This is Part 5 of a 10 Part Series, derived from my lecture at the Boston Architectural College Student Lecture Series “Just Futures”. My lecture was titled “The Power of Interior Design to Impact Positive Futures for People and Communities”. My message was that Interior Design has the power and responsibility to positively impact people, communities and their futures, that this can only be achieved through an equitable and inclusive design process, and that positive outcomes for people and communities are the measure of a successful design. I shared this message through stories of our partnerships with our clients and their communities. This is the story of the GREENTOWN LABS
Greentown Labs is the largest cleantech incubator in the country, a space where startups and innovators in the climate-tech and clean energy sectors can create innovations that will quite literally change the world. Greentown is an incubator that manages, supports and provides resources to a consortium of startup companies. The space is at 444 Somerville Avenue in Somerville, MA. This location is the 3rd space we did for them, including their most recent location in Houston, Texas. The space includes workspace, and lab space – both prototyping lab and wet labs, places for the startups to test their innovations. There’s so much to say about this project, from the fact that the original shell was an old factory building, to the many sustainable features and systems. But the most exciting part was the inclusive process that led to some key moves in the space. One thing that was different about this space from the earlier spaces, was that this was going to be not only space for the startup community – this space was going to also reach out to the external community, bringing the knowledge and research that was happening behind the walls to the broader community – an education center, a place for sharing – a center for climatech innovation
Early on in the process, our client requested that we take advantage of the fact that we had a building full of people already experiencing the space, and that we should listen and include their feedback. This was an amazing idea, as it would lead to a completely inclusive design process.
But what she suggested is that we invite every member of the community – this is hundreds of people – to every design meeting – an open community forum. (I’m not going to lie, this was kind of frightening! Hundreds of opinions and feedback, this would be chaos right?)
Well it wasn’t. It was amazing – we had a steady contingent of people who came to every meeting, and gave invaluable feedback. We heard good and bad feedback about the existing space, and it empowered us to problem solve and do better on the new space.
One of the most challenging areas was right at the front of the building, the community event and collaboration space, called the Town Green.
The biggest challenge with making the connection between inside and outside, is that the floor level of the town green was about 5’ below street level. We knew we had to solve for accessibility. We couldn’t do an elevator, because the 2nd and 3rd floors were set back, so the elevator had to be further back in the space. We thought we couldn’t do a ramp, because it would be about 80 feet long with landings. So we were thinking about a lift.
At one of these open design meetings, a member of the Greentown community joined us, and he uses a mobility device. We talked about the town green, and he shared how unwelcome a lift is to people needing assistance. Sure, it solves the accessibility requirement, but it was not a way to say “you are welcome here” to everyone.
He challenged us to think out of the box, and together we came up with a universal solution, and it was back to that ramp we had originally discounted. But now it would be much more than a ramp -the ramp became an experience – a walkway, a path, that was integral to a whole system of collaboration hubs, viewing areas, and a gallery that would showcase the startups companies work. This whole experience is now the universal way that everyone coming into Greentown experiences the space
The town green is alive with collaboration, innovation, parties, and they are even having weddings there
He challenged us to think out of the box, and together we came up with a universal solution, and it was back to that ramp we had originally discounted. But now it would be much more than a ramp -the ramp became an experience – a walkway, a path, that was integral to a whole system of collaboration hubs, viewing areas, and a gallery that would showcase the startups companies work. This whole experience is now the universal way that everyone coming into Greentown experiences the space
The town green is alive with collaboration, innovation, parties, and they are even having weddings there
