McGill Smith Punshon (MSP Design) started in 1856. As a Cincinnati design firm composed of experienced architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, planners, and surveyors MSP Design currently serves the Greater Cincinnati area. While they have projects all over the region, they had a very important hand in helping many of our own region’s most iconic structures come to fruition.
The company went through several names throughout the years, but it’s founder was Joseph Earnshaw, a surveyor and civil engineer. Just a few projects they have worked on in their over 165 year history includes:
- Laying out of Spring Grove Cemetery
- Patened improvements to Cincinnati incline carriages
- Engineering and surveying for Cincinnati Water Works
- Survey of Sangerfest Hall, Music Hall’s predecessor
- Suvery of property where The Cincinnati Art Museum and Academy were built
- Landscape Architecture of Cincinnati Zoo
- Design of the Renovation/Expansion Projects of Xavier University’s Historic Signature Buildings (Hinkle Hall, Schmidt Hall and Edgecliff Hall)
- Survey of Washington Park
- Cincinnati Reds Survey of 2 locations and 3 stadiums
- Survey Consultant for The Banks in 1999
- Layout of National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
- Expansion of the Ripley Library (last built Carnegie Library – 1916)
- Bishop’s Quarter: extensive Renovation/Restoration of a Fire Damaged 1906 iconic building in downtown Loveland, Ohio.
- Renovation of the two buildings at 1212 Jackson Street in the Over the Rhine District to move the Art Academy of Cincinnati into the largest historic district in Cincinnati.
University of Cincinnati’s Probasco Auditorium
At the 2024 Preservation Excellence Awards, Cincinnati Preservation awarded MSP Design with the award for Preservation Excellence in Adaptive Reuse for the Probasco Auditorium renovation.
“This award is important to us because although we provide a unique mix of services, buildings like this one mean a lot to all of our staff. They provide an important link to our region’s past, and since we’ve been around since 1856, we are all about the history,” notes Randal Merrill AIA, LEED AP, Executive Vice President.
Merrill continues, “Preservation is important so we continue to save our iconic and beautiful architecture, to repurpose it and give it a new life that will extend it’s reach.”
The Probasco Auditorium renovation resulted in a state-of-the-art lecture and presentation venue within a beautifully restored historic building. It meets UC’s standards for a 21st-century learning environment. The facility serves students from all academic programs and supports performing arts like plays and musical concerts. It also allows for digital connections to other campuses and audiences worldwide.
The Second Church of Christ Scientist, an iconic landmark in Cincinnati’s Clifton neighborhood, stood as an architectural grandeur since its construction in 1921. Crafted with neoclassical Greek Revival elements, it stands on the corner of Clifton Avenue and Probasco Street, serving as a focal point for the community. Vacated by the church in 2012, the future of the building was uncertain until the University bought the building in 2018 to transform the church into a modern lecture hall.
The design team showed exceptional care in preserving the original architecture, including the Greek Revival style typical of Christian Science churches of the era. Every effort was made to ensure the new creation appeared to be part of the original building. Instead of extensive new construction, the project focused on repurposing existing spaces efficiently.
While preserving historical elements, the project seamlessly integrated contemporary building systems and features. This included retrofitting existing pews to incorporate modern technology such as tablet arm cradles and concealed wiring. State-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, and a modern HVAC system, all were designed to enhance the functionality and sustainability of the space.
Accessibility was a key consideration throughout the renovation, ensuring the space is welcoming to all visitors. This included restrooms, elevators, transitions, and exit accesses.
The project also involved restoring the exterior facade, including cleaning, and tuck-pointing of the brick and stone elements. The original opaque windows were maintained, the existing exterior protection system was replaced, and the views from both inside and out enhanced the overall building.
The project achieved a seamless integration of old and new elements, ensuring that the transition from the original structure to its modern incarnation is almost imperceptible. This adaptive reuse not only honors the past but also ensures that the building remains a vital part of campus life for decades to come, serving generations of students and faculty.
You can learn more about MSP Design’s in depth history here.
