What is community design?
Community design is a collaborative process that engages a building’s end users in making key decisions about their project’s layout, materials, and appearance. Environmental Works is a community design center because community design empowers end users, creates culturally responsive spaces, and builds community.
How does community design work?
Identification of primary stakeholders. A nonprofit or agency identifies its project’s primary stakeholders: everyone with an interest in the project. This group may include, for example, community members who will use a facility, staff who will work there, and board members.
Visioning workshop. Environmental Works partners with the client to plan one or more visioning workshops that will be accessible to as many primary stakeholders as possible. At the workshop, we gather big-picture ideas from all stakeholders who attend, and also ask them to share ideas on behalf of community members who cannot attend. Based on this community input, EW develops preliminary design possibilities that we share with stakeholders at a design workshop.
Design workshop. During a design workshop, stakeholders share their preferences about spatial relationships and design elements. This work might involve testing out various design options with a “kit of parts” that includes a site plan and programmatic elements. The top recurring stakeholder preferences are presented to the community for review and comment. Based on this process, EW then develops a revised project design that incorporates stakeholder input.
To learn more about community design in action, click here for a case study.
What does community design create?
Community design empowers end users to participate in making their neighborhood and community healthier and stronger. It creates culturally responsive spaces. And it builds community among neighbors and peers, strengthening relationships and building bridges between us all – which is especially valuable during these divisive times.