Preliminary Design Considerations

The community design process is one of the most important steps in the progress of a community outreach project. It is a cyclical process in which the designer gathers information about history, context, design opportunities and constraints. The designer then puts some ideas out on the table for discussion and feedback, thereby gaining more information about the project. These initial ideas are often refered to as the preliminary design. The preliminary design is in no way meant to be considered a finalization of the overall process on the contrary it is just a begining. Community design is a long process that is used to draw out the collective thoughts and ideas of the public and put them into an aesthetic and spatially understood design vocabulary. That design vocabulary can then become more or less specific based on the needs of the public. Flexibility and equality for all ideas is important in order to encourage a strongly supported plan in which all can have a sense of belonging in the process, and ultimately ownership of the project.