A Response to Upheaval & Place
- Frazer Macdonald Hay
- May 27, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 13
Image By Artist: Mathieu Bernard-Reymond from his amazing Disparitions Series
Why Place Matters
Place is more than a backdrop — it shapes how we live, work, relate, and aspire. It influences our emotions, behaviours, relationships, and decisions, often without us even realising. We trust in the places we inhabit. They hold our memories, foster our identities, and carry the potential to inspire or alienate.
In both business and society, place is a critical element that deserves strategic attention. Whether you're designing a workplace, planning a redevelopment, or navigating social tension, a thoughtful approach to place can be the difference between friction and flourishing.
What Frazer Offers
Frazer Macdonald Hay helps resolve or shape responses to complex issues involving people and place. He works at the intersection of architecture, politics, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution — supporting businesses, organisations, and communities to unlock the potential of the environments they inhabit.
With experience ranging from designing the Scottish Parliament with EMBT Architects to humanitarian missions with the UN in Iraq, Frazer brings a unique lens to the table. He offers:
Strategic place-based consultation
Support with project focus and clarity
Guidance through planning, funding, and stakeholder engagement
Mediated dialogue for conflict-prone or sensitive contexts
Whether at the start of a project or mid-transition, Frazer can help consolidate ideas, align objectives, and reveal the latent value in your place and people.
A Human-Centred, Place-Based Process
Frazer’s method integrates collaborative problem-solving, mediation, and design-thinking to create socially and economically resilient outcomes. His process is:
Confidential and empathetic
Future-focused and participatory
Grounded in real-world constraints and opportunities
Designed to promote trust, flexibility, and ownership
He works to build consensus and develop strategic pathways that respect all voices while aligning with your organisational goals.
Business Benefits
A sophisticated approach to place helps avoid the unintended harm that ill-considered environments can cause — stress, conflict, absenteeism, and lost productivity.
Working with Frazer can help your business to:
Reduce stress and grievances
Retain valuable staff
Strengthen organisational culture and trust
Mitigate legal and reputational risks
Enhance resilience and long-term sustainability
What Mediation Looks Like
Frazer advocates for mediation as a constructive path forward — not only to manage disputes, but to reimagine how people and place can thrive together. His process includes:
Facilitated dialogue and action planning
Co-produced outcomes rooted in shared understanding
Insights into behaviour, values, and group dynamics
Practical, place-based strategies for transformation
It’s an efficient and lasting way to address emotionally entangled and complex issues — enabling groups to move from tension to collaboration, from fragmentation to coherence.
Pathways to Resolution
Least effective approaches:
Coercion or forced compliance
Delay or avoidance
One-sided arbitration
Superficial buyouts
Exclusionary alliances
Common but limited:
Separation or avoidance
Behaviour counselling
Temporary fixes
Most effective:
Shared goal-setting
Inclusive negotiation
Group reconfiguration
Mediation that leads to durable, meaningful agreement
In Summary:
Frazer Macdonald Hay works to resolve or formulate a response to complex problems of people and place. His process helps you unlock value, reduce conflict, and build resilient, people-centred environments.Place is a critical element within society and business which requires the utmost consideration.
Frazer works to: Resolve or formulate a response to the problems of people and place involved in complex and difficult matters. He will develop an approach to place that will benefit your business, staff, and end user.
