At EKISTICS, we place a high value on listening.
Place-making is far from an act of solo virtuosity, but rather a dynamic, collaborative art. We collaborate with the land through site planning, a multi-faceted process of inventory, analysis and synthesis. It is an extended conversation with the land itself—and the design is a response to its distinctive qualities.
But that is not our only conversation. As important as the land, are the people: our clients, members of the communities in which we work, groups and individuals with a stake in the process. We strike collaborative partnerships, foster capacity-building and engage in transparent dialogue – design workshops with clients and stakeholders, public consultations, field reconnaissance, consultations with technical specialists and regulators – and throughout it all, we listen.
The journey of discovery that begins with the spirit of the place continues through the collaborative conversation – above all, we strive to articulate what the place means to people and what people mean to the place.
EKISTICS strives to develop creative, contextual and realistic planning solutions. Our goal is to create towns and villages with a sense of place – giving form, structure and meaning to communities. We aspire to be interdisciplinary, innovative, principled and responsive.
INTERDISCIPLINARY [+][-]
The term ekistics applies to the science of understanding and making human settlements. The ability to create and enhance communities requires a broad knowledge base that is best understood through different backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this, EKISTICS is comprised of an energetic team committed to the pursuit of innovative methods to land planning, bringing together the diverse yet vital perspectives of many professions including town planning, architecture, landscape architecture, economics, geography and urban design. Such inter-disciplinary consultation allows ideas to be tested and refined in-house, thereby providing clients with sound design solutions, based on real-world economic conditions, ready for implementation. EKISTICS’ international success is largely attributed to our ability to work in closely with local partners and a variety of organizations to manage complex projects through the challenges of varying languages and cultures.
INNOVATIVE [+][-]
EKISTICS’ work is exploratory as it strives to find innovative ideas and solutions that are appropriate to unique situations. At EKISTICS we believe that no two sites offer the same opportunities and challenges. We argue that ‘ordinary’ textbook approaches should not be thoughtlessly accepted or applied to any site as all-too-familiar approaches create all-too-familiar places. EKISTICS relishes opportunities to push the boundaries of accepted practices and ideas if the outcome is positive change whilst adding value. Throughout the development process, EKISTICS seeks to engage the physical elements of a site and challenge conventional approaches, to fashion communities rich in experience and expressing a strong sense of place.
PRINCIPLED [+][-]
At present, the need for sustainable design, particularly values-based, ethical, and principled design is greater than ever. Throughout its work EKISTICS has demonstrated an understanding that future communities ought to be considered as more efficient, integrated, mixed-use towns and neighbourhoods.
Every site, natural or man-made, is to some degree unique, providing a web of possibilities and limitations that need to be discovered. This process of discovery demands much time, effort and experience as well as a special understanding of context - EKISTICS ensures that significant time and effort is spent on each project as it is the only way to unveil the ‘spirit of a place’.
RESPONSIVE [+][-]
Being sensitive to context - whether physical, environmental, cultural, economic or social - is at the forefront of our design process can be considered the only way to offer sustainable solutions whilst enriching people's lives. EKISTICS strives to be responsive to these needs whenever undertaking our planning and design work. Responsive design goes beyond aesthetics and function - it emphasizes interaction between built form, landscapes and people.
