role has been a career goal of mine for a long time. #Synthians

As design professionals we see common problems being faced by many higher-ed institutions when it comes to student housing. One common issue that we see is the need to replace or renovate an aging portfolio of residence halls built in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. These were originally oriented to post war and baby boomer students. It’s no surprise that today’s students have different expectations. They want more amenities and options in their living arrangements. Most particularly, they want private rooms and private bathrooms and less sharing of communal bathrooms with their entire floor of peers. I saw the first wave of these housing types being built during my own college career and now nearly a decade later the trend has reached a new level of urgency among university officials as they try to compete for student populations. The specific needs of each university can vary by student culture, use groups, parental drivers, location, and climate, just to name a few. For some it may be a renovation of existing traditional structures to suite-type rooms with their own suite bathroom. For other universities it may be investing in new facilities to accommodate a growing campus and to add more modern amenities. For others it may be an update to include air-conditioning and other systems upgrades. Whether it is renovation or new space, we are seeing the addition of rentable study rooms, fitness centers, and shared kitchens across the Residence Hall landscape. Depending on the climate some are including barbecue and fire pit patios and even pools. Regardless of location, it is wise to incorporate a mixture of indoor and outdoor space to promote community among the student body. Flat panel TVs, cable, high speed internet, and Wi-Fi is a standard expected by students basically everywhere. Not to mention Parents, who are often footing the bill, want to see air-conditioned spaces and rooms that keep sound out, so their kids can be well rested for their studies. For university officials, besides meeting the student expectations, they have the difficult decisions of how to finance, whether to work with a developer, and how to choose a design that will be flexible enough to be sustainable for the future. The student living environment is one more tool they use for student attraction and retention. If this sounds like more than enough to manage, that’s because it is. Bringing an experienced architect on-board early in the process can help smooth out the process in the long run. Residence halls are trying to keep up with other student housing trends. Many times, the private sector is ahead of the university market so hiring an architect with a range of housing types can capitalize on their market knowledge, while meeting the more durable construction standards typical of university interests. At Synthesis our architects have a range of multi-family, residential, dormitory, and university experience. Putting an emphasis on the earliest stages of a project, we can help to clearly identify the problems that are unique to the institution, their particular building location, and their particular student make-up. With clear problem definition, we can work to develop a design for the campus that has a lasting impact and will serve the university for many years to come.

Meet Greg Perkins who has been with Synthesis for only five months. He earned his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Southern Illinois and his Master's from the University of Michigan. With Greg’s eye for detail, creativity and organizational skills, he has lead various production processes on current projects. How do you define success? I think architecture and design is done best when it is driven by the client’s needs. It is great when a client brings a challenging problem to the table and we can provide a new perspective that adds value to the project. When a client starts to get excited because their project is turning out better than they expected, that feels like success to me. What’s the best advice someone ever gave you? I had a professor once tell me to stop worrying so much about the outcome of my design and instead to enjoy the work and the process and the good outcome will work itself out. That idea has really permeated the way I do everything in my career. Revising, tweaking, and always thinking about how a solution could be better has really become the best part of the job. What does being an architect mean to you? To me being an architect means taking the opportunities we are given each day to make our surroundings better for the people who inhabit them no matter how big or small the intervention. It means having the integrity to adhere to the architect’s code of conduct by promoting the health and safety of the public. I often see signs on hiking trails that promote leaving the trail better than you found it. I think that is also true of being an architect. Let’s build things that make a statement, have longevity, and give our communities something to be proud of. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Being outdoors, hiking, traveling, or working on one of several projects I have going in my free time whether it be some kind of drawing, a home improvement project, or most often a woodworking project. Over several of the past years I have been slowly building and replacing most of the furniture in my house with custom pieces that work better than the ones from a box store. It is a great feeling to say that I made that and hopefully some of the pieces will last long enough that my kids will want them. Speaking of kids, that is my next side project because my wife and I are expecting our first child in July. What did you want to be when you grew up? Does it reflect what you’re doing now? I am not sure I had one big idea of what I wanted to do when I was young. What I did know from an early age is that whatever I grew up to be, I wanted it to involve making things. As a kid I probably spent more time hot gluing pieces of cardboard together than I ever spent playing with the toys I had. I also loved to draw and when I got older Architecture brought those two passions together. #Synthians

In honor of May being National Preservation Month, Synthesis looks at our most recent preservation and restoration project, the Milwaukee Depot. The City of Bedford was designated an Indiana Stellar Community in 2013. This designation and award created a number of city improvement projects, including the preservation, restoration and relocation of the Milwaukee Depot from its original location to a more central downtown placement. Milwaukee Depot was built as part of the Southern Indiana Railroad in 1899 by John R. Walsh in Bedford, Indiana. Walsh, a banker from Chicago, built the railroad to get Indiana Limestone to market and in the process made it a preferred building product across the Nation. In 1921 the station came under the control of the Milwaukee Road and served family members and loved ones for nearly seven decades as they stood and waved to passengers boarding the trains. The last passenger train to leave the Bedford, Indiana station was on July 15, 1950. Vacant and outside of the City’s core, the Milwaukee Depot fell into scattered and non-profitable uses, as well as disrepair. It became clear the preservation of the Depot would be dependent upon its relocation nearer the Cities urban core. Time was not in the Depot’s favor, as damage from water infiltration had rotted the roof, floor, and wall construction, some to the point of failure. Renovation of the French tile roof in 2007 slowed the deterioration. However, it was not until the City, the Indiana Department of Transportation, and other parties determined the Depot was eligible for Indiana’s remaining Transportation Enhancement Act funds that it’s future was secured. The restoration of the Milwaukee Depot saved an iconic and significant piece of Bedford’s history and architecture. Now the Depot has a new life as a focal point for local celebrations, serving as a trail head on the newly built Limestone Trail, offices for the Southern Indiana Geographical and Historical System organization, and home to collections of the Land of Limestone Museum. RELOCATION After a year of extensive architectural and engineering documentation and preparations, how the depot would be relocated and refurbished was determined. There was significant disrepair throughout the structure, particularly in the floor structure, which challenged the relocation strategy. Second, the funding sources pooled to accommodate the budget were tied to the specific criteria of the Secretary of Interior Standards. The building is listed on the State’s Register of Historic Places and of interest to the Department of Natural Resources. Each entity’s requirements were coordinated and integrated into the final design solution, impacting the options available for planning the move and renovation. The design team went to great lengths to retain as much of the existing building as possible for preservation or reconstruction prior to the move. The masonry was stabilized, involving replacement of broken stone and lost mortar. Significant and required repairs were made to limestone lintels and sills. Window sashes, and 60% of the aged glass was reclaimed, numbered, and prepared for restoration. Thousands of the surrounding brick pavers were salvaged for reuse at the new site to replicate the feel of its original location. Doors, frames and much of the historic woodwork were removed from the walls and ceilings to serve as patterns. In order to move the building, the window openings were reinforced, walls were removed, and a new floor structure put into place. The Depot now had a strong, stable diaphragm to help it withstand the stress of being lifted and moved. The move entailed loading the 130-foot, 350-ton depot building onto 14 hydraulic powered dollies, then maneuvering them four blocks to the new location. Once begun; lifting, loading, moving and positioning the building over its new foundations was accomplished in a few days. The Depot’s trip lasted a mere six hours, with the building set to within a 1/4” of square. To prepare the building for the physical move, repairs were made to the stone, windows were removed, the openings were reinforced, interiors were removed or stabilized, and beams/cribbing were in put place. During the building preparations, the path of travel also required some attention. The weight of the building had to be considered for its impact on road surfaces and curbs in conjunction with the locations of any impediments such as utility lines. Temporary relocation of utilities, weather, and a narrow window of availability of the specialty hydraulic jacking equipment had to be coordinated. RESTORATION AND NEW SITE The goal of the building restoration was to restore and re-purpose the historic structure with a site similar to its original home. The new site chosen is adjacent to another rail line in Bedford. The City originally envisioned a heavily planted plaza of trees and grasses, but Indiana’s State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) pressed to maintain the open connection between the Depot and the line, incorporating the brick pavers that surrounded the building at its original location. Site features were thus intentionally minimized, leaving an open plaza where city celebrations and other special events now occur. Window restoration was a key element of the restoration project. The white oak and southern pine units were surprisingly well preserved, with few coats of paint and nearly 60% of the historic glass intact. These units were removed, repaired, re-corded and improved with new weather stripping to remain operable. Awning and transom units were not in favorable condition, but adequate to serve as templates for new replica windows. Enough original hardware remained to serve the central gallery space, and similar units were purchased for the adjoining Boardroom. Other window hardware was recreated from new units to match the original configurations. Exterior doors were replaced in the pattern of the original quarter sawn white oak material. Hardware was found to closely match the patterns and size of the pieces reclaimed. Where use and code requirements mandated, hardware was provided in the gallery spaces that were sensitive to the period of the Depot’s construction. Within the Depot, a combination of preservation, renovation, and reconstruction methods were employed to maintain the historic appropriateness of the interior space. The two primary public areas, the gallery and adjacent boardroom, were selected for the greater investment in historic reconstruction. Where possible, historic ceiling, wall, and floor finishes were retained. The new interior partitions were built to replicate the demolished tile wall locations, then finished with troweled plaster texture to match the initial construction. Wood paneling salvaged from walls and ceilings were in various states of deterioration that did not allow for reconstruction and reuse. Wood panel wainscot was removed, measured and recreated from carefully selected white oak materials. The paneled ceilings were in far worse condition than the wainscots, but enough remained to save the historic beams and faithfully recreate the paneled infill. Birch and maple flooring were reclaimed, and an adequate amount was available to be reinstalled in the south portion of the Depot. The gallery and boardroom received new birch hardwood to match the dimensions of the original floors. This transformed the rooms, once used for passengers, to a gallery for artifacts that observe the historic production of limestone in Lawrence County. Originally, the Milwaukee Depot had no provisions for mechanical spaces. To preserve the maximum amount of space for programs, a partial basement and crawl space was provided. This allowed zoned HVAC units and ductwork to be routed unseen below. Electrical services had been introduced in only a few areas of the Depot. With the required wall reconstruction, modern electrical and life safety systems could be routed within wall cavities to minimize their impact on the interior design. Wireless controls bring maximum multi-scene functionality to the LED lighting used throughout. Track lighting was chosen for the gallery to coordinate with the Limestone Museum’s displays. Other spaces have pendant fixtures appropriate to historical precedence. Interior and exterior color selections were based on research conducted on the original materials as well as paint recovered from the original plaster. The exterior trim color, and interior paint schemes reflect the colors believed to be used in the original design. Tile floor patterns and colors are based upon the remnants of the Depot’s original bathrooms. TODAY The Milwaukee Depot preservation, restoration, and relocation was the culmination of a 20-year effort to save an important part of Bedford and the limestone industry’s history. The heritage and story of this architectural gem reinforces the historic significance of the City of Bedford, strengthening the community’s sense of place. The Depot’s site now serves as a trail head for the Limestone Trail, which is a City of Bedford urban trail connecting to the new Milwaukee Road Rail Trail. #HistoricPreservation

Synthesis welcomes its youngest member to our team: Michaela McCulley. Michaela will be with us this summer as an intern. She is currently working on her bachelor’s degree from Ball State University, specializing in Interior Design. Michaela will be a senior this Fall and is looking forward to pursuing a Masters in Architecture after graduation. What are you most passionate about learning professionally and why? I am most passionate about learning how to professionally work through a project from start to finish. I am eager to learn about this because it will set a good foundation for how I go into future projects from this point forward. It is always a wonderful experience to learn and gather tools for your toolbox from those who have been doing what you want to do for years. In what ways would you like to create value at Synthesis? For Synthesis, I would love to be an asset to the team, whenever someone needs a few extra parts of a project worked on, I don’t mind stepping in. I have already been informed that I will be part of the team. I just want to make sure that I am depended on. The value that I want to create here is that of a positive one and I hope to leave a lasting impression of a hardworking intern. Why did you pick Interior Design as your major? I went to Broad Ripple High School where I was a part of the art magnet. I was always crafty and good at art but I wondered what could I do with that after high school. I started to combine my talents and looking into college programs. I found myself drawn to Architecture and I knew for my entire high school career I was going to go to Ball State for Architecture. Until the summer before I applied to Ball State, I looked a little further into the disciplines and saw that Interior Design would be a better fit. Now that I am in the program, I love it, and I still aspire to get a master’s degree in architecture. What do you enjoy doing on your free time? In my free time I usually spend time with family and my sorority sisters. When I am not spending quality times with loved ones I am either crafting or watching movies. What inspires you? I am inspired by mother and younger siblings. I have not always had the best upbringing in a single parent household. My mother always pushes me to work as hard as I can, and she always tells me to do better than she did. The thought that each little goal you accomplish is bringing you closer to your main goal always gives me hope.

Synthesis Incorporated is pleased to welcome Divyang Panchal, Graduate Architect, as one of our newest studio members originally from Mumbai, India. Divyang brings with him a unique international point of view. He earned his Bachelors Degree in Architecture and Building Sciences/Technology before coming to the States to pursue his Master’s of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. What is the most rewarding part of your job? I enjoy meeting different clients and people in the field. It keeps you aware of the world around you. I also like designing space and seeing the process of a project being built. What do you enjoy doing on your free time? I enjoy movies, TV series, playing soccer and sleeping. How do you define success? I feel a project is successful when its potential is realized and it performs through its age, the way, we, as architects imagined it to be. What did you want to be when you grew up? Does it reflect what you’re doing now? My father was an interior designer and I think subconsciously that played a role into what I am today. However, I really wanted to be a soccer player and I still believe I would’ve been a better player. #Synthians

Congratulations to Bruce Anderson, AIA, LEED AP, Forensic and Technical Architect at Synthesis for being this quarter's Fire Starter Award recipient. Synthesis' leadership is reinforced with the skill of our building envelope specialist, Bruce Anderson, who has a command of over 35 architectural building systems and has completed extensive assessments of 56 buildings resulting in a comprehensive understanding of building skin systems. Sought by clients for his collegial approach and scientific mind, he ensures that our design innovation is complemented with constructible and maintainable approaches. Bruce contributes as a spec writer, code reviewer, design detail advisor, historical preservation designer, and mentor. Bruce will help anyone, at anytime, with anything. We are very lucky to have him! About the Fire Starter Award This award is Synthesis Incorporated’s quarterly honor given to a project team or individual within the firm for exemplifying outstanding work on a project or within the office. Based on employee nominations, the Leadership Team selects the winning recipient or team to receive the award. Criteria for this prestigious award includes performance that goes above and beyond normal expectations as it relates to the following criteria: Outstanding project performance Exceeding client service expectations Extraordinary team work resulting in increased productivity and morale Exceptionally innovative/creative design Creativity in new and innovative methods and procedures Outstanding financial/schedule/quality performance Thank you, Bruce, and congratulations! #FirestarterAward

One way in which our country succeeds on the world stage is our ability to think creatively. Higher education is fostering that creativity through interdisciplinary environments. These multi-/interdisciplinary learning environments are one of the keys to nurturing potential “sparks” that can lead to ground-breaking ideas and creative efforts for our future. Over the past three decades, I have seen the evolution of the interdisciplinary learning environment move from being an alternative learning approach to one that has become a highly sought after learning model across higher education. My first experience with interdisciplinary learning environments was with Earlham College, where I was involved in designing their Landrum Bolling Center for Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. I've been able to apply those lessons I've learned to other opportunities in school design, community building design, and entrepreneurial innovation centers. The interdisciplinary approach is now highly valued throughout higher education, especially in the sciences where competition for the newest advances in creative thinking and concrete results can pay big dividends. In developing Earlham’s Interdisciplinary Social Sciences building, they understood that integration rather than segregation was key in promoting the type of thinking that would serve the future. No longer would the traditional arrangement of classroom wings be separate from office wings, which were typically separate from student support areas. Instead, classrooms, seminar rooms, labs, professor offices, departmental offices, and student areas would be intermingled amongst each other, as opposed to traditional physical separation of departmentalized subject areas. Earlham understood that, if the proximity of an office for a history professor was next to the program office for economics there would be more chance meetings between members of these disciplines. More chance meetings would lead to more shared conversation, which would lead to sharing and learning across disciplines and support the opportunity for more ‘a-ha’ creative moments. If groupings of professor offices were located amongst smaller groupings of classrooms or lab spaces, there would be more opportunity for an overlap in time and space between teacher and student. One cannot force such an exchange, but one can nurture an opportunity for exchange in how the physical environment is planned. Earlham further recognized that, if informal exchanges were to be nurtured, they truly needed to support it with resources. This meant programming physical space to support where students or professors might pause or park themselves between classes or while waiting to visit with another. In working with Earlham through the early phases of the design process, we programmed space for informal seating areas, niches, and classroom surge areas. These were to be interspersed along the primary circulation routes to capitalize on passing exchanges. While a traditional classroom building may have a circulation space factor of 30% of the total building, Earlham’s Interdisciplinary Social Sciences building has a circulation factor closer to 38%. This can be challenging to building budgets, especially as funding sources and business models start to direct institutions of higher learning, until one realizes we cannot compromise on nurturing our creative place in the world. I believe nurturing the edges and overlaps between disciplines is where the opportunities for new discoveries and new thinking has the greatest potential to advance our place in the sciences. Interdisciplinary learning environments and the exploration of the edges and overlaps between disciplines may be what keeps us forefront in being the creatives of this world…and beyond!

One element of construction that many clients overlook is the condition of the sealant systems installed throughout their facilities. Sealant systems are found at the perimeter of windows, curtain walls, roofs, doors and practically anywhere else where two different materials meet. As they age, sealant systems tear, separate, or become brittle and pull away from the sides of the joints they're intended to protect. The resulting gaps, small and large, provide a pathway for water to enter the building's envelope. Thus, begins a slow but steadily deterioration of the construction within. When a client asks for a review of a facility, the condition of the sealant systems is one of the first items we check. The sealants are the "front line" of a building's defense against water intrusion and their service lifespan is not indefinite. We often are left to explain the correlation between sealant failures and higher repair costs associated with correcting what seem like small issues, such as a leak at a window, a wet ceiling panel, or a crack in a brick wall. If you have a facility that is 5 to 10 years old, and someone has not reviewed the condition of the sealant systems recently, you may want engage in that review soon. A small sealant replacement expense today can save the cost of a major construction project down the road.

Synthesis has a long history of giving back to the community and this year was no exception. Using the funds raised through their $3 Friday “Jeans Fund” they raised enough to split their giving between Crestwood Village West, a Justus Companies property, and Little Sisters of the Poor Indianapolis. Crestwood Village West was in need of a new Christmas tree, and so the search began for a new 12 foot tree. It arrived just in time for their dinner and dance last Saturday evening. Crestwood West is a senior living facility that includes several lifestyle options for active adults as well as tailored assisting living services that embody Crestwood’s commitment to care and good health. To learn more about Crestwood Village West, click here. www.crestwood-living.com/west.html The Little Sisters of the Poor, also a recipient of the donations collected is an international congregation of Roman Catholic women religious founded in 1839 by Saint Jeanne Jugan. Together with a diverse network of collaborators, they serve the elderly poor in over 30 countries around the world. To learn more about the Little Sisters of the Poor you can click here: www.littlesistersofthepoorindianapolis.org Since this fund began in 1997, Synthesis employees have donated over $20,000 from the Jeans Fund to those in need.

The newly renovated Linear Accelerator room at Fayette Regional Health System in Connersville, Indiana contains cutting-edge technology for radiation oncology therapy. By bringing this service back on-line, Fayette Regional Health has given the community the same level of treatment that is offered in the larger metropolitan areas in the region. Treatment of this nature can be highly stressful and isolating. The design team, led by Synthesis Incorporated, sought to invoke feelings of serenity and comfort through lighting and material choices to reduce the anxiety of the patients. Warm wood tones on the floor, calming hues & immersive patterns on the walls, and billowing side lit ceiling panels help to set the patient at ease and provide comfort during therapy. Built-in storage accommodates the multitude of specialty equipment required while keeping the room clutter free reinforcing the calming effect of the finishes. This project is a true testament to Fayette Regional Health's investment in the community.