Shaped by people.
Measured by experience.
Best Spaces™ is a design standard for advancing Experience Performance. The framework provides a clear roadmap for translating stakeholder priorities into design decisions and evaluating post-occupancy experiences.
Norman-Sims Elementary, image courtesy of Kirksey Architecture | Best Spaces Accomplished Certification and Best Spaces Experience Rated
Best Spaces v1 is currently open for public comment through August 31st, 2026.
THE PHILOSOPHYWe believe the best spaces are shaped by the people they serve.
As stakeholder engagement becomes more common, project teams face a new challenge: How do you demonstrate that community priorities are translated into meaningful design decisions—and evaluate whether those decisions ultimately delivered the intended experiences?
This accountability is especially important when projects serve communities whose perspectives have historically been underrepresented in design.
Best Spaces™ was created to address this gap by providing a practical framework for connecting stakeholder priorities to design decisions and evaluating how those decisions shape post-occupancy experiences.
THE APPROACHA research-backed design framework
No two communities are the same, and each needs a different environment to support it. Rather than prescribing one-size-fits-all solutions, Best Spaces™ guides project teams through a research-backed and verified four-phase process to understand a community and turn what they learn into design decisions.
The Four-Phase Process
HOW IT WORKSSTEP 1
Register an Ongoing or Completed Project
The Best Spaces™ Standard can be used during the design process,
or you can certify a finished space that followed the Best Spaces™ design framework.
In-Process Certification
For projects pursuing certification during active design and construction, addressing criteria as the project evolves.
Earn a Best Spaces Design Certification™
Projects achieve one of three certification levels based on the total points earned across verified Pathways.
Measure Experience Performance
After move-in, Best Spaces Design Institute administers an IRB-approved Experience Survey in collaboration with research partner North Carolina State University — measuring how the space performs for the people using it. Projects earn a Best Spaces Experience Rating based on survey results.
Complete the Engage, Analyze, and Translate Phases
Best Spaces is structured around Requirements met through flexible Pathways — so teams can pursue certification in the way that fits their project and community.
STEP 3
STEP 2
STEP 4
Retroactive Certification
For completed projects, based on the finished design process and evaluation of existing conditions.
THE IMPACTFrom community priorities to design solutions.
Best Spaces™ has been applied across real-world projects — from educational facilities to public and cultural spaces — where stakeholder engagement shaped design decisions that communities can feel.
The Memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza, San Francisco, CA
Image courtesy of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza and SWA Group
Best Spaces Accomplished Certification
Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind, Little Rock, AK
Image courtesy of Mackey Mitchell Architects
Best Spaces Accomplished Certification