Fusion of Open Space & Charrette

[Zelle Nelson]

Hello,

My experience with Open Space and an architect/design project is
actually from a project I worked on with BP in Scotland. The 60 person
business unit I was working with was moving from one part of the
building complex to another (most would agree the space they were moving
into was the worst space in the building). I started with an Open Space
Visioning meeting where in addition to the usual markers and paper for
Open Space I added magazines (design, nature, home furnishings, etc.) a
big roll of paper, scissors, and glue. I invited the group to talk about
what they envisioned the ideal work space to be and to cut out pictures
from the magazines, use words, and pictures to create a collage of what
the new space might feel like.

We took this collage, along with the results from the Open Space and
shared this with the architects and designers (the designers/architects
were invited to be at the visioning Open Space) assigned to the project.
Some incredible ideas that I could never have thought of on my own,
along with the many concerns about moving to "the worst space in the
building" were folded into the design process which also took into
account budget constraints and site needs/requests.

The design team then came back with a design for the new work space
(which included skylights and a "yellow brick road" gleaned from the
first Open Space). We took these sketches/blue prints and went back into
Open Space with cut out furniture options and pencil and paper. Each
team then looked at the areas available and filled in the design details
specific to their needs. Conversation and negotiation took place between
the different teams and a consensus design was reached.

The final result was an exceptional work space that was loved by the
business unit and the "worst space" in the building is now considered
the best place to be.

Along the way, I worked with individuals and teams around learning how
to create places that work for them instead of trying to fit into
someone else's design. I gave them, tools and a language to find the
best mix between personal and team needs.

I have a digital story (mini movie) which describes the process and the
transformation in more detail. If you would like to see that I could
send it to you. You could also visit my website
www.knowplacelikehome.com to find out more.

Hope this helps.

With Grace and Love,

Zelle

************
Zelle Nelson
Know Place Like Home/State of Grace Document

zelle at knowplacelikehome.com
office - 828.693.0398
mobile - 847.951.7030

Isle of Skye
2021 Greenville Hwy
Flat Rock, NC 28731


Chris Macrae wrote:

> If I am digesting the correspondence correctly,
>
> I can start to feel a kaleidoscopic experience of all my favourite
> explorative tools connecting people's visual sensing with the physical:
> Open Space
>
> The Charrette's special competence to keep visual notes of proceedings
> in each of the expert's deliverable formats and in an open way for all
> participants
>
> Pattern Rules - a human wisdom banking idea from architecture I love
>
> wow if we could get the public talking to architects talking to
> engineers talking to policy makers through such an open train of
> methods, the environmenst we live in could be wholly different
>
> Has anyone tried linking with experts in knowledge-cities and their
> social capitals-
> This is a very hot concept emerging in knowledge management, and for
> some reason  KM/SC people seem to get research funds and spaces many
> of us don't (or maybe we dont need the burden of such funds).
>
> chris macrae
>
> PREVIOUSLY
> Most charrette facilitators are architects who have learned their
> "facilitation" skills in the trenches and have no separate training in
> conflict resolution, mediation, facilitation, etc.  I have been trying
> to bridge the two fields, as I think they have a lot to learn from
> each other. A short essay I wrote about this ( Hurley, Jennifer. 2003.
> "The Public Process and New Urbanism", Research Report for the Knight
> Program in Community Building, University of Miami School of
> Architecture.) is available at
> http://www.hfadesign.com/newsroom/publications.html.  Here's the quick
> summary:
>
> What Can Charrette Practitioners Learn from Consensus-Building? By
> learning from the experience of mediators and facilitators, charrette
> organizers could leverage the event to create more support for the
> results of the charrette, resulting in more faithful implementation.
> Key aspects that charrette organizers could learn from
> consensus-building: € A robust theoretical basis for practice can
> inform the understanding of the process and suggest possibilities when
> problems arise. € Situating the charrette event in a larger
> decision-making framework that includes pre-charrette outreach and
> post-charrette consensus-building increases the chances of
> implementation. € Using the charrette to aid group learning and build
> civic capital would leverage the event to develop local leaders who
> can champion the plan long after the event. € Charrette organizers
> could adopt specific skills from mediators and facilitators, including
> stakeholder analysis, the use of ground rules, neutral
> mediation/facilitation, agenda-setting, and consensus-building techniques.
>
> What Can Charrette Practitioners Add to Consensus-Building?
> I have focused this article on describing what I think charrette
> organizers can learn from consensus-building. However, I also believe
> that charrettes are a technique that discussion-based mediators and
> facilitators should learn
> about:
> € Charrettes are a great improvement over discussion-based processes
> for addressing physical and design issues. Words are a cumbersome
> medium when the problem is visual. € The compressed time frame of a
> charrette creates incredible excitement and momentum. In contrast,
> discussion-based processes can take months, if not years, and are
> often tedious and sometimes downright painful.
>
> The last two points touch on Chris's question:
> So that's why I am asking is their a specific charrette focus that
> olnly expert charrette people buld in?
>
> They key is that charrettes have architects, designers, engineers, and
> other technical experts working on site to create a plan using
> drawings.  There's a specific product expected at the end of the
> week-long charrette.
>
> I think a one- or two-day OS would be a wonderful way to start a
> charrette (perhaps taking the place of more structured "stakeholder"
> meetings).
>
> Jennifer
>
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