Award-winning architect Tod Stevens is a designer, researcher, practice leader and educator. His educational architecture engages research, sustainability and craft, to impact learning and provide inspirational environments for generations in their scholarly pursuit of knowledge.
Design + Research
For more than two decades of leading architectural designs across the United States, Tod is a major contributor to the transformation of educational environments for today’s and tomorrow’s learners. Tod is sought to present his design work and research on a national stage and locally to his peers. Tod’s work has been recognized and widely awarded and featured in national publications dedicated to academic design, including American School and University, Learning by Design and Spaces4learning, in 2016, Modelo published an extensive interview featuring Tod for its Design Manifestos website. The Research + Benchmarking (R+B) program Tod launched and led, as Principal Designer at Stantec’s (formerly SHW Group) Michigan office provided an internal framework that allowed him to investigate design and evolve the critical thinking behind his designs, which he has broadly shared with the profession and other academic institutions. Based on its success, the R+B program was recognized and instituted across the firm worldwide.
Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Steelcase, and Tod, as principal designer, partnered on nearly a year long primary research effort for the GVSU’s hallmark “Library of the Future”. The team analyzed spaces that support learners and garnered insights into students’ personal, social, and academic needs. Leading to a project where every aspect of the design was informed by the habits, expectations, and academic requirements of today’s students that broke the mold of the traditional academic library. The widely published project has become a case study for Steelcase in their industry 360 magazine and Active Learning Spaces publications, and also featured in scholarly academic white papers, and was named one of five “2016 New Landmark Libraries” in the United States by Library Journal. The jury cited, “that the library supports the whole student through the academic journey.” Attesting to its success, over one million patrons visit the building every year, and data collected since 2013 indicate that people from across the United States and more than 17 different countries have benchmarked the facility, including architects, designers, university administrators, library professionals, and others who came to see the innovative space and services offered.
Sustainability + Craft
Embedded in all of Tod’s work is the foundational design principle of sustainability. Nearly all of Tod’s educational projects have a LEED rating and range from certified to the highest level of platinum. Today, Tod is an outspoken champion of sustainable principles and, as a leader, has evoked architects and engineers to elevate their work to combat this existential climate crisis. In his pioneering educational designs, Tod has brought to bear the craft of elegantly detailed spaces that he honed as Design Director for Yamasaki Architects, ensuring that his public buildings endure generations of use. The work has been distinguished with a regional Engineering News Record Award, over 15 AIA Michigan and Detroit Honor Awards
Educator, Mentor + Practice Leadership
Tod’s influence on our next generation of architects and interior designers is demonstrated through his teaching, mentoring and professional engagement. As Adjunct Professor at Lawrence Technological University, he used a unique pedagogy of “theory and practice” teaching a theoretical studio project, concurrent with a real building project he was leading. Tod has lectured at the architecture schools of the University of Detroit Mercy, Lawrence Technological University, and Washington State University. Tod is a mentor in his daily practice and to all he encounters through his work. Tod frequently sits as a guest critic on academic design reviews. He also has served on the jury for the 2018 American School and University Architectural Portfolio and for the 2017 Toledo Chapter AIA Honor awards.
As Learning Practice Leader, he focuses on improving learning outcomes; with each project, he thoughtfully and carefully considers enhancing a student’s sense of belonging, interacting, and sharing. Tod’s innovations in managing his own learning practice is amplified with his campaign to actively share his knowledge through publications, blog posts, and hosting a monthly podcast. He interviews educational leaders on important issues, including Universal Design, Sustainability, and COVID-19 related issues. Tod proactively advances the practice of educational architecture by forecasting future spaces through analyzing space data across all of the firm’s educational projects.