An interview with Steven Bingler, President of Concordia, Inc., a research and planning firm, and Concordia Architects, an architectural design firm, reveals his views on planning a learning community in educational facilities. He addresses what tools to use to facilitate the group process for planning, discusses how school districts save money through business partnerships, and highlights how school district size can affect the planning approach. He also discusses how to design an environment for fifth- and sixth-grade learners, including how to design a computer lab. Having clear lines of communication between diverse groups during the planning stage is stressed. Problems with lengthy planning stages creating diminishing returns and generating reports that are outdated are also addressed as is the dubious value of planning reports that emphasize process over product. Final comments discuss the learning environments that are so extensive that the traditional school is nearly eliminated. (GR)