One thing is for sure- the term is broadly used to describe everything from a small afternoon design session to a week-long community-wide event. How does NCI define a charrette? It is more than just a collaborative design event- it is the transformative phase of NCI Charrette System™. Now here’s a chance to hear it [...]

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Changing project users mindsets and preconceptions about sustainability is a prerequisite to implementing sustainable design projects in which users take ownership. Charrettes create an immersive, shared-learning environment that promotes a shift in mindsets.
Sustainable projects have a complex set of environmental, economic, and social variables plus a large, diverse set of stakeholders. The NCI Charrette [...]

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People say that you can’t really understand what a charrette does unless you have seen one in action. The NCI Charrette System: Stories of Community Transformation DVD is the next best thing to being there. This DVD places you into key moments within the seven-day East Fort Myers, FL charrette. Hear what participants are saying before and after the [...]

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Honestly, it can sometimes be a challenge to convince a project sponsor to use a charrette. First you may need to redefine the term. People in the community planning and development world use the word charrette very loosely. To some it may mean a one-hour meeting while to others is means a week-long event. One [...]

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Sustainability planning requires an extra effort to educate stakeholders before the charrette. The techniques and issues related to sustainability are often too numerous and too complex to deal solely within the charrette. Waiting until the charrette to start a community conversation about sustainability can leave you with a steep learning curve that can consume valuable [...]

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Reason #17: Reduce Critical, Costly Errors
Today’s tight budgets leave little room for errors that result in costly rework.  The NCI Charrette System™ provides a safety net to help complex and volatile projects avoid “post-charrette meltdown.”  Months before the beginning of the charrette, during the Project Assessment and Organization phase, the project management team identifies the [...]

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Of all the arguments for using the charrette method, none comes into sharper focus in times like these than the bang-for-the-buck advantage. Well-planned, well-managed charrettes can save both public and private sector clients a ton of time and money. But here’s the hitch: To realize the savings, clients have to take on more responsibility in [...]

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NCI Director, Bill Lennertz, participated in a presentation three weeks ago at Greenbuild with former USGBC chair, Sandy Wiggins from Consilience LLC and Jennifer Rezeli from ReVision Architects, both NCI certificate holders. The session featured lessons from Sandy and Jenn’s sustainable charrette practice as well as content from the NCI Sustainable Charrette Summit held last [...]

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 NCI Executive Director, Bill Lennertz, will join Sandy Wiggins and Jennifer Rezeli in session PL08 called, Sustainability Immersion: Community Change through Sustainable Design Charrettes on November 21st at 9 AM. The session is based on work from the NCI Sustainable Neighborhood Charrette Curriculum Summit, held in Chicago last June, hosted by Farr Associates and sponsored [...]

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How can you concisely describe the NCI Charrette System™ to elected officials, commissioners or community members? Answer: Download and present the free NCI Charrette System™ scripted PowerPoint presentation. With the NCI Charrette System scripted PowerPoint, you can show the slides and read the script to describe the benefits of public involvement, what a charrette is [...]

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