Shaped by people.
Measured by experience.

The Best Spaces™ Standard helps define what matters most to communities, translate those priorities into design, and measure whether the finished space delivers.

Norman-Sims Elementary, image courtesy of Kirksey Architecture | Best Spaces Accomplished Certification and Best Spaces Experience Rated

THE PHILOSOPHY

The best spaces are shaped—and evaluated—by the people who experience them.

Every community deserves a meaningful voice in shaping the places where they live, learn, work, and gather.

We believe listening is only the beginning. Communities should be able to understand how their priorities shaped design from start to finish—and evaluate whether those priorities were ultimately realized in the completed environment. This creates a more accountable, transparent, and people-centered approach to designing spaces that deliver what matters most.

Expanding building performance

Turn community priorities into design—and measure experience outcomes.

Traditional building performance measures energy usage, indoor air quality, resilience, and other functional outcomes. Best Spaces builds on these measures by evaluating whether community priorities were translated into design decisions—and ultimately realized after move-in. The result is a complementary approach to building performance that puts the people who experience a space at the center of evaluating its success.

People walking in a modern underground train station with digital displays, overhead artwork, and signage for Harvey Milk Plaza Gallery and Castro Station.

The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza, image courtesy of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza and SWA Group
Best Spaces Accomplished Certification

THE APPROACH

A research-backed design framework.

No two communities are the same, and each needs a different environment to support it. Rather than prescribing one-size-fits-all solutions, Best Spaces guides project teams through a research-backed and verified four-phase process — Engage, Analyze, Translate, Evaluate — to understand a community and turn what they learn into measurable design decisions.

Projects are recognized through two complementary credentials: Design Certification, which verifies how community priorities informed the design, and an Experience Rating, which evaluates how well the completed environment delivered on those priorities.

Learn more

HOW IT WORKS

STEP 1

The Best Spaces Standard can be used during the design process,
or you can certify a finished space that followed the Best Spaces design framework.

Register an Ongoing or Completed Project

In-Process Certification

For projects pursuing certification during active design and construction, addressing criteria as the project evolves.

Retroactive Certification

For completed projects, based on the finished design process and evaluation of existing conditions.

STEP 2

Earn a Best Spaces Design Certification

Projects achieve one of three certification levels based on the total points earned across verified pathways.

Measure Experience Performance

STEP 3

After move-in, Best Spaces Design Institute administers an IRB-approved Experience Survey in collaboration with research partner North Carolina State University — measuring how the space performs for the people using it. Projects earn a Best Spaces Experience Rating based on results.

Complete the Engage, Analyze, and Translate Phases

STEP 4

Best Spaces is structured around requirements met through flexible pathways — so teams can pursue certification in the way that fits their project and community.

Best Spaces Design Certification Accomplished-level mark, featuring a light-purple radial design consisting of three concentric circles made of small geometric shapes.

Best Spaces Design Certification Distinguished-level mark, featuring a medium-purple radial design consisting of three concentric circles made of small geometric shapes.

Best Spaces Design Certification Exceptional-level mark, featuring a dark-purple radial design consisting of three concentric circles made of small geometric shapes.

Best Spaces Experience Rating mark, featuring one to three light-blue stars above the words “Best Spaces” and “Experience Rating” in eggplant.

participating details

Benefits

Creating value for everyone involved.

COMMUNITIES

Understand how their priorities shaped design decisions.
Experience places that better reflect their needs.

OWNERS & INSTITUTIONS

Evaluate whether completed environments deliver intended experiences.
Invest with greater confidence.

PRACTITIONERS

Follow a clear process for translating priorities into design.
Demonstrate how engagement informed design decisions.

THE IMPACT

Featured Projects

Best Spaces has been applied across real-world projects — from educational facilities to public and cultural spaces — where stakeholder engagement shaped design decisions that communities can feel. Explore how teams put experience-driven design to work.

The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza, San Francisco, CA
Image courtesy of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza and SWA Group
Best Spaces Accomplished Certification