Our Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI):
Twenty years ago, we founded our practice with a deep investment in social justice of all forms and we are fortunate to be able focus on projects for mission-driven clients who serve diverse communities. Recent events have brought a renewed focus to racial justice specifically; both our firm and industry in general have much room for improvement regarding equity and belonging. We have made progress, but also recognize the ways in which we can do better and are committed to continually improving. This commitment extends to all areas of our work: our design process and projects, our practice and firm culture, and the architectural profession at large.
“Everyone deserves great design” is one of our foundational principles. Underlying this is the belief that great design is built by a rich collaboration of diverse voices, from within our office, the greater profession, and the communities and neighborhoods that we work in. This collaboration is what brings strength and vitality to our architecture.
Project & Process
We are committed to integrating principles of equity and inclusion into the work we do every day, beginning by reflecting on our own design process and approach to projects. Expanding on our success with implementing an environmental sustainability framework into our projects, we intend to also measure social equity metrics as part of our design process to provide focus on strategies and issues that will create positive social impacts. When we design for any community, our priority is listening to its members during a proactive community engagement process -- one that we continually seek to make more robust and more integrated into the full life cycle of a building. We believe that by intensifying our focus on engagement, our buildings will more authentically reflect and celebrate the communities they inhabit. We are intent on bringing greater diversity to our project teams so that they more accurately represent the communities within which we work. Beyond our internal staffing, we are also committed to building long-term alliances with BIPOC-owned firms and fostering an inclusive design process that values our consultants as true collaborators.
Practice
We seek to nurture a firm culture that is based on open and inclusive practices to strengthen connections, trust, and understanding. This means examining our office activities, social gatherings, and policies through a lens of diversity, equity, and belonging. People are the greatest asset upon which our practice is built. To bring greater diversity, we will refine our hiring practices to better reach and engage designers from underrepresented communities. A culture of belonging also means a renewed focus on mentorship and professional development to empower all staff to be leaders in the firm and community. By bringing a greater focus on equity into our mentorship program, we can better understand individual experiences and identify areas for improvement. Recognizing that we are always striving to understand our blind spots, we will provide more educational opportunities about social justice issues impacting our work and community for everyone to continually learn. To encourage civic engagement among staff, we will also continue to provide opportunities for community service outside the office.
Profession
As a firm, we are committed to further diversifying the profession of architecture and the greater AEC industry. We will strengthen our existing partnerships and seek new opportunities with programs that introduce architecture to those who were not previously privileged with access to resources and exposure to the profession. Beyond our own practice, we will continue collaborating in areas of shared values with professional and community organizations. We will seek to be leaders and ambassadors alongside our engineering, finance, construction, and other design professional peers to promote greater diversity among all those involved in the process of creating architecture.