New Branch Launch: Engage FORA
Every building, every space, should be designed with the people the project intends to serve in order to be successful in its purpose. By investing in authentic, meaningful community engagement before, during, and after design and construction of our buildings, we’ve seen the transformative impacts this critical process has on our own work. We are committed to incorporating engagement in all that we do and encouraging others to do the same.
FORA is proud to announce the official launch our new branch dedicated to hearing and incorporating diverse, hyper-local perspectives throughout the design process: Engage FORA.
Community engagement provides invaluable insights about culture, context, and values, which inform the design of places that better serve and reflect their communities. Engage FORA makes space for thoughtful conversations and crafts meaningful activities that center community-rooted values so that design teams can incorporate the right areas, cultural references, community spaces, colors and materials, and quality of life design features into their work in order to best serve their intended communities. This process enables communities to feel genuinely empowered to influence the design of places they call home, which leads to a sense of pride in ownership and care for a building once it’s built.
When we envision the future, we see community engagement as an integral part of every architectural design process.
At its heart, Engage FORA exists to:
Amplify diverse voices & celebrate hyperlocal knowledge
Encourage empathy building amongst diverse interest groups
Promote equity & justice through a meaningful & inclusive process
Recognize the true value of home - resisting the commodification of housing
Extend building lifetimes because designs that are loved, last
Create quality housing faster by demonstrating a genuine process to AHJs
Embrace that buildings are more than just objects, they are where life happens
We believe engagement should be a continuous and evolving process, so we provide three primary services that hone in on the largest discrete phases of a project: Engage Before, Engage During, and Engage After.
/ Engage Before identifies and builds a network of community members and stakeholders who will be impacted by a new project to gather their insights and feedback before and as design begins. This process often includes: interviews, surveys, pop-up events, workshops, open houses, press and communications.
// Engage During informs the local community and future residents of the building of the design and construction process and prepares them for move-in day with education, tips, and general orientation materials.
/// Engage After returns to a completed project to evaluate if it is truly meeting its goals, is serving people as it should, and is overall functioning correctly. Insights are provided to owners and property managers to take action where needed, as well as recorded for the design teams as lessons learned to incorporate in future projects.
As architects ourselves, we’re sensitive to the complex and demanding process of design, particularly for affordable housing. We’ve intentionally created our empathy-centered community engagement services so that they work seamlessly with and to the benefit of the design and development team’s process, while still amplifying and giving ownership to the community voices of who stand to gain the most. The result? Buildings the community loves, that better serve their residents and staff, and that are a celebration of people and place - the ultimate goal for us all.
Engage FORA recently helped these affordable housing projects meet their goals:
Mitchell Park : Achieved expedited entitlements while designing for a unique population (IDD) and engaging with an activated group of neighbors and community members.
Laurel Drive : Partnered with the design and development team to infuse the concept design for an affordable housing project with the values and interests of the Salinas community, with a focus on families and farmworkers.
Buena Vista : Empathy-centered engagement for existing residents at a mobile home park set for redevelopment - this series of robust workshops empowered residents with education and influence to make informed decisions for themselves and the park.
Leigh Avenue : Conducted post-occupancy evaluation featuring door-to-door in-person surveys of residents and focused interviews with project management and resident services teams.
“Engage FORA led us through on of the best community engagement processes I’ve ever seen - incredibly comprehensive, thoughtful, and responsive. Everyone on the FORA team has been a joy to work with.”
