What are design charrettes and how does it serve a project?
A charette is a brainstorming session, a lab experiment, a testing ground, and a collaboration all rolled into one. The main function of a charrette at The Lighting Practice is to gather a large group of designers into one room and develop a concept for a project. While that goal is usually fulfilled, the team building that occurs is equally important. Charrette allow our designers to engage with their colleagues in a dialogue that encourages innovation and creativity. Ideas are respected, given more thought, expanded upon by others. Some of our initial concepts are zany, but that is ok in the early design phases, the discussion spurred by these ideas gets the creative juices flowing for everybody.
We often hold charrettes early in the design process, sometimes even for projects in the proposal stage. This a great way to develop and present the best idea our firm can deliver for a particular client. One recent such project had the entire team involved, with each of our designers sharing their thoughts. We spent 90 minutes talking about the design; a discussion that led us to the story we are trying to tell and the design elements we can use to tell it. Through this process we were able to identify the important details of the architecture and distill our grand ideas into more refined ones. Our proposal will now reflect a stronger vision for the project that all of our team helped to develop.
Charrettes are a great way to leverage the creativity of a large group, but they also help build bonds within the team. While an idea that your colleague had might be similar or completely different than what you developed, the dialogue will give you a greater understanding of their style and vision. Being exposed to a diverse group of designers with individual style helps each of us think a little differently about our work than we may have alone. The group effort toward a common objective teaches us to compromise, combine, edit, and refine our concepts. The forum of an open discussion allows everyone equal voice and builds respect for each other’s ideas. When finished we walk away as a team feeling good that we all contributed to the success of a project.
How does all of this serve our clients?
The Lighting Practice is proud of our diverse team of designers and the collaborative effort needed for a charette teases out the best of everyone’s abilities. In the end, our design will have been influenced by the entire team, vetted through many minds. The process helps to build a story for the project which in turn leads to a more thoughtful design that has a clear vision. Charrettes remind us that every project is a team effort and that working together makes all of our work better.
*Lighting Lesson by Stephen R. Hoppe, former Associate with The Lighting Practice
