Civic Engagement

The TBA Design Team provides planning, design, project management and construction administration services to public agencies, institutions, and organizations that serve the public in the creation and oversight of civic, educational, and cultural spaces.  All of our design work endeavors to support the public purpose; premier among the clients we partner with in this mission are the Municipalities of Massachusetts.  TBA is dedicated to creating public-use environments that foster community development through thoughtful and inspired design to achieve modern, functional and welcoming spaces crafted to support the specific Town Departments and community uses of each unique municipality we serve and the community to which those facilities and the programs and services they provide are so vitally important.  Civic engagement is vital to our approach to all public projects from initial phases of investigation and project planning through to completion.  The TBA Design team engages with the community that inhabits the spaces we design throughout the design process.  Intensive interviews with facility administrators, staff, teachers, students, and residents are conducted in the earliest phase of work to establish priorities and identify the specific space needs and programming requirements unique to each community; these specialized requirements are incorporated into the design development and reflect the distinct character of each municipality as expressed through the built environments of the municipal and school buildings serving that community. 

Civic Engagement is likewise important at the review phases for assessment and construction projects.  Public presentations at Town Meetings and project-specific presentations to community members are an essential step in garnering public support for design and construction projects, and are frequently employed to secure required final approval for budget and scope ahead of the implementation phase for on-site construction.  Community and user input is such a crucial part of the design process for public-use buildings, as user-informed design allows for the community that inhabits these spaces to take pride in and ownership of the design of the facilities that function as the physical representation of the unique character of the municipality.