Building an Inclusive Community

Introduction

As several beloved, historic, and culturally relevant buildings on the University of Florida's campus needed to be completely torn down and rebuilt, the students impacted by this $9.9 million project shared a passion for social change, a desire for transparency and a need to have a voice in the process. Preserving history while constructing for the future was a delicate balance. As communication lead for the project, I worked closely with our selected architects to create a communication plan and find opportunities to engage students in-person and in the digital sphere.

Process

We held several in-person workshops for each planning phase, complete with facility program blocks, Post-it Notes, and white boards. We took photos of each workshop to post on social media and provided Zoom links to the workshops so students could participate remotely.

To generate ideas for the interior and exterior of the facility, we created a publicized Pinterest account for each Institute and encouraged students to pin ideas. Using Pinterest, we established a curated, crowd sourced way to enhance engagement and collaboration in-between workshops. The pinned inspiration images were then printed and posted up in the workshops for students to vote on their favorite concepts.

The leverage of an online app and an intentional series of experiential engagement opportunities generated positive buzz and press about the project. Due to its ease and transparency, this hybrid engagement model has now become the standard for student-facing facility projects on the campus and garnered the Community Impact and People’s Choice Awards from the American Institute of Architects.

Solution

Through the communication strategy, we fostered an accessible framework for collaboration, ensuring all voices were heard.

In addition to the engagement opportunities during the planning process, I coordinated events for key stakeholders at every project milestone including groundbreaking and ribbon cutting ceremonies for the Institute of Black Culture and Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures.