How community charettes revolutionize design and solve 'real world' problems
There is some truth in the old joke about a camel being a horse designed by a committee. But designers believe if you get the right people throwing enough ideas around, you can get a thoroughbred. Designers call that kind of committee a charrette, a kind of meeting with an eye to how design thinking can solve a range of real world problems.
Charrette - a design workshop for solving real world problems. The term "charrette" is derived from the French word for "little cart." In Paris during the 19th century, professors at the Ecole de Beaux Arts circulated with little carts to collect final drawings and models from their students. Students were said to be working "en charrette", or in the carte, while they tried furiously to put finishing touches on their presentation minutes before the deadline.
As we continue our project By Design ... we look at how designers apply their thinking to solve problems. And how they use charrette workshops to try to transform organizations and communities.
- Bill Lennertz is co-author ofThe Charrette Handbook and executive director of the National Charrette Institute... a non-profit organization that trains people how to run charrettes and advance community planning and public involvement.
- Zahra Ebrahimis principal and partner of archiTEXT, a design think tank and consultancy. She has worked with dozens of clients and led many charrettes.
Antenehe Alemu is one of the participants in the charrette our guest Zahra Ebrahim mentioned involving the creation of the East Scarborough Storefront.
Have you had a successful charette? Or could you use a charrette?
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This segment was produced by The Current's Kristin Nelson.