Co-Designing a Community Wellbeing Campus
A Five-Day Design Sprint for the Town of Tecumseh
The Town of Tecumseh brought together community members, healthcare providers, social service organizations and local partners to imagine a new Wellbeing Campus that could support health, recreation, housing, belonging and community connection.
J5 designed and facilitated a five-day sprint to help this diverse group develop a shared vision for the campus. Together, we established guiding principles, explored the needs of future users, created an initial site concept and developed a roadmap for moving from early ambition to design, construction and long-term operations.
INDUSTRY
Government
CLIENT
Town of Tecumseh
WHY IT MATTERS
Community well-being is shaped by more than access to healthcare. Housing, recreation, nature, transportation, social connection and a sense of belonging all influence whether people and communities can thrive.
By bringing partners and community perspectives together at the beginning, Tecumseh could consider the campus as an integrated system rather than a collection of separate buildings and services. The process created a stronger foundation for designing a place that is inclusive, accessible and responsive to the community’s evolving needs.
PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS
We conducted stakeholder interviews and brought community members, healthcare providers and social service organizations together for an intensive five-day co-design sprint.
We developed shared Wellbeing Principles, five future-user perspectives, an initial site concept, seven strategic design recommendations and a phased roadmap for bringing the campus to life.
Impact
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User Level
Created meaningful opportunities for community perspectives to shape the vision, principles and physical design of the future campus.
Ensured the concept considered different ages, abilities, identities and life circumstances, including families, students, seniors and people with disabilities.
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Employee Level
Built greater alignment among healthcare providers, community organizations, social services and municipal leaders around a shared purpose.
Identified opportunities to integrate services, share spaces and data, strengthen professional relationships and develop more coordinated approaches to community care.
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Organizational Level
Gave the Town a phased roadmap connecting early vision and partnership development with procurement, design, construction and ongoing operations.
Established seven strategic design moves covering municipal integration, active transportation, connected pathways, co-located services, nature, system integration and diverse housing options.
