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A design workshop, or more accurately a design charrette, draws together the architect and the principal members of the design team, the client organisation and other relevant groups with the objective of developing — through a structured workshop — a clear set of design objectives and design-assessment criteria for a project. The charrette may produce a preliminary design for the project. Design charrettes are a particularly useful strategy where the client brief fails to clearly define their design objectives for a project or where the client organisation is diverse and there are obvious competing interests.
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Background
The word charrette in this context refers to a collaborative session (or sessions), usually over two or three days, in which the architect, the client(s) and other relevant groups draft a solution to a design problem. While the structure of a charrette varies, depending on the design problem and the individuals in the group, charrettes often take place in multiple sessions in which the group divides into subgroups. Each subgroup considers particular design issues and then presents its work to the full group as material for future dialogue. Such charrettes serve as a way of quickly generating potential design solutions while integrating the aptitudes and interests of a diverse group of people.
Charrettes take place in many disciplines, including architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, industrial design, interior design and graphic design. In urban planning, the charrette has become a technique for consulting with all stakeholders. This type of charrette (sometimes called an enquiry by design) typically involves intense and possibly multi-day meetings, involving municipal officials, developers and residents. A successful charrette promotes joint ownership of solutions and attempts to defuse confrontational attitudes between residents and developers.
In much the same way that a planning charrette engages the community in the planning design and decision-making process and helps establish assessment criteria for planning proposals, a design charrette can engage the main interest groups in a project, identify and resolve competing interests and provide the design team with clear design objectives for the project.
Preparation and inputs
While each project will have a differing approach, the following guiding workflow can assist with the successful completion of design workshops:
Stakeholder identification: to ensure the relevant individuals and teams are able to contribute in an appropriate manner
Organisation: to bring together the right teams with valuable preparatory information and inputs which ensures the workshop can be undertaken with the greatest impact.
Contextual understanding: This can be achieved through research, interviews, an analysis of the organisation, observation, tours, benchmarking and study tours.
Vision and objectives: What is the project vision and how does it affect the organisation.
Technical and operational detail: understand the functional requirements of the project through interviews, questionnaires and focus groups.
Design workshops are best facilitated by individuals with experience in guiding the process and the ability to be inclusive and strategic.
Value management
Another form of collaborative workshop used to explore design options is value management where the design is tested against the project budget, construction options and project quality objectives with the aim of achieving the best value for money.
Disclaimer
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