civitas [siv-i-tas; Latin kee-wi-tahs] (noun) A body of people constituting an organized community

 

Our Purpose 

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Civitas Design has always been interested in the components that make up a community. The buildings are the places where people live, where people work, where people learn and where people play. Every project that we do begins with an understanding of how the buildings relate to the overall community. 

 

Our experience has included many different projects types over the years including institutions of higher education, independent schools, local non-profit organizations, multi-family housing and other critical components of the places where we live. Civitas uses this experience and our knowledge of communities to focus specifically on independent schools in New England. These schools are excellent examples of communities that contain many building types, interesting issues to solve, unique populations of students and staff, and typically beautiful settings. Civitas is always looking for opportunities to see new campuses, meet new people, and grow the collective knowledge of the world of independent schools. 

 

There are several questions that are of particular interest to Civitas that relate to patterns of change we have observed over the years. The first question is, how does each school maintain it’s unique culture and character as the world changes around it? As architects, this question relates to how the students and staff use the buildings and spaces on campus. As the students change with each generation, so do the methods which we use to educate them. This may mean that new building types need to be created, or obsolete buildings transformed to align with current methodologies. Regardless, these schools strive to change with the times while maintaining what makes them special. 

 

The second question relates to the management of the campus as the single greatest physical asset for each school. How does a school maintain the facilities so that they are up to date, relevant, and in optimum condition to serve the students and staff? This question involves many small decisions made every year by the administration and board of trustees at every school. Understanding their resources, their options, and how their facilities relate to other schools are all tools that the institutions can use. 

 

The third question relates to each school uniquely. How does the physical campus and buildings support the mission of the school? The campus is the physical representation of the institution. The quality of the open spaces and the condition of the buildings relate directly to the perception of the school. More importantly, the buildings provide the spaces necessary to create the educational experience that each school provides. This includes the academic buildings, athletic buildings, student activity buildings, and residential buildings. All of these buildings, with the open spaces that they define, create the campus and the physical structure for each community. 

 

Civitas is pleased to share it’s knowledge with others, in hopes that we can provide our expertise to help communities think about who they are, what they want to be in the future, and how we might help them get there.