The Logan Simpson Innovation Lab exists to research, prototype, and refine forward-thinking methods that strengthen the work in our profession in conjunction with our clients, agencies, and academic partners across planning, design, environmental, and cultural resource fields.

Our target research areas include cultural and historic research, ecological resilience, infrastructure and growth modeling, immersive and inclusive public engagement, and clean energy innovation. Whether advancing new research on how to conduct ethnographic interviews, working with dogs to find ancient remains, modeling redevelopment and growth to efficiently provide infrastructure, testing climate-tolerant seeds, studying the effects of 3D immersive environments on how we accept and navigate new ideas, or co-creating AI tools that listen and pose key questions to communities, the Lab blends technology, science, and storytelling to build on culture and history. Through cross-sector collaboration, we help shape methods that guide responsible change and support inclusive, healthy, and resilient futures.

The Lab is supported by Logan Simpson’s Denali Program, an internal competitive grant program that provides annual funding through a tiered model of micro-grants and larger awards. This structure encourages experimentation at the early stages while giving the most promising ideas the opportunity to grow into pilots and applied projects. To ensure we are applying the best technology and methods, the program also hosts innovation charrettes to evaluate projects, refine concepts, and guide their advancement. The Denali Program invests in innovation and technology that strengthen communities, support our clients, and push the profession forward, often in partnership with universities and research labs that bring additional expertise and testing capacity.