Create ownership by involving people from the start
I love humans and truly believe we’re better together. When we work with purpose, it creates meaning and a bit of magic.
Recently, the folks at Davis Partnership Architects invited me to talk to team members about our work with Anythink Libraries to engage a council of Indigenous People from several tribes to help shape the library’s design.
The Story of the Nature Library
In Thornton, Colorado, Anythink Libraries dreamed of creating a Nature Library that would help people find their place in nature. This library would be a place that encourages people of all ages to spend time outdoors learning about stars, water, wildlife, and seasonal changes, building a culture of environmental stewardship. Their goal is for this natural experience to spark imagination and creativity and provide a place to practice being human.To bring this vision to life in the design process, they organized an Indigenous People’s Advisory Council. The Council’s input guided the library’s design, resulting in a space that honors both the land and its people.
Reflecting on this experience, I realized it offered valuable lessons about turning vision into reality. Here’s what I learned: One key takeaway, three principles, and the power of purpose:
Takeaway: When you engage people as partners early in the process (not as an afterthought), they bring energy and dedication to positive change. It’s about inclusion, not imposition.
Engagement should be more than a checkbox—it’s about building real, lasting relationships. Trust is the foundation. When you ask for input, design the process to ensure people feel valued and that it is collaborative.
Three principles for building trust:
- Stay Curious: Put aside assumptions and approach every project with an open mind.
- Iterate Together: Keep refining based on feedback to create something meaningful.
- Make Space for All Voices: Foster open, judgment-free dialogue so everyone feels heard.
Aligning with Purpose
At the heart of every project is the “why”—the motivation, purpose, or reason that underlies the action we wish to take or the goal we wish to achieve. For the Nature Library, their “why” was about honoring the land and its people. Staying true to this purpose helped the team navigate challenges and stay focused on creating a meaningful space.
Making Authentic Engagement the Norm
Authentic engagement should be standard. To make that happen:
- Support engagement by creating a group charter to guide the process.
- Design every group interaction using a clear purpose statement and provide regular opportunities for feedback and collaboration.
- Make engagement part of every project’s DNA.
True engagement is more than checking off tasks—it’s a journey that strengthens relationships and aligns everyone around a shared purpose. The Nature Library project reminds us that when we engage authentically, we create spaces that are not only functional but also deeply meaningful.
