MIXdesign

Visit us at our website - www.mixdesign.online

MISSION

Over the past decade, the nature of institutional, civic and commercial buildings has changed: hierarchical rooms connected by monotonous corridors have given way to flexible open environments that incorporate digital technologies in ways that foster unscripted interactions. However, an important factor has been left out of the mix: inclusion and diversity. For the most part, workplace design still presumes a standard user that is a white, able-bodied, heterosexual, secular, male or female

MIXdesign (MIX) has developed an innovative approach for conceiving and designing communal spaces proven to foster human connectivity among people of different ages, genders, disabilities, races and religions. MIX uses this approach to provides a range of services that educate, develop and implement environments for institutions and corporations who are at the forefront of diversity, inclusiveness, open and interactive spaces.

SERVICES

MIX provides the following range of services to institutional (universities, museums), government (federal, state, and municipal), and corporate clients:

EDUCATION AND AWARENESS
We provide basic and customized workshops designed for client stakeholders to create awareness, educate and to facilitate a productive dialogue about the complex and often sensitive social, political and practical issues posed by inclusive design. We conduct focus groups and workshops designed to build consensus, and work with clients to translate these findings into policies and design guidelines tailored to meet their specific goals and values.

SPACE POLICIES AND GUIDELINES
We offer a consensus-building approach in the development or review of a client’s policies and guidelines to establish and evaluate these space design frameworks for the proper and effective consideration of diversity, inclusion and open, interactive spaces.

PRE-PROJECT PLANNING
We work with clients in a variety of ways in the pre-approval stages for the full range of design project types, including feasibility studies and development of space prototypes that incorporate leading-edge thinking around inclusion and diversity.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
We join project teams and collaborate with clients, architects, designers and project managers to implement design projects that contemplate inclusion and diversity in the form, features and functionality for a specific approved project.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION SCORECARDS
We develop and use metrics and scorecards to evaluate how the existing space or proposed project rates in terms of diversity and inclusion.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
In addition to working on client-initiated commissions, MIX is also a proactive thinktank. Our cross-disciplinary understanding of the relationship between design and society allows us to forecast timely social challenges that require inclusive design solutions. For example, MIX recently developed and launched Stalled!, a design/research project dedicated to the creation of inclusive public restrooms. The project responds to national debates about transgender access to public space and demonstrates our ability to target timely issues, partner with universities, agencies and non-profits, and gain funding from grants, foundations and corporate sponsors.

Should a MIX client be interested in architectural services, we would work with them as a separate and independent architectural services company.

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY

Designs that encourage synergy among diverse groups require complex problem solving that draws from different cultural, historical and technical perspectives. To this end, MIX includes experts in design (architecture, interiors, landscape, graphics), diversity and inclusion (gender, race and disability), and policy (law, building codes).

MIX is led by Joel Sanders, a professor at Yale School of Architecture and Principal of his architecture studio, JSA. For each service we draw from our in-house staff and board of advisors representing different areas of expertise to assemble project teams tailored to meet the unique goals and values of our clients.