Design Values: Courage

Are we brave enough: letting go and still remaining committed?

Being courageous requires that we let go — shedding ego and inviting diverse viewpoints to the discussion despite our own strong opinions. It takes courage to allow the best ideas to emerge, even if they’re not our own. A pivotal, conceptual idea can come from anywhere. That’s why we use a multi-disciplinary approach to design that yields a broad range of ideas. The other piece of courage is conviction. Through firm belief in our talent and ability, we can find elegant solutions for problems that require us to reach beyond trusted conventions. It is here that innovation is born. Being courageous ultimately demands that we dare to engage in challenging conversations with our clients, their constituents or even our own team members.

Example: Seminar II, The Evergreen State College

In many ways, Seminar II was all about taking risks. It took courage to design a building that breaks from tradition. The program was arranged vertically rather then horizontally. We choose to build five buildings rather than one. Natural light and ventilation were aggressively pursued.  The material palette was stripped back to the structure. Moreover, the unconventional vertical organization of Seminar II’s clusters was inspired by a mechanical engineer and quickly embraced by the team as the right path. Courage and commitment enabled us to present the idea to The Evergreen State College and convince the state-funding agency to move forward. In the end, both parties agreed with us and, together, we achieved LEED^® Gold!