OUR APPROACH and OUR PROMISE

Understanding the Physical Space

We bring to all of our projects an intense interest in the particular qualities of each urban place, including its history, topography, architecture, and urban form. Historic research and documentation, digital photography and modeling, on-line data searches, and old fashioned field observation give us the tools to develop what we believe projects deserves: not a formula, but a unique vision.

Research Social Fabric

We incorporate everything we know and can learn about how people really use public space. We design spaces that attract diverse users, encourage impromptu human connection, promote healthy economic activity, careful maintenance, and stewardship over the long term.

Commitment to participation

We welcome broad participation in the design process, especially from stakeholders and members of the public who may typically be left out. We listen carefully to multiple points of view, and use design as a tool for reconciling differences, without sacrificing clarity of intent or quality of outcome.

Communicating Clearly with Words and Images

Broad participation requires clear communication between parties with different levels of understanding. We see our role as helping engaged communities project its imagination collectively. Toward that end, we emphasize clarity in all aspects of the design process, from oral presentations to concept diagrams to finished renderings. We strive to produce presentations, documents, and drawings which clearly describe, but which also inspire.

Focus on Quality and Durability

We believe the kind of service we deliver to our clients is a reflection of the kinds of urban places we want to help create. We emphasize quality at all levels, which does not necessarily mean greater expense, but greater care in thinking, in producing, in constructing, and in maintaining. We are committed to promoting durable beauty in the public environment.