Havana Urban Design Charrette: 19-25 February 2012. Havana Study Tour: 26 February – 3 March. 2012. INTBAU Cuba and INTBAU Scandinavia invite you to the 2012 Havana Urban Design Charrette. The 2012 International Charrette will build on our work from 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. International architects and planners are invited to join Cuban [...]

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The Al Aqaba West Bank Charrette Booklet, an account based roughly on my daily blog, is now available.  I was the sole designer/planner so I enlisted assistance from my eclectic group to draw the village plan by hand.  The house designs were developed primarily by a Ramallah architect, Hani Hassen, who attended much of the [...]

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There is an exciting trend occurring with charrettes for projects that link public health and community planning. The people working in public health are increasing playing a key role in neighborhood and comprehensive planning by providing important metrics linking the impacts of land and transportation planning decisions to public health. Last month NCI conducted NCI [...]

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What better cause is there for a charrette than the post-disaster period when recovery planning must be done quickly? Post-disaster work involves lots of stakeholders, each with their individual missions who must now work in concert to assist the community in their recovery and rebuilding. The NCI Charrette System™ kick-starts the rebuilding effort through a [...]

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I just returned from a week-long charrette in the village of Al Aqaba in the Palestine West Bank to design new houses for very poor, displaced, and infirm families, some living as multiple families in a small home, and to develop a Village Plan for its long term growth from a tiny hamlet subject to [...]

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We will charrette debrief this afternoon, sequestered in a delightful old Danish House (DHIP) that a young Danish/US/Palestinian couple operate with their two children. I took an early morning run along a ridge line, partly lined with ostentatious homes that must belong to the wealthier Ramallahians. I found what could almost pass for park – [...]

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Day Seven (Friday) The charrette ended last night except for a final presentation of the Village Plan to the mayor and remaining team; the sensitive nature of planning in a militarily controlled area subject to be demolished, which, of course he really liked but would like control of the land even better. We included, besides [...]

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Day Six (Thursday) The Charrette actually began on Thursday when we rolled into Tubas to meet with the engineers and introduce ourselves, the charrette process, and the project, before heading to Al Aqaba for a quick tour and introductions.  Friday, we set up the studio and met about different preparatory issues.  So, we’ve engaged in [...]

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Day Five (Wednesday) I’m working alone on the Village Plan as both my “assistants” traveled for other missions: Souzan to investigate the potential for Palestinian housing funds to help close a possible, immediate funding gap, and to explore a collaboration to help provide many more houses in Al Aqaba; and Dilan, who’s accompanying Donna to [...]

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Day Four (Tuesday) We addressed five categories of intervention or assistance, distilled today at our team meeting: 1. Financing: for the first three, and then subsequent homes, and financial help for two with unfinished homes using Rebuilding Alliance and Al Aqaba’s self-created bank that they were forced to invent after the IMF and World Bank [...]

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