concordia is a community based planning and design team with a collective passion for the principles of concord. We implement our work through an integrative and participatory process that addresses physical, cultural, social, educational, organizational and economic assets and needs.
Planning Process
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Concordia is an internationally-known planning firm that has done work in many communities in cooperation with a variety of other firms. Concordia has dedicated itself to innovations in school district planning and school design, wherever those efforts may exist. Its Founding Principal, Steven Bingler, is a noted expert in education facility planning and has written and spoken extensively on this subject. In a recent vote of confidence, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation agreed to fund 50 schools based on an innovative educational model where Concordia conducted community planning and also designed the facilities.
While many people are now singing the theme of community engagement in school planning, Steven Bingler helped initiate the movement. Two booklets that Mr. Bingler co-wrote have had extraordinary impact on innovative thinking about school planning and design. Published in 2003, “Schools as Centers of Community: A Citizen’s Guide for Planning and Design” is a policy document written for the US Department of Education, which sets out both the design principles and the organizational procedures that Concordia follows in undertaking a project. “Dollars and Sense: The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools,” published by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, in Cincinnati, Ohio, is another publication for which Mr. Bingler and his partner, Ms. Bobbie Hill, served on the research team.
“Dollars and Sense” is part school planning and part economic analysis. As others begin to use these ideas in their own work, Concordia is moving on to second generation thinking.