|
|
 |
|
|
||
Del
Mar Goes French: The "Charrette"
is
Coming Citizens of Del Mar are about to be introduced and invited to participate in a “charrette” as a part of downtown (village center) revitalization. The term “charrette” is French for “cart” or “chariot” and originated from the Beaux-Arts in Paris. It was used to describe student architects working furiously, up to the last minute, on their design presentations, even while riding in the school cart (charrette) through the streets of Paris, en route to submit the projects to their professors. The Del Mar charrette won’t entail carts racing about the Community, filled with stressed out, frazzled students, but will, in a more contemporary sense, entail an intense period of consultation and design activity involving elected officials, property owners, local residents and urban planners. Students will be involved as assistants, with fresh eyes, gathering information, facilitating some sessions and preparing “opportunity maps.” Wikipedia defines “charrette” as a technique or process for consulting with all those stakeholders who have a concern or interest in a particular project or plan. It involves intense and possibly multi-day meetings, a high level of community involvement, encouraging and recording a multiplicity of ideas. Through widespread participation and democratic decision-making, it seeks to promote joint ownership of solutions and diffuse confrontational attitudes. Specifically, the how, when, where and other charrette particulars will be formulated by an ad hoc committee. However, Brian Mooney, the Acting Planning Director, offers the following: “Students
from the New School
of Architecture and
those studying urban
design at the University
of California are being
recruited to take part
in a course on “Form
Based Codes” which
will involve them in
the design and development
of a Del Mar charrette,
including collecting
and analyzing previous
studies, particularly
those with suggestions
for a revitalized village
center. Their work,
under the supervision
of their instructors,
will result in the design
of “opportunity
maps - graphic portrayals
of Del Mar’s
characteristics and
strengths.”
|
||||
|