Building for Belonging: The Transformative Power of Placemaking View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Kristen Magni,  Marcus White  

The traditional workplace is failing us. Why? It was not designed for our humanity. As we navigate historically uncertain times, leaders have an opportunity to think new, not new normal, reimagine the social architecture of their organizations and leverage the collective vision of people to re-imagine everyday spaces, thereby creating places in which people love to work. As humans, we spend our entire lives searching for places that inspire purpose, connection, and community. When we find these places, we return to them over and over again. We love them, we care for them, and we become invested in them. We feel a sense of belonging. The theory and philosophy of Placemaking has been used to infuse a social architecture within the nervous system of public spaces globally for decades but it has yet to be applied to our workplaces. When people feel intimately connected to the places in their lives they feel safe, they feel a sense of belonging and they are most likely to invest in that place. When they do, the work will be exceptional, in creativity, composition, and craft. Attendees will leave this session with: 1. A deeper understanding of why the traditional workplace is failing our increasingly diverse workforce 2. How to leverage the collective vision of people to re-imagine spaces 3. How to design safe and equitable places in which people love to work 4. How to embed belonging in the ethos of an organization