Photo by Meg Holiday
Architect Christine Medvedev infuses sustainable design into her home and her work and shares that passion with the next generation.
By Zachary Lewis
Work-life balance is a non-issue for Shaker architect Christine Medvedev. In her regal South Park Blvd. home, the two domains overlap seamlessly, just as she likes it.
It isn’t just that Medvedev often works from home, running Christine Medvedev Design. It’s that she works throughout the whole home, and that in many ways, her home is her work.
“For us, it’s all blurred together,” says the New Jersey native, in a dining room with both artwork and landscape drawings. “The house is multi-functional. It’s where we love to hang out, but it’s also where we work.”
A lived-in example
Motivation for this work was both personal and professional. Medvedev’s mission wasn’t only to make her home more practical and environmentally friendly but also to erect a model home, a lived-in example of her transformative style and priorities.
She also had her husband’s work to consider. Andrew Medvedev,a Cleveland native, is dean of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. In that capacity, he often hosts faculty dinners and other events at the house. Both also open their home to the several community organizations they serve as volunteers.
“On any given day, we’re doing so many different things,” Medvedev says. “I just take my laptop everywhere.”
Engaging future architects
There is one thing that often takes Medvedev out of the house, and that is a desire to share her passion for environmentally informed architecture. For this reason, she often can be found in Shaker Heights City Schools or at City Hall.
At Boulevard and Mercer Elementary Schools, Medvedev spearheaded a successful food-waste composting program, in partnership with Cleveland’s Rust Belt Riders and the Shaker Schools Foundation. She also champions thoughtful architecture on the school district’s Facilities
On a tour that includes the bedrooms of her three children – ages 6, 8, and 10 – Medvedev spotlights not only her cozy, den-like office, where she produces Computer-Aided Design (CAD) drawings, but also the many other areas where she does business.
Sculptures, paintings, photographs, and the occasional Lego build tastefully populate a series of inviting, comfortable spaces including the family’s dining room, living room, kitchen, and rear patio, where a new in-ground pool is under construction.
On any given day, we’re doing so many different things.
All of these have been newly renovated. Upon moving in during the pandemic, Medvedev set about opening up and brightening the 1908 home, preserving its old-world grandeur while setting it up for daily life in the 21st century. She also converted from gas to electric, added insulation, and installed a rain garden, to clean up stormwater runoff.
“We took a home that wasn’t designed for a modern family and made it sustainable,” she says. “We see ourselves as stewards.”
Advisory Committee and addresses stormwater and energy issues as a member of two municipal sustainability sub-committees.
But if there’s one rival for Medvedev’s affection, beyond her home, work, and family, it’s a special program at Shaker Heights High School. Specifically, the School District’s ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) club.
When Medvedev learned about ACE she couldn’t resist getting involved as a mentor. Now, every time she meets with the group to advise on one project or another, Medvedev is reminded of why she became an architect and how she ended up living and working in a beautiful and eco-conscious home in Shaker Heights.
“Architecture is my first love,” Medvedev says. “That’s the thing I’m most passionate about, and now I’m helping other people figure out if it’s their passion, too.”
