Established in Sioux Falls during the Great Depression, TSP, Inc. will mark 95 years in business in 2025.
Throughout the year, the firm will celebrate its legacy of innovation and excellence, highlighting its positive influence on communities across South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming, and beyond.
But before the anniversary year officially begins, TSP team members took the opportunity to share industry trends that shaped 2024 and insights into what they expect in 2025.
TSP architect and director of design Chase Kramer saw architectural software providers integrating or announcing plans to integrate AI into their tools to improve workflow efficiency or enhance renderings in 2024.
AI is also continuously refining repetitive tasks that architects and engineers encounter within the design and documentation process.
“It continues to become apparent that, while AI isn’t necessarily going to replace architects and engineers, it’s the architect and engineer who knows how to use AI who will replace architects and engineers,” he said.
“Success in our industry is always about adaptability, and AI is no exception.”
TSP has developed an AI policy and started to use AI notetakers to streamline internal communications, particularly across their offices where meetings are already virtual.
The year also saw the approval of numerous healthcare design projects, which will continue into 2025.
TSP designed two clinic locations for Monument Health in western South Dakota that are currently under construction.
“We are continuing to develop our healthcare team and expertise as major hospitals continue to expand services and reach across the TSP company footprint,” Kramer said.
“We have also seen continued interest in religious work with multiple churches and faith denominations expanding and renovating, and hopefully that will continue into 2025 as well.”
From a design standpoint, the definition of sustainability is growing, and its integration into all aspects of the design process is becoming more evident.
This trend has led clients to embrace a broader range of environmental and building standards for their projects.
“It’s not just LEED anymore, but we’ve seen growing interest in and adoption of the WELL Building Standard and Green Globes,” Kramer said.
Building system design such as HVAC and plumbing responded to federal regulations in 2024, said Chris Maks, a mechanical engineer and discipline leader.
A significant factor was tax rebates and credits associated with the Inflation Reduction Act.
The mechanical design for numerous projects featured geothermal well fields and ice storage systems that allow clients to apply for rebates.
“These tax rebates offset some of the costs of their mechanical and plumbing infrastructure, which in turn allowed the clients’ money to go further in regard to other building elements,” Maks said.
Another federal regulation that factored into TSP’s mechanical designs were adjustments around new A2L refrigerants. Code revisions that mandate refrigerants with a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) began to take place in 2024 and will extend into 2025.
“TSP has been extensively learning the properties of these new refrigerants and the additional impacts to building owners, while thinking of the future when implementing them into our building system designs,” Maks said.
Electrical Engineer and Discipline Leader Jake Buckmiller notes increasing client interest in photovoltaic (PV) systems – or solar panel systems – as clients look to capitalize on available rebates and integrate renewable energy generation into their projects.
“In 2025, I think we will continue to see clients interested in renewable energy generation, as well as more clients requesting electric vehicle (EV) charging stations being incorporated into the design of their projects,” he said.
“Depending on the type of charging desired, EV chargers can add a significant load to a building’s electrical distribution system, so working with our clients to understand if they have interest either now or in the future for these systems can be beneficial as we design their electrical system.”
In recent years, the TSP structural team has seen a shortage of the most common cement type and more use of a blended concrete with higher concentrations of limestone.
“This has proven to be a very comparable substitution that offers both the strength characteristics that are key to performance of concrete mixtures, but also provides protection from high alkali reactive soils,” said Lucas Lorenzen, structural discipline leader at TSP.
“We have been working with contractors and suppliers to incorporate this as a benefit rather than clinging to the status quo.”
The team has also worked with prefabricated steel stud and wood stud wall assembly projects.
“Several factors led us to embrace this trend, including labor shortages, weather, rural communities, and quality that can benefit from controlled fabrication,” Lorenzen said.
In 2025, Lorenzen anticipates a continued push for delivery methods that require multiple bid packages.
“As a multidisciplinary firm, we can ensure our clients that we have coordinated and gone through the design process to be able to deliver long-lead items and allow for a lower construction cost because of compressed schedules,” he said.
When it comes to interior design trends, a shift toward warm and nature-based finishes had great impact in 2024.
“Transitioning from the cooler shades of gray – a ‘color without color’ in 2020 – to warmer shades leaning toward brown influenced interiors in 2024,” said Interior Designer Loretta Haugen.
Color drenching – the use of the same hues with different intensity – with shades of green, terra cotta, and brown were some of the more popular colors for the year.
“Reaching out once again to nature for inspiration and weaving nostalgic appeal to design elements with clean lines from Mid-Century Modern and the repetition and curves of Art Deco lent itself to a more reflective and interesting style, especially in lighting and furnishings,” Haugen said.
This is reflected in the recently completed Union Coffee Café in Dodge Center, Minn., where TSP, in collaboration with AB Systems, provided interior design services, including furnishings.
“The goal for this project was to create a warm, friendly, and inviting space that would encourage patrons to feel like they were dining at home lingering at the end of a meal with a good cup of coffee,” Haugen said.
In the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, trends often come and go, affected by ever-changing technologies, design preferences, and economic conditions.
However, 95 years of relationships built on collaboration, trust, and mutual respect truly stand the test of time, and for that, the TSP team is deeply grateful.
