Company Report: NTDStichler
NTDStichler: Heeding Higher Callings By focusing on the education and healthcare markets, and providing services above and beyond the norm, NTDStichler Architecture is working to set itself apart

Some architectural firms want to be generalists by dabbling in a number of activities, while others seek happiness by specializing in one or two specific endeavors.
San Diego-based NTDStichler Architecture would be included with the latter group.
"We want to be the trusted advisor to our clients," says Jon Baker, president and CEO of NTDStichler. "Sometimes that includes architectural work, But sometimes that includes our other services. This is why we specialize in the educational and healthcare markets: we know as much about our clients' services and market as the client does, so we are able to offer a full range of services beyond what a traditional architectural firm could do."
NTDStichler is a comprehensive architectural, engineering, and interior design firm comprised of architects, planners, engineers, interior designers, construction managers, and a number of other professionals. All of these skill sets are targeted to providing innovative strategies and sensitive design solutions to the education and healthcare related markets.
In short, the company wants to be more than just a group of architects designing buildings. It endeavors to improve how people interact with the physical environment, while in an educational or health care setting. The company looks for ways to design buildings that enhance the goals of the activities conducted within those settings. Through investigating, exploring and researching its clients' services and related needs, it strives to improve how schools and hospitals provide those services.
By way of example, Baker notes that the company has nurse practitioners on its staff as unique providers of strategic planning services on operational issues for its healthcare related clients.
"Because they come from the healthcare environment, they will examine existing protocols within our client's operations to find efficiencies and then help with new planning," Baker says. "They take operational documents and develop them into planning solutions such as resolving throughput issues related to patient services."
As such, these nurses are part of the company's in-house planning teams, which also includes school building funding specialists that help districts apply for funding and acts as advocates for them during the entire process, Baker says.
As Baker explains, many school building projects in California are funded through a combination of state and local bond issue funding.
"We are extremely knowledgeable about how these state funding programs work," he says. "In fact, we were involved in helping the legislature set state policy on how funding is appropriated to school districts for new buildings."
Baker then goes on to describe the role his company plays.
"We will assist the school district by examining its enrollment and other factors that must be used to justify to the state the need for building, and put together justification documentation for state funding," he says. "We also handle advocacy for our clients in Sacramento by working to make sure they get their share of state bond money."
In California, in order to receive state funding a school district must show there is growing enrollment and that the existing facilities lack adequacy for handling the projected student population.
"If the school population grows beyond the capacity of the school to handle them - there aren't enough seats in the classrooms - the excess student population becomes classified as un-housed students, which is the primary justification of new building," says Baker.
Other services provided by the company include facility and program needs assessment, mechanical engineering, interior design, and digital graphics, modeling and animation.
The company also formed a 50/50 partnership six years ago with Edge Development Inc., to form the design build subsidiary NTD-Edge. With this arrangement NTDStichler takes on one half of the bonding liability and obligation of the company.
According to Baker, the intent behind forming this partnership was to use it to take on the design build responsibilities for school districts. This allows NTDStichler to provide yet another critical building service to its clients while providing the company better control over issues such as scheduling and building costs.
"We are able to make sure the needs of the school are met and that the design is not compromised as building gets under way," Baker says.
With its full line of services the company has built many long-term relationships with its clients, especially in its education services.
"We have worked with some school districts and colleges for many, many years and we are able to provide help with enrolment trends and site selection for new building sometimes years in advance," says Baker. "When it comes time, we can also help move the building of the school forward."
As many builder and school board member would probably attest to, the work prior to actual building can be the most time consuming and difficult aspect of constructing a new school. To make sure the planning and approval process moves smoothly, NTDStichler will meet with all of the stakeholders, including state and district representatives as well as members of the community to facilitate the process.
The company will also send its preconstruction group to the district and do the pre-work involved with developing a plan for the school. It is this attention to detail in the design phase that Baker asserts is another distinguishing characteristic of his company.
The planning and design of the company's projects - whether it's a new school or medical facility - is a highly interactive charrette (French for a collaborative session in which solutions to design issues are resolved) that the company calls an "Esquisse."
The term Esquisse is itself French in origin and means "to sketch out loud." This is a process used by the company to involve its clients in the programming, planning, and design of projects. An Esquisse involves sending members of NTDStichler's design team to a site convenient to the client where they set up a mini architectural office, or Esquisse workroom.
"We will set up shop with the client

• SIGN UP to join the Construction Community
• More Construction Company Reports