Thinking back on the charette...
If you are involved in any way with land planning, design, architecture, engineering or development, you need to participate in a charette. It is an amazing process to watch a site plan become a workable entity. Working with Duany, it was important for us to follow the transect that he actually was in the process of developing during our charette. We wanted to develop a town that went from most urban to more rural and include the many visual "hints" that assist the user that he is going from an urban environment to a more rural environment. The most interesting aspect of the process was the interaction between what the best design was versus the best design that was possible given the many limitations that are put on the site. The challenge of designing communities today is to do so within the many requirements that are often at odds with the goals of new urbanism. For example, new urbanism promotes pedestrian friendly streets. This goal encourages narrow streets, on-street parking and curves to force drivers to slow down. The reality is that people don't want to slow down. The reality is that emergency services don't want to drive on narrow lanes. It was increasingly difficult to meet all the requirements and not lose the essence of new urbanism during the process. Also, one has to factor in the amount of open space or green space required, the separation requirements between the various utilities in the project and the placement of civic spaces. Personally I probably am in the minority but I am not a fan of requiring trees to be planted in islands throughout parking lots. Planners, seeking shade, require a tree every "X" number of parking spaces. Quite frankly, I think requring a certain number of trees is great but if you could get a larger section in the parking lot with several trees or encourage more of a useable urban park near the parking lot, it would be better for the trees and for the users of the space. Maybe it is a good idea to let the cars get hot in the sun...maybe people would be more willing to take mass transit...who knows?? I just think that urban parking lots need to be urban and smaller in the final footprint rather than larger than they need to be because of the island requirements. Sub-urban parking lots could have different requirements and, in my opinion, should have different requirements. In fact, there should be rules that are followed for urban spaces and rules for more rural spaces. When governments only specify one way and do not consider the profile of the area, it greatly hinders the ability to create a sustainable and enjoyable space.
Showing posts with label neighborhood design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighborhood design. Show all posts
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Process begins…
We selected our town planner and now it was time for the charrette. Right? Wrong!! Now it was time to prepare for the charrette. Having never been through this process, I was completely unaware of the amount of pre-charrette planning that was required. Needless to say, it was an experience.
First, Duany worked with us to assemble the “Brytan Design Team.” This group of professionals consisted of his team from DPZ plus civil engineers, retail consultant, a residential consultant as well as local engineers, architects, surveyors and land planners. The qualifications of the local team members had to be acceptable to and approved by Duany. Bob Gibbs of Gibbs Planning Group and Todd Zimmerman of Zimmerman/Volk worked on our retail analysis and residential analysis, respectively. These men were wonderful to work with and their contribution was invaluable.
Once the Design Team was set, then our company had to gather information and materials regarding the site to allow the Design Team to prepare for the charrette. This is information that one often gets but we had never gathered all of it so early in the process. The information that we needed for the charrette included surveys, topography maps, tree surveys, floodplain information, wetland delineations, aerial photographs, soil reports, local codes and regulations and USGS maps (specifically the site and the 8 surrounding quadrants so 9 maps in total). Additionally, a place to hold the weeklong charrette had to be reserved. This place needed to include a room large enough to hold the opening and closing presentations. Fortunately, a nearby hotel and conference center was able to accommodate all of the workshop requirements. Individual meetings with neighbors, government officials, realtors, builders and other interested parties were scheduled and invitations were sent as well as notices published in the local paper. We originally had the daily work area set apart from the individual meeting areas but we learned that is not the proper way to handle the charrette process. DPZ indicated that it was extremely important for the Design Team to work in the same room where the various meetings would be held. The drafters wanted to be able to listen to the conversations, suggestions, criticisms and feedback directly from the participants. As the week progressed, it became apparent why this arrangement is so helpful to the entire charrette process.
At this point, we have the team, we have the location and now we needed the supplies. Besides a detailed list of required food for meals and snacks, there had to be an architectural supply store nearby as well as a federal express or postal service, copy center and slide processing facility. Equipment required included a specific laser jet printer, fax machine, two telephone lines, copy machine, two slide projectors, a small refrigerator, padded chairs, 3’ X 6’ banquet style tables, large trash cans and bags, twenty illustration boards, six foam-core boards, architect trace paper rolls and lots of paper.
Our office staff did a great job of organizing and working with area vendors to get all the required items. Before we knew it, we had everything and it was time for the charrette!
Next: The Charrette Begins…or does it?
We selected our town planner and now it was time for the charrette. Right? Wrong!! Now it was time to prepare for the charrette. Having never been through this process, I was completely unaware of the amount of pre-charrette planning that was required. Needless to say, it was an experience.
First, Duany worked with us to assemble the “Brytan Design Team.” This group of professionals consisted of his team from DPZ plus civil engineers, retail consultant, a residential consultant as well as local engineers, architects, surveyors and land planners. The qualifications of the local team members had to be acceptable to and approved by Duany. Bob Gibbs of Gibbs Planning Group and Todd Zimmerman of Zimmerman/Volk worked on our retail analysis and residential analysis, respectively. These men were wonderful to work with and their contribution was invaluable.
Once the Design Team was set, then our company had to gather information and materials regarding the site to allow the Design Team to prepare for the charrette. This is information that one often gets but we had never gathered all of it so early in the process. The information that we needed for the charrette included surveys, topography maps, tree surveys, floodplain information, wetland delineations, aerial photographs, soil reports, local codes and regulations and USGS maps (specifically the site and the 8 surrounding quadrants so 9 maps in total). Additionally, a place to hold the weeklong charrette had to be reserved. This place needed to include a room large enough to hold the opening and closing presentations. Fortunately, a nearby hotel and conference center was able to accommodate all of the workshop requirements. Individual meetings with neighbors, government officials, realtors, builders and other interested parties were scheduled and invitations were sent as well as notices published in the local paper. We originally had the daily work area set apart from the individual meeting areas but we learned that is not the proper way to handle the charrette process. DPZ indicated that it was extremely important for the Design Team to work in the same room where the various meetings would be held. The drafters wanted to be able to listen to the conversations, suggestions, criticisms and feedback directly from the participants. As the week progressed, it became apparent why this arrangement is so helpful to the entire charrette process.
At this point, we have the team, we have the location and now we needed the supplies. Besides a detailed list of required food for meals and snacks, there had to be an architectural supply store nearby as well as a federal express or postal service, copy center and slide processing facility. Equipment required included a specific laser jet printer, fax machine, two telephone lines, copy machine, two slide projectors, a small refrigerator, padded chairs, 3’ X 6’ banquet style tables, large trash cans and bags, twenty illustration boards, six foam-core boards, architect trace paper rolls and lots of paper.
Our office staff did a great job of organizing and working with area vendors to get all the required items. Before we knew it, we had everything and it was time for the charrette!
Next: The Charrette Begins…or does it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
