Think Tank

Todd Rhoades received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Kansas State University in 1980 and worked for several architectural firms in Kansas City before moving to Michigan to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art. After graduation from Cranbrook with his master’s degree in architecture, he moved to Minnesota. While working as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, he was hired by Bill Morrish at the U of M Design Center for American Urban Landscape. It was at the Design Center where Todd worked on his first affordable housing project helping the City of Minneapolis resolve the Holman public housing lawsuit. After this, Todd led the Design Center’s team efforts in East Grand Forks, MN when the city requested help in re-envisioning their city after the devastating floods of 1998.

While at the Design Center, Todd opened his architectural firm Cermak Rhoades Architects in 1993 with his partner Terri Cermak. The focus of the firm was to work with non-profit organizations to bring good design to affordable housing projects of all scales and types. The firm designed projects totaling over 2,000 new dwelling units and 5,000 renovated units. In 2019, Cermak Rhoades Architects was acquired by LHB, where Todd is currently a design coordinator for the Housing Studio.

Todd believes that good design enriches people’s lives, and he applies his deep knowledge of design principles and building technology to each of his projects. He enjoys working at all scales of design, from building details to master plans for new communities. Todd’s work has won numerous design awards including four of the seven AIA MN McKnight Affordable Housing Design Awards. His most recent award was for Higher Ground St. Paul, a homeless shelter and permanent housing facility which is phase one of the larger Dorothy Day campus for Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Todd is a Professor in Practice at the University of Minnesota’s School of Architecture where he has taught both undergraduate and graduate design studios for the past 30 years. For his graduate studios, he often frames problems around issues that he is working on in the office so students can explore design solutions for populations dealing with homelessness, stigma and isolation. Todd also brings his woodworking experience to the undergraduate studio when he teaches “The Box Problem”, in which students learn basic woodworking skills while designing and making a box with a specific use, so they learn that construction methods and detailing are important to the meaning of their projects.

When not in the office, Todd enjoys the beauty and solitude found in the forests of northern Minnesota while paddling his wood and canvas canoe and hiking the numerous trails in the region.

Scott is a registered licensed architect, Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC®), and LEED accredited professional who leads innovative research, provides sustainability consulting, and high-performance project management at Databased+, a studio within dbHMS. His recent research revolves around whole building carbon LCA and the impact early phase design decisions has on the total carbon footprint of a development.

He assists project teams in developing sustainable strategies to reach low carbon goals, which includes consulting for both MEP, architectural design, and owner operations. Overseeing projects ranging from 50-story mixed-use developments to small-scale community forward libraries, Scott delivers a comprehensive green building knowledge base as well as a unique sustainability perspective, not only for the project, but also for all members of the team.

Outside of Databased+, Scott is currently the chair for the AIA Chicago 2030 Commitment Group, an initiative that sets goals and measure industry progress towards net-zero energy and carbon performance by the year 2030. Scott is also an active participant in the City of Chicago’s Building Decarbonization Working Group, providing his professional insights to assist in the creation of a decarbonization plan for the city. Additionally, he also volunteers with the Illinois Green Alliance’s Energy Ambassador program, which focuses on community outreach to promote simple energy efficient measures that can be done at any home to save utility costs and improve carbon footprint.

Stephen oversees projects from their schematic design phase to construction administration and closeout. His specialties include historic preservation and adaptive reuse projects, new contemporary designs for office buildings and mixed-use buildings, and master planning for neighborhoods and townhouse typologies.

Stephen is a graduate of the Tulane School of Architecture. While at Tulane, Stephen spent time in Central America where he studied tropical architecture in Guatemala and Belize through Tulane’s study abroad program and built his thesis five times on the coast of Honduras.

From 2012 to 2016, Stephen served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. While a legislator, he served on the Commerce, Natural Resources, and Municipal committees. He also focused on French Immersion education, environmentally friendly initiatives, and healthcare. Notable to the practice of architecture, he co-authored and led the bill that adopted the new Louisiana plumbing code for buildings (IPC).

Stephen is an active board member of the US Green Building Council, Louisiana Chapter and is a LEED accredited professional. He has overseen the design and construction of several LEED-certified houses and previously worked in construction administration in 2007 for Make it Right in the Lower Ninth ward of New Orleans following hurricane Katrina.

More recently Stephen has led the charge to create a French Immersion Charter school in St. Landry Parish and has overseen the team to develop the construction documents, code research, and schematic design for the rehabilitation of a historic school building in Sunset, Louisiana, adapting the building to new codes and modern teaching methodologies.

David Block is Director of Development for Evergreen Real Estate Group. David joined the company in September 2014 and originally served as Director of Affordable Housing Development. An architect and urban planner, he has been involved in community development and affordable housing for more than 25 years. He has led the design, development and construction of more than 2,000 units of mixed-income housing, including such nationally-recognized projects as the Independence and Northtown Library-Apartments projects, the St. Charles Hospital redevelopment in Aurora, the Ravenswood Hospital redevelopment in Chicago, and numerous other projects in eight states.

Prior to joining Evergreen, David spent 12 years at The Community Builders, a national non-profit organization, where he was Director of Development for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. In his time at The Community Builders, David managed portions of three significant public housing transformation engagements – in Hartford, Connecticut, Louisville, Kentucky, and Chicago – and he also led the development of the residential component of The Shops and Lofts at 47 (with Skilken Development), a complex $46 million mixed-use, mixed-income development that included 120 apartments and an urban prototype store for a large national grocery chain.

David earned a master of architecture degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

As a Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Thrive Companies, Kevin plays a strategic role in the organization’s direction while overseeing all aspects of day-to-day operations

Since early 2018, he has focused his time and energy on restructuring all aspects of execution to support Thrive’s repositioning as an “Experience” brand. Prior to helping launch Thrive, Kevin operated The Zeppernick Company through which he worked with three of the largest homebuilders in the country (Toll Brothers, Beazer Homes, and M/I Homes) as well as the largest real estate services company in the world (Jones Lang LaSalle). He has developed over 2,000 residential acres and built more than 3,000 homes with a market value just under $1B. As a contracted Global Project Lead for JLL, he managed more than $1B in corporate real estate projects all over the world for some of JLL’s largest clients.

Kevin holds a degree in Politics from Princeton University.

Adam Quigley, AIA, a member of Legat Architects' Chicago studio, has 20 years of experience in architectural planning and design, plus he’s “fluent in Portuguese and automotive maintenance.”

Building owners have called on Adam for everything from replacing inefficient systems to tweaking environments for employee recruitment. He has also led focus groups to create designs that overcome staff concerns and meet management goals.

Adam has drawn from his project management and technical skills to help clients overcome many challenges. He has helped corporations fit employees into reduced footprints, worked with manufacturers to avoid material delays, and developed phasing so owners can occupy a building during construction of renovations.

When he’s not in the office, Adam likes tinkering with automobiles and camping with his family. He said, “Being a day’s hike from civilization helps build resiliency and self-sufficiency.”

Adam holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago.