Celebrating diversity at Q4A!

As a firm, we have the opportunity to listen and learn from others. Embracing that option makes us collectively stronger designers, thinkers and team members. This goes beyond respect and celebrating diversity in the office. As part of our jobs get to leverage our collective diverse perspectives to do better, more impactful work.

20 years after creating the firm, I still think that is incredibly special, and not something we should take for granted.

We design for some of the most diverse populations in the entire world. To do that well, it’s critical to think of how people want to live and how they use their home. We need to think how they will create their unique living environment, and how that balances comfort, style and a sense of security for the experience they want for themselves and their families.

We need to be open to always learning how to do this better.

We are intentionally diverse

Our studio is a reflection, or microcosm, of the population; so, we use that understanding and bring it to our clients.

What seems important to them, may not be for the people who will be living in our homes. That is why we can then apply our industry expertise, such as how to build homes for our climate and code requirements and apply that cultural knowledge we have in-house.

Through this, we have a special balance of understanding that many firms would, and do, envy.
With respect, willingness and an openness to hear and encourage others, we can really take this “recipe” to the next level.

It’s exciting! We are finally at a point where we see our clients seek this kind of cultural understanding and view it as an asset. However, this theme of embracing diverse perspectives can be taken a step further to understanding the diversity of specialization we have at Q4A.

At Q4A we each have positions that we are very good at, but very different from one another. Just looking at all the job descriptions we can see the diversity of specialization that exists at the studio.

And that is what makes us unique: to understand how different roles look at different problems and solutions.

Q4All

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion group ensures that all voices are heard and respected at the firm. Q4All fosters a creative environment where our differences are understood and shared, irrespective of economics, nationality, race, gender, sexual-orientation or physical abilities.

This group also engages with external consultants to provide continued training for our staff on designing equitable spaces that work for all.

Embracing diverse perspectives makes us better at what we do. I always remind all team members to ask questions, spend some time with others in the organization… That will always improve their work and our firm.

Diversity is very fundamental, and I am totally convinced that it is key for Q4A’s success.

‍