Charrette

Learning Objectives

• Remember the steps of a charrette
  • Pre-charrette
  • Charrette facilitation
• Evaluate and compare stakeholder perspectives
• Design a plan for Blacksburg transit system

Agenda

1. Complete survey about your design process (5 minute)
   • If you finish before others, please read Charrette Overview Notes
2. Slides - Charrette (25 minutes)
3. Charrette: Transit System (30 minutes)
4. Update Transit system recommendations based on charrette (15 minutes)
5. Flow project update - individual meeting time during class (during item number 4)

Design Process Survey

Survey  Links to an external site.

Charrette

Charrette process slides Links to an external site.

Charrette Overview Notes

(From The Whole Building Design Guide Links to an external site.)

A Charrette is a focused and collaborative design process that harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties to create and build support for a feasible plan to produce transformative change or innovation.

Purposes and Benefits of Charrettes

• Provide a forum for planning the project with those who can influence design decisions to make sure early decisions avoid missteps—it is easier to set a course than to change it.
• Provide an opportunity for lessons learned from previous projects to inform the planning process.
• Encourage agreement on project goals.
• Save time and money by collaborating on ideas, issues, and concerns early in the design process to help avoid later iterative redesign activities.
• Promote "collective enthusiasm" for a project with early realistic goals and directions.
• Establish a multidisciplinary team that can set and agree on common project goals.
• Generate early expectations or quantifiable metrics for final energy and environmental outcomes.
• Provide early understanding of the potential impact of various design strategies.
• Set a project schedule and budget that all team members feel comfortable following.

Key Issues in Planning and Implementing a Charrette

• Before You Begin to Organize Your Charrette, You Must Be Clear About Your Goals for the Event - What Do You Hope to Achieve? Expectations can include:
• Consensus on project goals
• Identification of realistic strategies and designs for the project
• Consensus on time frames and champions associated with goals
• Ideas of potential partners and funding sources for a project
• Shared information and "lessons learned" from experts
• Once your goals are clear, you should ask a few questions to make sure your charrette will be most effective: (If you can answer yes to these questions, you are ready to proceed.)
• For a building, is the project program developed - do you know what functions are to be performed, needs of occupants, special requirements? Has the site been selected or narrowed to a few possibilities? (It is best to hold the charrette during the project planning cycle if possible, once the project team is in place.)
• For large-scale projects, such as campuses, military bases, or other developments, are issues to be addressed in the charrette well defined? These issues could include overall master planning, transportation, facilities construction or renovation, operations and maintenance, green procurement and contracting, and education and outreach.
• Are there staff or volunteers and resources to support the event?
• Is there an overall organizer, or "champion," to lead the effort

In Class Assignment

Begin updating your proposed plan that you submitted for homework based on what you learned during the community meeting in class. Resubmit your homework with updates influenced by the community meeting (similar to the charrette process - public meeting input and developing preferred plans). 

Assignment

1. Finish Assignment 6-B - Designing Infrastructure Systems (Part 1 - Update)
2. Complete Assignment 7 - Design Infrastructure Systems (Part 2)
3. Continue working on Flow project