Services – Design Facilitation

• Community based design workshops (Charrettes)

• Integrated green building design workshops (Charrettes)

• Expert resources for design workshops

Our Approach

In community design, we practice the principle that the best plans are driven by neighbourhood involvement, using local knowledge and expertise, and responding directly to needs expressed by residents. For this reason, we often use the “design charrette” method.

A charrette is a structured form of “brainstorming” session with products. It is more than a design workshop. A charrette is part of a larger process used in urban planning and building design called the Integrated Design Process, or IDP. The IDP process is based on the well-proven observation that changes and improvements in any planning and design process are relatively easy to make at the beginning, but become increasingly difficult, costly and disruptive as the process unfolds and commitments are made. The IDP is “iterative”, that is it requires regular review of early assumptions, goals etc.

A Charrette, whether used for community planning or building design, is an inter-disciplinary session, involving project stakeholders, design experts, regulatory authorities etc. In a Charrette there are co-operative tasks set with time limits for achieving a synthesis of design ideas in sketch form. A Charrette can produce a “roadmap” for a project, as well as enriching the design concepts, setting performance goals etc. The existence of a defined roadmap and goals give credence and form to the project, not only making it better, but making it easier to promote and implement.

Integrated Team

Whether it’s a single building or a whole community, it is very important to have all the key players in the room when initial design concepts are generated. This can include current residents, future residents, representatives from stakeholder groups, regulatory authorities, etc., as well as design experts. The roles of planner, architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, cost consultant etc. can also be supplemented by those knowledgeable in history, human behaviour, education, biology, law enforcement and any number of other disciplines, as needed. Often building contractors and project managers are included to bring detailed practical experience to the table.

What We Can Do For You

We are expert design workshop facilitators, bringing creativity, respect for differing viewpoints, great people skills and a depth of experience to make your event both engaging and productive. We can plan, organize and facilitate a charrette for your community plan or building project. Or we can just provide expert facilitation for your planned charrette. We can also provide just technical expertise to enrich your event.

Selected Design Workshop (Charrette) Facilitation and Support

• Wuxi Zhongguancun Software Park and Integrated Community, Wuxi China, Dec. 2008. Facilitation for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. International and the CPC Group.

• Fort St. John Hospital Neighbourhood Design Charrette, Fort St. John, BC, Canada, Oct. 2008. Design Support for The Sheltair Group and the City of Fort St John.

• Essencia Design Charrette, Sustainable Community Planning, Colwood, Victoria, Sept. 2008. Co-Facilitation with Habitat Design + Consulting for Unavera Dev.Corp.

• Manitoba House Design Charrette, for Vancouver 2010 Olympics Pavillion, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 2008. Facilitation for Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport.

• Massey Integrated Housing Design Charrette, Low Income Housing, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, 2008. Co-Facilitation with Infotechnika for Canadian Mental Health Assn. and Natural Resources Canada

• Salt Spring Island Sustainable Design Charrette, Ganges, BC, Canada, 2007. Design support for The Sheltair Group.

• 50 Year, Bridging to the Future plan for Jinze Town, Qingpu, West Shanghai, China, 2006. Design support for The Sheltair Group.

• Mansons Landing BC, Smart Growth Design Charrette, Cortes Island, BC, Canada, 2006. Co-Facilitation for Smart Growth BC.

• The Orange County Great Park design charrettes, Irvine, CA, USA, 2005-2006 (conversion of an abandoned military base into a mixed use community and public open space). Co-facilitation, with the Sheltair Group.

• Maple Ridge Smart Growth Design Charrette, BC, Canada, 2004. Co-Facilitation for Smart Growth BC and the UBC Design Centre for Sustainability.

• Red River College, Princess St Campus, Winnipeg, Canada, 2003-04. Co-facilitation of C-2000 integrated design process with G.F. Shymko & Associates and Corbett Cibinel Architects.

• South Lake Union Sustainable Community Plan and Resource Guide For Sustainable Development, Seattle, WA, USA, 2001-2002. Project Leader for the Urban Environmental Institute and the Vulcan Corp., with Mithun Inc.

• Univercity (Simon Fraser University) Residential Design Charrette, Burnaby, BC, Canada, 2002. Team Facilitation for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

• Christina Lake Community Vision Workshop, BC, Canada, 2001. Co Faciltation with Urban Ecology Collaborative and the Christina Lake Community Futures Development Corp.

• IslandWood (formerly Puget Sound Environmental Learning Centre), Bainbridge Is. WA, 2000. Co Facilitation with Rocky Mountain Institute and Mithun Inc.

David Rousseau, the principal of Archemy Consulting, is a member of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. International Training Team. He undertakes training and design facilitation assignments as part of Canada’s initiatives to improve housing and communities all over the world. Please click here to download our brochure.