A “charette” is an intense effort to solve any architectural problem within a limited time. From a creative standpoint, a charette can be divided into three portions:

LISTEN to what the financial backers, realtors, owners, and other specialists have to suggest. Work together with them to come to an understanding about the project, what their goals and limitations are, and how these might fit with your ideas
COMBINE together all of these various considerations to come up with a realistic and creative proposal which will be interesting while at the same time financially, environmentally, and otherwise feasible
DECIDE on which plan your community wants to pursue, a task made easier because of the ability to work with creative team who can bring ideas to a tangible design sketch quickly, allows for instant communication

There are two main advantages to working in the context of a charette. The first is that a charette operates in a highly collaborative atmosphere. Instead of an architect taking ideas and plans and going away to develop them on his or her own, a charette allows for the participation of everyone involved with the project, resulting in a highly charged and creative atmosphere. The inclusion of many points of view results in well-rounded and realistic proposals, with everyone satisfied that they were able to contribute. Secondly, Charettes are fast, and relatively inexpensive.

A charette is an ideal way to tackle many of the public space problems that you face in your community. In the initial stages of a project, the venture is necessarily highly speculative. It is important to keep costs at bay while also moving forward quickly to take advantage of changing situations and steadfast deadlines. Charettes offer the opportunity to work safely and effectively within both of these boundaries. Here are some links to other communities around the country that have tried a charette in the past:

http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/Planning/03CommPart.pdf
-A downloadable PDF file compiled by Suffolk County, NY, on various charette activities around the country

http://www.plannh.com/charrettes.html
-State of New Hampshire charettes on topics such as riverfront projects, town centers and commercial districts

http://www.arch.montana.edu/students/English,%20Leata/community%20participation.html
-A charette conducted by college students in Helena, Montana, on revamping their county library

http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/copc/topics.htm
-Various charettes on neighborhood parks and remodeling buildings in Central Illinois

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