Robert P. Madison International

Robert P. Madison International is a Cleveland architecture, interiors and planning firm founded on July 17, 1954 and based at 1215 Superior Avenue. Established by Robert P. Madison, it was the first Black-owned architecture firm in the Midwest and has worked on civic, cultural, aviation and institutional buildings across northeast Ohio for seven decades. The firm is serving as architect of record, jointly with DLR Group, on the $135 million Rock and Roll Hall of Fame expansion, the 50,000-square-foot lakefront addition designed by PAU and built by Higley on nearly 200 caissons drilled through landfill. Its earlier Cleveland work includes airport, university and public-sector projects.

Ownership changed hands on March 18, 2016, when Sandra Madison, AIA, NCARB, already 26 years with the practice, became majority owner, CEO and chairperson. She rewrote the mission around improving lives through design, mentorship and service to community, and the firm now describes itself as the largest Black female-owned architecture firm in Ohio.

The practice covers architecture, interior design and planning, plus owner’s representative work and professional services to construction-manager-at-risk and design-build teams. That last category is how the firm sits on both the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame expansion teams. It also acted as owner’s representative for MetroHealth on the 32,000-square-foot Metro Express Care at Urban Community School.

Recent and active Cleveland work runs civic and healthcare. The firm is lead on the Cleveland Mounted Police Stables, a 2020 award that includes conceptual design for a community equestrian center with the City of Cleveland, and lead on the Walz and Nottingham branch libraries, with the Walz project pairing a library with senior housing through the Detroit Shoreway Neighborhood Group. Healthcare clients include MetroHealth’s Westlake Health Center expansion, Cleveland Clinic work that started through a mentor-protege arrangement and now runs independently, and University Hospitals projects including the Otis Moss renovation with a new radiology room and a 5,000-square-foot training center built in partnership with Cuyahoga Community College.

Recognition since the ownership change includes interior design awards from American School and University Magazine in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Weatherhead 100 listings in 2018 and 2019 for growth, and SBA District Minority Owned Firm of the Year. Crain’s Cleveland Business ranks the practice 19th among Northeast Ohio architecture firms.

The staff of roughly 22 carries AIA, NCARB, NOMA, RA, LEED AP and CPHD credentials across partners, principals, senior associates and designers. Alongside the Cleveland office at 1215 Superior Avenue, the firm now works from 1216 Broadway in New York.