Our design team, Ellie, Morganne, and KP, partnered with Bigger Vision to assist in the redesign of their outdoor space. Bigger Vision, a homeless shelter located in north Athens, helps address the needs of the homeless community in Athens, Georgia. Their mission is to “provide help to those in the Athens, GA area who are experiencing homelessness, to keep them safe and comfortable, to help them achieve self-sufficiency, to assist them in achieving their goals, and to advocate for their best interests on an individual and collective basis” (Bigger Vision). They provide this help by hosting over 30 guests every night of the year. Guests are offered items including but not limited to dinner, toiletries, clothes, showers, and a clean bed. Through the past few years, Bigger Vision has seen steady growth and was seeking assistance in beautifying their property. That’s where our team of landscape architecture students stepped in. Part of the mission of Bigger Vision is to ensure that guests feel comfortable and safe while present at the facility. Through improvements to the landscape, it was our job to help guests feel more comfortable and at ease during an extremely stressful time in their life. 

Bigger Vision is approximately 10 minutes down the road from the University of Georgia. From the beginning of the project, it was implied that any meetings that were being held would occur at the Bigger Vision facility. With the luxury of having such a short drive to our client's location, the opportunity to have face-to-face interactions for every stage of the project was insisted upon. To begin planning our in-person meetings, we reached out to the staff member who had requested our services, Ryan. Ryan replied with great joy that our project was kicking off. We scheduled a time to meet in order to go over initial introductions, project goals, and visions, and took a site tour with them.

To begin planning our in-person meetings, we reached out via email to the staff member who had requested our services, Ryan. Ryan replied with great joy that our project was kicking off. We scheduled a time to meet in order to go over initial introductions, project goals, and visions, and took a site tour with them. Before attending this meeting. Our team reviewed the form that had been previously filled out by Ryan and other staff members. This form consisted of initial questions that are listed in the image below. In order to try to prepare for our meeting, team members researched the facility on its website and found 3D images on google maps. Team members then took the time to curate initial questions for the staff members. These questions were printed out and each member was assigned a different section to ask and discuss. A day before the meeting occurred, our team members followed up with Ryan to confirm the time of the meeting, arranged transportation, and printed out/gathered all needed materials. 

For meetings after, this our team continued to meet at the Bigger Vision facility. Revisiting the site and presenting materials in person was always more desirable than sending items over email or scheduling a zoom call. For some meetings, we also spoke with community members to receive their feedback. This would not have been possible if we had not had the opportunity to be face-to-face.  This engagement format brought strong client/guest member relationships, streamlined communication, and a great awareness of site context. Our team visited the Bigger Vision staff members a total of 5 times. Each time relationships grew strong and we are appreciative of the designer-client relationship that was formed. Because of our multiple visits, there was always ample opportunity to discuss issues, concerns, or any opinions that were at hand.  Only a few emails were exchanged throughout the project regarding site questions. Mainly visitation matters were scheduled over email. Twice our team was able to volunteer during the times guest were present at the facility. During this time, we helped with normal volunteer duties such as setting up and serving dinner, checking bags, and cleaning tables.  When everyone was settled in eating dinner, we conducted a few activities.  Lastly, our team members learned new things about the site every time we visited. During one of our visits, we noticed a tree that we had not documented in any photos. This led to a large alteration to the design we had already made. If we did not have the opportunity to revisit the site, we may have never seen this mistake. It was also beneficial to be able to walk through the site and look at the proposed designs we had created. This helped both parties gain a better understanding of what would work and what would not.

 Our team is very thankful for and highly recommends using an in-person meeting format for all meetings if the project allows! 

Through many in-person meetings, our team learned about the various advantages and disadvantages of having a client in such a format of engagement that can be used so readily.  Some of these key lessons include: 

• Not everyone will want to attend these meetings that you may want to be present. There are many staff members at Bigger Vision, however not all needed to present at our meetings. Know the level of involvement that each client member would like to have. 

• Just because your client is close by does not mean you need to schedule multiple meetings.  Some time can be saved if the problems can be resolved through a simple email. 

• Write things down! Clients love when you have a pen and paper in hand. It is important that your client feels seen and heard while discussing ideas. 

• Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Ensure that your materials are ready well ahead of time. Printers don't always work when you desperately need them to. 

• Do not agree to any big decisions during the meeting. Inform the client that you will consider their comments after further team discussion