Civic Culture

Inspire, advance and reflect.

Whether landmark buildings or background facilities, we expect that all of our projects should inspire those who use them. Employees should feel pride in working in the building and the community should feel enriched. Though extremely complex, our best buildings are deceptively simple, providing clarity of ideas: context, purpose, organization, and materials. Through rigorous refinement, building systems should be integrated and optimized, with a minimal environmental footprint.

The buildings we design are "tools" to enhance the effectiveness of those who use them. More than simply listening to our clients, we bring extremely focused operational expertise that allows us to engage our clients in a rich dialog during the design process so as to advance best practices for their business. We listen. We bring perspective. We get it.

We believe that the design process should be a memorable experience for our clients. This is a period of creation, a rare opportunity to rethink their business and leave a legacy for their community. Clients should feel that they are understood, their ideas are integral to the design, and they should have the confidence that the building's design will ultimately reflect the architectural vernacular and values of their community.

In the end, our clients should have trust in their design team and look forward to future design opportunities.
Through our unique approach, HDR has been a leader in the Civic market over the last 35+ years with pioneering work such as:

 

• Some of the earliest direct supervision facilities.
• One of the earliest rear chase detention facilities.
• The first LEED Silver prison facility.
• The first LEED Gold forensic laboratory.
• The largest correctional mental health program in the United States.
• The largest courthouse in North America.
• Development of standards for nearly every facility type for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
• Master planning of nearly every sector of the U.S. border for the Department of Homeland Security.