Institutions & Facilities

Multi-disciplinary Planning and Design

Institutions and facilities serve a vital role in our communities, providing important cultural touchstones, educational opportunities, and public services. The challenges these organizations face often include long-range planning for viability, physical improvements, and expansions.

Larger projects can be very complex and often require specialized designers to ensure an institution or a facility can meet the needs of its users over a 10- to 20-year horizon. HW works as part of multi-disciplinary planning and design teams to carefully consider the specific user needs, the challenges related to individual sites, and the potential permitting requirements for these projects.

Sectors:

Our firm has helped institutions and facilities with their planning and project goals for over 30 years across a diverse range of interests. Examples of different sectors where we have deep experience include:

Schools and Universities – HW regularly works on projects ranging from individual stormwater retrofits to large-scale construction for schools and universities. The University of Rhode Island, Berkeley Peckham School, Cleveland Elementary School (Norwood, MA), and Wolf School (East Providence, RI) are examples in our portfolio.

Museums and Cultural Institutions – HW works with museums and other cultural institutions to blend facility improvements with opportunities to continue education of their patrons. Organizations like Strawbery Banke Museum, Heritage Museums and Gardens, and the Thorton Burgess Society are highlights from our client list.

Government Facilities – HW works with state and local government agencies to help design facility improvements and expansions related to public safety, utilities, and public works.

Areas of Expertise

Our technical teams brings specialized knowledge across a broad range of project types, with particular depth in ...

Civil Engineering
Our watershed plans include rigorous evaluation of existing water quality data, current impairment conditions, and monitoring needs to identify pollutant sources and guide restoration efforts. Assessments draw on desktop GIS analysis, review of relevant studies, hydrologic modeling, and field reconnaissance.
Land Planning
We have developed a GSI guide to help on-island stormwater managers implement better stormwater management. This guide is not regulatory but is intended to inspire our island stormwater champions to embrace and implement GSI.
Ecological Restoration
MA Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) programs provides communities with support to plan and implement climate change resiliency projects.
Permitting
Our approach begins with a comprehensive inventory of existing conditions that serves as the foundation for both analysis and public education. Our engagement process is then used to articulate a community’s values and priorities — which eventually structure the plan and implementation.