What does equity look like in project design?

Hi Bryna,  I was really inspired by the concept of "Equity Commissioning" presented at the AIA Women's Leadership Summit last fall.  It would be fantastic if Building Green could host a webinar to this group by the presenters. 
Karina Ruiz, AIA | NOMA | LEED AP
Founding Principal, BRIC Architecture
karina.ruiz@bric-arch.com

Allison Brown
Planner, BRIC Architecture
allison.brown@bric-arch.com

BRIC is a firm in Portland, OR that works primarily in the education sector. 

Here is a description of their WLS presentation:  Traditional community engagement processes have historically served to reproduce inequitable learning environments, perpetuating a cycle where those most closely impacted by the problems facing a school community are furthest from the solution. In contrast, an equity-driven approach embodies design’s transformative power to serve as a catalyst for positive social change both in the classroom and beyond. Join this session to explore project-based case studies and real-world implementations of critical race-spatial praxis and Liberatory Design principles. You’ll see how design teams led by women and architects of color have partnered with school districts to co-create equitable and inclusive community engagement approaches that result in authentic conversations, stories, relationships, and trust. You’ll also discover how these invaluable insights can serve as a foundation for equity commissioning, a more expansive equity-driven design approach characterized by rigor, culturally responsive practices, and robust accountability measures. Across every phase of design, this unifying and integrated commitment to equity ultimately yields representative learning spaces that reflect the communities that shaped them and celebrate the diverse spectrum of social identities within.

BRIC has information on the process on their website here: https://www.bric-arch.com/ideas/post/equity-commissioning:-creating-fair-and-inclusive-learning-spaces/ It seemed to me that almost any project could benefit from this approach, although it might be harder with developer work, when the concept of engagement with community may be seen as a risk to the project schedule/ profit. Alison Nash

Opsis has a process very similar to the one described by Bric, largely inspired by the requirements of the LEED credit High Priority Site and Equitable Development (Option 2, Path 1) for creating and implementing an equity plan. We also leverage the Integrative Process, Social Equity, checklist process which provides a robust framework for early conversations about how to define project-specific inequities. You can find that here: https://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-social-equity-checklist-integrative-process. About 5 years ago, we started using the “implication tracker” idea which has evolved into a robust tool for us. It tracks feedback and its impact (does it impact policy, space programming, and/or design of the spaces?) and also tracks post-occupancy evaluation goals. We apply the process to many projects, not just those under LEED. We have several tools we use at the beginning of projects to cast the net more broadly, to work with the identified owner and stakeholders (<

Hello - thanks for mentioning BRIC's Equity Commissioning process, Alison! I've been at BRIC for just over a year as sustainability director and have been very impressed with BRIC’s approach to equity and engagement. I love the fact that Karina and team modeled the process on whole-building commissioning, including accountability. Following a robust and inclusive engagement process in early design with building users (“listening and learning” sessions), north star goals are established with corresponding design implications. At key milestones, these goals and design implication are evaluated by the user design and equity group and separately by the design team. The results, especially areas of discrepancy and deficiency, receive additional discussion and attention. Ideally, strategies are found that offer at least partial solutions.  The Equity Commissioning process includes the consultant team and general contractor. If “value engineering” is required, the proposals are evaluated against the north star goals and design criteria (in addition to cost and other performance implications.) The process isn’t perfect, but continues the quest for a more inclusive and accountable process. If there is interest, I’d be happy to coordinate with Karina and other key BRIC team members to set up a short presentation and discussion.

Part of my original message got truncated. Trying again... Opsis has a process very similar to the one described by Bric, largely inspired by the requirements of the LEED credit High Priority Site and Equitable Development (Option 2, Path 1) for creating and implementing an equity plan. We also leverage the Integrative Process, Social Equity, checklist process which provides a robust framework for early conversations about how to define project-specific inequities. You can find that here: https://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-social-equity-checklist-integrative-process. About 5 years ago, we started using the “implication tracker” idea which has evolved into a robust tool for us. It tracks feedback and its impact (does it impact policy, space programming, and/or design of the spaces?) and also tracks post-occupancy evaluation goals. We apply the process to many projects, not just those under LEED. We have several tools we use at the beginning of projects to cast the net more broadly, to work with the identified owner and stakeholders (a word I recently learned might be problematic - a discussion for a different day) to identify who is missing from the conversation, and promote transparency about levels of influence, decision making, consulting etc. This is usually iterative, and revisited often during concept and early design phases. Our JEDI team has a Participatory Design sub-committee that oversees and shares community engagement resources and how they were used on various project types to the office. Happy to share more! I love this topic 😊 Heather DeGrella AIA, LEED Fellow, Fitwel Ambassador, LFA | (she / her / hers) Associate Principal | Sustainable Design Director Registered architect in Oregon [cid:opsis_rgb_blue_1c67de12-b325-4318-95e7-0704d8f48949.png] Architecture, Interiors & Planning 975 SE Main St., Portland, OR 97214 o 503.525.9511 d 503.943.6228 w opsisarch.com Fro