SunLIVING - Task 13: Prepare Charrette Brief

Task 13: Prepare Charrette Brief

Determine charrette outputs

The project team generates an initial list of the charrette outputs that will be required to produce the master concept plan and eventually the SuNliving Implementation Manual. This essential list ensures that there is a common understanding of the scope of the design and that the choreography (flow and timing, participants, schedule, etc.) is appropriate to the desired end product.

Additional Support

NCI Charrette Handbook: 1.1.2 Project Mission and Products;
NCI Charrette Planner Forms Kit: 1.1.2 Charrette Products List

Prepare charrette brief

The charrette brief represents a single resource that concisely summarizes all information from the Initiate and Explore steps. It serves as a guide to what needs to be accomplished during the design event. Working with the project team, the sustainability consultant prepares a template of the charrette brief and compiles the information (see Table 2).

TABLE 2

CHARRETTE BRIEF SUGGESTED CONTENT

Introduction	Describes the project site with its challenges and constraints.
Background	Provides the context within which the sustainable neighbourhood project is operating.
Project area	Describes the development area, indicating opportunities and constraints.
Study area	Describes the surrounding community, in which the project is embedded, and indicates opportunities and constraints posed by the larger scales.
Land Use Budget/Project Program	Clearly identifies the quantity of different land uses, building types required, including other program information such as community amenities, and so on.
Design instructions	Identifies goals and targets to be achieved for each theme, as well as potential strategies and actions.
Outputs list	Describes precisely what documents the charrette team must produce by the end of the charrette.

Confirm charrette brief

The charrette brief is disseminated to the project team and key stakeholders for review and feedback at least three weeks prior to the charrette. The review affords an opportunity to ensure that this group shares a common understanding of the intent and objectives of the charrette, as well as of the specific design instructions that will guide the event and its outputs.