Inclusion: Architecture for Belonging
Welcome to inclusive design; We're glad you're here.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Accessibility. Universal design. Inclusive design. What does it all mean? When it comes to the built environment, each concept is different, and all are related. At Jones, inclusive design comes down to making as many people as possible feel comfortable and accepted in their environment; and we believe it leads to better design.
As the most recent addition to the lexicon, inclusive design is perhaps most elusive. Is it a noun or a verb? What does it look like? How is it different from the other two? Owners might feel some trepidation at the term. (Yet another requirement? What will it cost?). To designers, it feels good; that is, it feels like good design. And to users? It feels like being respected and heard; it feels right.
Shaping an “architecture for belonging” is part mindset, part process, part product (verb and noun). Step one: when defining goals for the design of any project, put “belonging” on the list. And no, it doesn’t have to cost more money, or take more time. In any case, a better question might be, what are the costs of exclusion?
Architects are synthesizers by nature and by training; it is
our job to ask, listen, observe and respond in ways that take myriad and often competing variables into account; we are obsessed with elegance and economy — how can we resolve this messy set of variables in a unified fashion? How do we make something as beautiful as it is useful as it is welcoming? How can we make this place work for as many people as possible with the least number of moves?
We start by simply saying it out loud on new projects: we prioritize belonging as a design goal. Why? Because inclusion has too much value to ignore. Like sustainability, it has become, for Jones, a non-negotiable element of design. We are convinced that if we are not working toward improving DEI in our industry, we are contributing to the problem.
JONES FINDINGS: INCLUSIVE DESIGN
Inclusive design is less about checklists and standards than an expansion on what architects already do — engage stakeholders, get information from them, and implement accordingly. We’re learning as we go. That said, since formalizing our inclusive design efforts in January 2023, we have a few insights to offer.
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Get your own house in order. Look at leadership, career development, pay equity and ensuring an explicitly inclusive culture. Established practices to align with your goals to do better. For example, we are working toward building a more diverse pipeline through outreach, including the development of what we call “pre-professional” mentorships, wherein we invite high school students (two at a time) to join the office for up to six weeks.
Design with not for. In other words, don’t assume how a space will be used — ask instead. This seems obvious but the fact is that end users are not always asked about what they’d like to see in a space being designed for them. While clients may initially view this as “opening the problem;” i.e., creating headaches for the project team, our experience has shown that the process avoids costly backtracking because it confirms the design criteria for the project, and thus leads to more successful outcomes.
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Use multiple means for feedback. You’ll get more, and higher quality, responses when you use a variety of communication channels. Understand that people—especially those who are used to being dismissed or ignored may not be comfortable speaking up in a group situation, or may not be able to put their finger on what it is that makes them uncomfortable.
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Make sure "ordinary" applies to everyone. What may seem expected and ordinary to the mainstream is not so for excluded people, whether it’s an easy and convenient way to enter a building, a chair that fits your body, or enough variety of settings to meet the needs of neurodiverse people. Location speaks loudly—think carefully about the arrangement of spaces and what it communicates, for example “back entrances” for people with mobility challenges. Spend time and design energy on things that people generally pass over or deem unimportant or code-driven.
Look for opportunities for flexibiity. Use design to give users more power by providing a light sense of infrastructure that gives people the chance to use the space the way they want to. In 2023, Boston University asked Jones to renovate a 3,000 square foot space to become an LGBTQIA+ resource center. BU had yet to hire a director for the center and the team had little context to work from. Jones developed a list of over a dozen potential use cases and then came up with furniture layouts for several of those. We kept the materials neutral and gave the future users the opportunity to build an identity of their own into the space.
INCLUSIVITY LEADS TO MORE EFFECTIVE AND ENDURING DESIGN
Historically, architects have discounted many voices, namely those belonging to people who are not white or male but also people with low incomes, or less than a college education. Fortunately, that’s changing. For the profession to be a better reflection of the world we live in is both right and necessary. When more people of diverse backgrounds have a voice in architecture, more effective and enduring design is the result.
To achieve more inclusive design, we are challenging our approach to user engagement, recommendations to clients, and hiring and recruitment; we are identifying and dismantling exclusionary processes. And here’s the best part: We never know what may come out of these processes, but it’s certainly never going to make a project worse. It’s only going to get better.