Beyond good design. Design for good. HGA COMMUNITY ACTION 2019 REPORT
2051 HOURS
WE CARE | SACRAMENTO
COMMUNITY Communities are more than locations on a map; they are ever-changing amalgams of the people, culture, and traditions found there. HGA encourages teams to engage professional skills and personal passion to create local impact; through projects for the arts, education, history, or special populations, we help communities reflect their unique identity and values.
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ORGANIZATIONS REVITALIZE MILWAUKEE | MILWAUKEE
A LITTER BIT BETTER | ROCHESTER
288
11
EMPLOYEES
OFFICES TOY DRIVE | BOSTON
NEW HORIZONS
TALL SHIP PROVIDENCE
New Horizons is a nonprofit dedicated to enriching the lives of people with intellectual disabilities through education and skills training. HGA Los Angeles hosted a one-day design workshop to help them envision their future campus via a renovation or move. The team creatively reworked the existing space into a more inclusive environment for all who work and learn there.
Tall ship Providence, a Revolutionary War era replica on the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria, is getting a permanent visitor’s center in 2020. HGA’s Washington, DC team provided pro bono design services for the new floating museum, creating program spaces which included admission and ticketing, a small gift shop, and gathering and reenactment spaces.
WELLNESS
ENVIRONMENT
Health, happiness, and safety are the foundation of a thriving community. A secure sense of belonging creates ties that unite an otherwise diverse group of individuals. For HGA employees, community engagement is an opportunity to create impact through specific local initiatives that strengthen the broader health of the communities to which we belong.
Despite continual advances in technology and manufacturing, we are still inextricably bound to nature. Nature supports us and we must support nature. HGA offices actively seek opportunities to help communities connect with the natural world. This fosters a deeper appreciation on all sides for the need to create and sustain a healthy environment.
RIVERWEST FOOD PANTRY
TINY HOUSE/ADU COMPETITION
BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS
HERITAGE ROSE GARDEN
Founded in 1979, Riverwest Food Pantry believes food is the entry point to changing people’s lives. HGA Milwaukee provided pro bono design services to guide the non-profit in their efforts to fully and efficiently use their space to fulfill their community’s needs. In addition, HGA employees frequently volunteer at the pantry—preparing and distributing food to the community in the heart of the city.
Sacramento, like many cities, has a shortage of affordable housing. To address it, the AIA Central Valley and e49 Foundation co-sponsored a unique design competition. HGA submitted one of 14 proposals for a tiny house village for individuals experiencing homelessness. The winning design will be constructed and eventually become homes for those in need.
Made up of 34 islands and peninsulas, the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park is a popular tourist attraction and an important ecological habitat. HGA Boston spent a day on Lovells Island with BHI’s Natural Resources Team identifying and removing black swallow-wort, an invasive vine that is choking out native plants and threatening the monarch butterfly population.
In the dense urban jungle of downtown San Jose, three-mile Guadalupe River Park serves as a verdant sanctuary for residents and visitors. The Heritage Rose Garden inside the park is maintained primarily by volunteers and is home to the largest collection of heritage roses in the Western Hemisphere. Our HGA team spent a day digging in the dirt, doing their part to preserve this local treasure.
HEARTS AND HAMMERS | MINNEAPOLIS
ON THE COVER: FRIENDS OF THE URBAN FOREST | SAN FRANCISCO
HGA Community Action launched in 2015 as a grassroots effort to enhance the social impact of our work across the country. By donating the firm’s time, talents, and resources, HGA is creating positive change in our communities while providing opportunities to learn and work together. In the program’s fifth year, 288 HGA employees from eleven offices stepped up to contribute more than 2,000 hours of design, community engagement, and hands-on volunteering.
Discover more at: hga.com/community-action