HGA’s design philosophy uniquely positions the firm to be an industry leader in fostering equity to the built environment. Through collaboration and original insights, clients trust HGA to challenge the status quo and create an enduring impact through our work. The firm’s Equity Statement declares, “Great design requires deep insight into the people and passions that enliven each unique environment.”
Our goal was to create an Equity Toolkit to put this insight to work and create a tangible starting point for meaningful conversations and considerations around equity and inclusion. The toolkit is a living document that empowers designers and clients to better serve all users, while positioning HGA as the industry leader and innovator in equitable and inclusive spaces.
Focusing on gender, race, religion, neurodiversity, and physical ability, this Micro-Grant identifies 3-5 space types for the first iteration of this toolkit, as well as a process and template for future additions. Each space type identifies programming requirements, best practices, and design guidelines as a starting point for our planning and design process.
A physical and digital Equity Toolkit booklet provides best practice information, space planning tips, and simple concept diagrams for selected spaces through the lenses of equity and inclusion. The goal is to provide designers and clients with a tangible, easily comprehensible, and actionable toolkit.
The Equity Toolkit will evolve with HGA along our journey to continually become more equitable and as clients adapt and change. Future evolutions of this work could develop benchmarks to quantify equity and inclusion performance, similar to LEED Certification.