In my architecture consulting gig, I learnt that it is not enough to just support the Rainbow members of the community (of whom I am one), declare your inclusivity and call it a day. I also realised early on that work pursued solely for profit (especially commercial development) was - well, not great. For the planet or people. But rejecting this and embracing only the parts of the community usually considered ‘diverse’ only unlocked one part of the rich mosaic of the situation..

I learnt that many different sections of the community were applying ethical values of many different kinds, including ones that I don’t explicitly share. A lot of people like me, and lot more not like me, were doing good things, in many different and surprising ways. And yet they all had this in common: profit was not their highest and most prized value.

At my architecture studio we work with a lot of not-for-profits, social and community housing providers, community groups and in the public sector. We also work with independent and religious organisations of different types, from schools to University Colleges and aged care providers. I might not always share their beliefs, but I do believe that values other than profit are what the world needs in this late-capitalist epoch.

baumgart.agency takes the same approach, with a few twists.

Creativity has been a buzzword in the business press for quite a few years now. It is often conflated with innovation, another major buzzword. It really shouldn’t be.

Creativity is my core value, and I know that it is hands-on and dirty, gritty and real. Not just shiny, new and sparkly like ‘innovation’. It is affirmative, humanist, aspirational (in the truest sense) and the foundation of living a good life every day, one day at a time. If you want to make stuff you have to get your hands dirty. You need to implicate yourself in things, and mix it up with diverse people. This is a long way from magically giving birth to pristine, novel and original ideas, fully formed, out of an inspirational vacuum.

I want to share the story of your creativity, as it is applied - no obscure concepts, relentless jargon or alienating terminology; no romantic illusions about lone geniuses or ‘inspiration porn’. I want to tell the story of how and what you and your team do to make stuff actually happen.

It’s kind of simple at one level, but really not, as you well know. Expressing both the simplicity of it, and the complexity of it, in an accessible way is how the magic happens.

The story of your creativity - whatever you make or do, and whomever you do it for - is a story about people. There is you and your team, your users, and your supporters and collaborators. The architecture I have pursued in my career is not about physical structures. It is about the people those structures serve, as I have learnt over time. I want to tell the story about the people you serve, and the people behind your service.

Articulating creativity effectively is primarily telling stores about people and what they do.