Design projects with real impact.
No two Best Spaces projects are the same. A memorial and two schools each have different communities, contexts, and priorities — and each found design solutions as distinct as the people who experience them.
The case studies below show how project teams turned specific community priorities into measurable design solutions.
Truesdell Elementary School
Image courtesy of VMDO Architects.
WASHINGTON, DC
DC Public Schools and VMDO Architects
Currently pursuing Best Spaces Certification, Truesdell Elementary School is located in Ward 4, in the heart of DC’s Brightwood Park neighborhood. The school serves a diverse student population, including more than 300 emerging bilingual speakers.
Completed in 2025, the modernization brings together a renovated 1920s-era school building and two new additions around a central outdoor courtyard. Designed as the shared heart of the campus, the courtyard and surrounding community spaces connect learning and play areas, strengthen connections across the school, and create a unified sense of place for students, staff, and families.
Truesdell is pursuing a retroactive Best Spaces Design Certification, with an Experience Rating anticipated in 2027.
Learn more about the project here.
The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza
Image courtesy of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza and SWA Group.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
The Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza and SWA Group
The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza was the first project to receive Best Spaces Design Certification. Located in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, the project reimagines the historic transit plaza as a place of remembrance, education, and community gathering.
Led by the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza and the LGBTQIA+ community, the project was shaped through extensive community engagement to ensure the memorial reflects the values, history, and aspirations of the community it serves.
The project is currently under design and is expected to pursue a Best Spaces Experience Rating following completion.
Norman-Sims Elementary School
Image courtesy of Kirksey Architecture.
EAST AUSTIN, TX
Austin Independent School District and Kirksey Architecture
Norman-Sims Elementary School is the first project to achieve both Best Spaces Design Certification™ and Best Spaces Experience Certification™. The school modernization and consolidation project was designed to create a high-quality 21st-century learning environment that reflects the needs and aspirations of the East Austin community.
Faculty, administrators, and students were actively engaged throughout the design process, helping shape design decisions and project priorities. Following occupancy, the project completed a pilot Best Spaces Experience Evaluation to assess how well the completed environment supports the students, faculty, staff, and the greater community.
Completed in 2021, Norman-Sims demonstrates how community priorities can be translated into design decisions and evaluated through post-occupancy experiences.
The Arkansas School for the
Deaf and Blind
Image courtesy of Mackey Mitchell Architects.
LITTLE ROCK, AK
The Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind and Mackey Mitchell Architects
Currently in design by Mackey Mitchell Architects in partnership with SCM Architects and the school community, this 90,000-square-foot campus will bring together students from the Arkansas School for the Deaf and the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
A central design challenge is creating a unified learning environment that supports Deaf and Blind students from Pre-K through 12th grade while fostering belonging, connection, and shared experiences across the school community.
More than 250 students, families, educators, and administrators have participated in engagement activities to help shape the future campus. The project is currently under design and is expected to pursue a Best Spaces Experience Rating following completion.
What Project Teams Are Saying
“The Best Spaces Standard provided a clear and effective framework that highlights the critical role of engagement in creating spaces that genuinely serve communities. We’re excited to bring this approach to future projects, continuing to design environments that reflect and uplift diverse voices.”
— Daniel Cunningham, Principal,
SWA Group
“We were thrilled to pilot the Best Spaces Standard at Norman-Sims Elementary. Engaging our community throughout the design process was a priority from the beginning. We appreciated Best Spaces as a building certification program that helped elevate our values.”
— Raechel French, PhD, Director of Planning Services,
Austin Independent School District
“We are honored to pave the way as the first Best Spaces Design Certification recipient for the Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza. Inclusion of community voices is a key pillar of our project, and the Best Spaces Standard helped us to bolster this commitment.”
— Brian Springfield, Former Executive Director,
The Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza
“The Best Spaces Standard helped us synthesize our approach to community-engaged design for Norman-Sims Elementary. We look forward to bringing Best Spaces to more of our projects in the future.”
— Nicola Springer, Partner & Managing Director, pK-12 Practice,
Kirksey Architecture
“Best Spaces gave our team a clear and rigorous framework for translating community insight into design. The process deepened our understanding of Deaf and Blind experiences and directly shaped solutions that are more equitable, intuitive, and empowering for students. Best Spaces support how we design—and how we listen.”
— Kevin Symons, Senior Associate,
Mackey Mitchell Architects
“The Best Spaces engagement process created a level of trust and collaboration we haven’t experienced before. The needs and priorities of our students, families, and staff are now embedded in the building itself. The certification reflects more than a design milestone—it reflects two finally being honored in a meaningful way.”
— Nicole Walsh, Superintendent,
Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind