TCS to Partner with TDA in Planning for the Future

This week the Tiffin City Board of Education voted to use the services of ThenDesign Architecture to assist the district with community engagement and in creating a master plan to assess the district’s facilities, as well as identifying future needs and how to best address and plan for those needs.  The plan will be a new from the ground up collaboration between the district and the entire Tiffin community.  

ThenDesign Architecture, TDA, was among nine firms who submitted proposals, a high number, according to Superintendent Ben Richards.  The nine were narrowed to three finalists, with a broad-based committee choosing TDA to take to the board for a vote.

Four representatives of TDA attended Monday’s board meeting to present their proposal to move Tiffin City Schools forward in planning for future needs.  The proposal focused on four main goals:  creating a community-developed master plan, moving through the process with complete transparency to the community, exploring potential private partnerships for athletic components, and regaining status as the “educational lighthouse” of the region.  They stressed their ability to customize the communication and engagement along the way to meet the needs of the Tiffin community.  

TDA, with 70 plus years of experience in designing educational architecture, brings the skill of 50 professionals to the table, half of whom are licensed architects.  Founding Partner and Executive Chairman Bob Fiala said, “We don’t have a starting lineup, back ups, 3rd team, and a squad team; we have first team and second team only.”

Some local projects TDA has worked on include Heidelberg University’s Hoernemann Stadium, Fremont City Schools, and Sandusky City Schools.  The firm recently spent a day in Tiffin, getting a feel for the community and visiting TCS facilities.  Fiala assured the board TDA has great experience working with state funding and their requirements.

Prior to the vote, board member Larry Kisabeth said the quote from TDA’s committee presentation that really stood out to him was, “The ultimate goal in every engagement process is to have the district rightfully believe that they designed their school buildings.”