WV architect gaining valuable experience early in career

By Jim Workman, The State Journal

Most architects must toil away for many years before they secure an opportunity to work on a project of great significance.

At 28, Josh Lyons already has a couple in his portfolio.

The Springfield, Ohio native worked on the J.W. and Hazel Ruby West Virginia Welcome Center located along U.S. Rt. 19 in Fayette County for the Boy Scouts of America and the Greenbrier Chapel at The Greenbrier.

One year after graduating from Miami (Ohio) University, Lyons went to work at Bridgeport-based Thrasher in 2014.

Lyons said working with Thrasher has its benefits, especially to a young architect, allowing him to “have a voice” early in his career.

Thrasher has five offices in three states and employ over 300 people company wide.

“The architecture department is a smaller part of a larger firm,” Lyons explained. We have the advantages and resources that a large firm can offer, but with our division being relatively small, my voice does not go unheard.”

To say he hit the ground running at Thrasher could be a vast understatement.

“In school, you joke about working for one of the larger international firms,” Lyons said. “You might get stuck detailing bathroom partitions for the first three years of your career. It’s definitely not been that way here at Thrasher.”

Lyons and his wife Ashley Lyons, a Preston County native and also a Miami University graduate, moved to West Virginia in 2014…

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