Environmental Design

™ Charrette Workbook
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lvironmental Design Charrette Workbook

Precis

m
u Chapter 1
E n v i r o n m e n t a l Design C h a r r e t t e s : a c o m m u n i t y vision and design process

Introduction 1
ns
Sv

Chapter 2
ns
1995 environmental design charrette boards 5
5

Chapter 3

Lessons learned: guidelines for charrette organizers 49

Chapter 4

Facilitator guidelines 67

tvi Chapter 5

Reflections 79

• C h a d Floyd, F A I A Community T V and Community Design

• Sharon E. Sutton, P h D , FAIA Practicing Democracy through the Charrette Process

• D a v i d Lewis, F A I A A M e m o r y of t h e F u t u r e

Appendices

A. Example: pre-charrette briefing book

B. Charrette Resource Consultants

C. Resources

Environmental Design Charrette Workbook A report summarizing results and lessons learned A l t h o u g h t h e i n f o r m a t i o n in this d o c u m e n t h a s
f r o m t h e 1995 E n v i r o n m e n t a l D e s i g n C h a r r e t t e s b e e n f u n d e d w h o l l y o r in p a r t by t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
author: Donald Watson, FAIA
s p o n s o r e d by T h e A m e r i c a n I n s t i t u t e of A r c h i t e c t s Environmental Protection Agency u n d e r assistance
publisher: A I A C o m m i t t e e on the
C o m m i t t e e o n t h e E n v i r o n m e n t ( A I A C O T E ) in a g r e e m e n t 8 2 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 t o T h e A m e r i c a n I n s t i t u t e of
Environment
1995. A r c h i t e c t s , it m a y n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e f l e c t t h e views
sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection
of t h e A g e n c y a n d n o official e n d o r s e m e n t s h o u l d
Agency be inferred.
© 1996 T h e A m e r i c a n I n s t i t u t e of A r c h i t e c t s
•
rC
im t ^ 1 fit
ironmental Design Charrettes: a community vision and design process

I
n 1995-96, the A I A C o m m i t t e e on the Environment conceivable f u t u r e outcomes might be. Environmental

sponsored a series of Environmental Design Design Charrettes and the longer and the more thor-

Charrettes combining techniques of intensive design ough R / U D A T process, developed by the A I A over the

workshops (charrettes) with community dialogue and past thirty years, combine to offer tools to transform

participation. This report summarizes results of these the nature of community dialogue and design guided

charrettes, including an October 1995 series of char- by f u t u r e fairness.

rettes held simultaneously throughout the United States

This R e p o r t summarizes lessons learned f r o m
and connected through electronic media. T h e primary
Environmental Design Charrettes held throughout the
issues included energy conservation, building ecology,
United States, including about one dozen charrettes
environmental approaches to landscaping, waste pre-
held simultaneously in October 1995. Over 1,000 envi-
vention and resource reclamation, cultural issue, and
r o n m e n t a l design professionals, students and commu-
regional scale planning. How the Environmental Design
nity representatives participated in this "electronic
Charrettes combined these and related issues to fit local
community charrette," a weekend dialogue that was net-
problems and solutions is evident in the C h a p t e r 2 pre-
worked across the country (including Hawaii) while
sentations and results. C h a p t e r s 3 and 4 provide guide-
focusing on local plans, resulting in discussions impact-
lines for charrette organizers and facilitators. T h e
ing several million people. This was an experiment to
concluding C h a p t e r 5 offers "reflections" by three prac-
determine whether or not electronic communication
titioners of the art of community dialogue, Chad Floyd,
would provide expertise to local sites f r o m other experts
Sharon Sutton and David Lewis.
participating at other sites. Much was learned, but

Environmental Design Charrettes provide a "first step" David Sellers who facilitated the Milwaukee charrette

in acting locally while thinking globally, that is, thinking put into words what most participants c a m e to realize

of all others whom our plans and actions might effect f r o m the experience, that the electronic connections and

both present and future, what Robert Gilman has dialogue added a necessary national relevance to the

defined as the ethical precept of " f u t u r e fairness." Too local discussions. Initially skeptical about the electronic

often, a community's planning decisions are argued as networking, Sellers recognized that " O u r current m o d e

they come up, case-by-case, in what is for the most part of designing and creative interfacing is quite unfamiliar

is an ad-hoc and adversarial zoning hearing process. This with this and p e r f o r m s only at the pre-puberty level."

piecemeal approach offers only a partial view of f u t u r e H e concluded that the availability of a national on-line

planning options and occurs without considering what all network of experts requires that we all have to learn
Precis

a new m o d e of design, "We b e c a m e part of a national T h e environmental design professionals—architects,

d e b a t e and d e v e l o p m e n t of a national i s s u e . . . p a r t of landscape designers and p l a n n e r s as practitioners, edu-

a m o v e m e n t to a m o r e civil society." cators and s t u d e n t s — h a v e a long-standing c o m m i t m e n t

to the quality of life in our urban, s u b u r b a n and rural

In the best cases, t h e c h a r r e t t e w o r k s h o p is linked to
communities. O u r talents and services can be best sum-
a larger initiative, b e f o r e and after the event, that builds
m o n e d by an a g e n d a to p r o m o t e positive options and
local community initiative and d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e initial
visions of o u r f u t u r e and to thus help rebuild a nation
proposal n e e d not be perfect. It should be o p e n to m o d -
of sustainable communities. T h r o u g h this agenda, we
ification as discussions and planning proceed. It has to
can seek leadership through design that contributes to
be a project that is inspiring and at the same time feasi-
t h e sustainable economic, social and e n v i r o n m e n t a l
ble, that is, does not raise false hopes. C o m m u n i t y aspi-
d e v e l o p m e n t of c o m m u n i t i e s t h r o u g h o u t our nation.
ration is too valuable a quality to s q u a n d e r on false

starts and dead ends. A final opportunity is to use char-

rettes to train facilitators. C h a p t e r 4 is t h e r e f o r e

devoted to tips for facilitators and guidelines for creat-

ing an educational process within the c h a r r e t t e pro-

gram. In this way, t h e positive e f f o r t and energy that is

created in any one c h a r r e t t e can be multiplied and

extended to o t h e r communities. Success is contagious.

Facilitator skills are learned by doing, following the

adage, "Watch one, do one, teach o n e . "

T h e capacity to help communities visualize p r e f e r r e d

f u t u r e s is a u n i q u e contribution that design profession-

als can m a k e to c o m m u n i t y planning and decision

making. C h a r r e t t e s provide for an airing of views,

possibilities and visions that can f r a m e t h e t e r m s and

catalyze community-wide c o m m i t m e n t . C h a r r e t t e s o f f e r

a process for communities to envision and act u p o n

what their n e i g h b o r h o o d s might be and are thus vital

to what S h a r o n Sutton and David Lewis describe

in C h a p t e r 5 as " m a k i n g democracy work."

 1

chapter 1
A
n E n v i r o n m e n t a l Design C h a r r e t t e is a work- maintenance, a synergistic view of our environmen-

shop held in a two- to three-day period in which tal and economic and cultural resources.

architects and other design professionals, community

• Charrettes encourage discussion that stretches the
leaders, public officials and citizens work together to
envelope of possibilities beyond conventional think-
envision alternatives for a local building program,
ing without triggering the opposition typical of
n e i g h b o r h o o d or regional community project, with
conventional planning and zoning proposals.
an emphasis u p o n long-term economic, social and
• Charrettes are an effective means to initiate volun-
environmental sustainability.
teerism and collaboration f r o m all interested parties

T h e term "charrette" is adopted f r o m the storied prac- to j u m p start community revitalization that can

tice oiEcole des Beaux Arts architectural students in involve those most affected by environmental quality

nineteenth century Paris who reputedly could be seen issues and opportunities.

still drawing their projects until the last minute as they

T h e charrette process combines techniques familiar
were carried on the "cart" or en charrette on the way to
f r o m brainstorming methods—letting ideas flow in an
the design jury. In its modern-day adaptation, charrette
open way, each building u p o n the suggestions of
refers to an intensive design workshop involving people
all participants—as well as f r o m " F u t u r e Search"
working together under compressed deadlines.
processes—creating time lines, issue maps and dia-

T h e highlights of "lessons-learned" f r o m these grams—all of which help individuals, groups and com-

Environmental Design Charrettes include: munities to visualize design alternatives and to discuss

and evaluate best choices. 1 Environmental Design

• C h a r r e t t e s provide an interactive f o r u m for profes-
Charrettes build u p o n the thirty-year history of the
sional and public education in which designers,
A m e r i c a n Institute of Architects R / U D A T process
students and community representatives participate
(Regional and U r b a n Design Assistance Teams) in
in proposing alternative visions by which we can
which expert design and planning professionals consult
u n d e r s t a n d , evaluate and d e t e r m i n e f u t u r e plans
with communities about long-range strategies. 2 T h e
and options.
planning professions have also used the charrette
• Charrettes are an effective m e a n s of understanding
process in a variety of ways, including professional
the complex yet vital issues of environmental quality
workshops, participatory community discussions,
and design, building construction, operation and
and academic (school-based) student assignments. 3
2 Introduction

In an E n v i r o n m e n t a l Design C h a r r e t t e , the environ- and infrastructure. T h e results of planning and building

mental emphasis involves a b r o a d set of issues related to decisions thus impact the e n v i r o n m e n t by establishing

energy, resources, pollution and environmental quality. long-term p a t t e r n s of r e s o u r c e c o n s u m p t i o n , waste

T h e R / U D A T a p p r o a c h is characterized by a long production, pollution and o t h e r effects that r e d u c e and

period of careful p r e p a r a t i o n in which the local c o m m u - constrain f u t u r e c o m m u n i t y values and choices.

nity establishes prior c o m m i t m e n t s to long-term imple-

A sustainable design principle or bioregional rule-of-
m e n t a t i o n . T h e s e two approaches, E n v i r o n m e n t a l
t h u m b that is useful when considering any building or
Design C h a r r e t t e s and the R / U D A T process, can go
community design project is often stated as, " D o n ' t
hand-in-hand in a long-term a p p r o a c h to c o m m u n i t y
export your problems." This serves as both exhortation
revitalization and d e v e l o p m e n t .
and reminder to b e c o m e responsible for and seek to

T h e r e is n o "best way" by which to organize an solve any and all environmental impacts and problems

Environmental Design C h a r r e t t e . This report compiles locally. This principle expresses the insight that if we

results and lessons learned f r o m over a dozen charrettes resolve our environmental issues locally, we are m o r e

sponsored by the A m e r i c a n Institute of Architects likely to practice wise use of indigenous resources, includ-

C o m m i t t e e on the E n v i r o n m e n t in 1995. All of t h e ing practices of renewable energy, pollution a b a t e m e n t

C h a r r e t t e s involved diverse groups that included archi- and waste prevention and clean-up. T h e s e practices aim

tects and o t h e r environmental design professionals, at restoration of the diversity and health of our local

e d u c a t o r s and students, c o m m u n i t y representatives "environmental sponge," to use Barry C o m m o n e r ' s

and public and civic leaders. T h e p r o b l e m s that were phrase, represented in the restorative role of the land,

addressed varied greatly, f r o m small scale building— soil, vegetation and water of our regions. A n equally

such as the adaptive reuse of the historic Jackson unique resource, so often discovered in the process, is

County C o u r t h o u s e in I n d e p e n d e n c e , M o . — t o complex the essential role of individuals in a community w h o are

groups of buildings, n e i g h b o r h o o d s and what would be the essential link in implementing any vision of commu-

best described as "bioregions," defined as land and nity and environmental quality. Environmental Design

watersheds that are linked by e n v i r o n m e n t a l interde- Charrettes seek to provide the f o r u m for community

p e n d e n c e and mutually affected by building, planning voices and visions to plan for a sustainable future.

and development. T h e bioregional view can be u n d e r -

stood by visualizing any building site as part of o n e ' s T h e primary issues of E n v i r o n m e n t a l Design C h a r r e t t e s

local " w a t e r s h e d " in which all water, pollution and include specialized topics that, d e p e n d i n g u p o n local

waste streams all end u p in the s a m e " e n v i r o n m e n t a l issues, will require the assistance of k n o w l e d g e a b l e

sink" or bioregion. E n v i r o n m e n t a l design enlarges experts, e d u c a t o r s and design professionals, o n a r a n g e

to this bioregional view because what is d o n e on any of topics such as:

o n e building site or land parcel so o f t e n affects and is Energy and resource conservation: Ways to r e d u c e

affected by a d j a c e n t land, water, vegetation, building energy and resource use and resulting pollution plus use
 Environmental Design Charrette Workbook 3

of renewable energy sources through optimized building tions that can be implemented by local action. This in

design, materials selection, envelope and windows, light- fact is the guiding spirit of Environmental Design

ing and daylighting, utility loads, heating, cooling and Charrettes: We don't necessarily know where the

ventilation systems. discussion will lead, but we know the path of discovery

is worth taking.
Building ecology: Ways to create healthy indoor condi-

tions for health, safety and productivity, including speci-

In the Seattle Comprehensive Plan, sustainability is
fication of green materials and design of high quality
defined as a "three-legged stool" that requires in equal
indoor air systems.
measure the creation of economic opportunity, social

Environmental approaches to landscaping: Ways to equity and environmental responsibility. Environmental

improve air, water and landscaping quality through site Design Charrettes have an ambitious goal, best defined

design, with the goals of cleansing water streams and as envisioning and implementing sustainable futures for

aquifer recharge and reducing the negative environmen- all citizens and our co-evolving living systems. We hope

tal impacts of parking, paving and walking surfaces. that this report makes clear how Environmental Design

Charrettes can provide a process for organizations and

Waste prevention and reclamation: Ways to reduce
communities to convene around the key ethical question
and eliminate waste and establish environmentally
of our day: H o w might we live more sustainably and
sound practices of construction and demolition waste
work together towards greater economic opportunity,
reduction, reuse and recycling, as well as practices of
social equity and environmental responsibility?
water and waste-nutrient recovery.

Cultural change and behavioral issues: Ways to intro-

References Chapter 1
duce policies and practices that encourage environmen-
' Weisbord, Marvin R. & Sandra Janoff Future Search: An Action
tal equity and justice and community involvement.
Guide to Finding Common Ground in Organizations &
Communities San Francisco: Berret-Koehler Publishers 1995
Regional scale planning: Ways to p r o m o t e environmen-
:
Zucker, Charles B. ed. Creating a Design Assistance Team for Your
tal approaches to land use, transportation patterns, and
Community Washington, DC: American Institute of Architects
bioregional planning including restoration of habitat, Regional Urban Design Committee 1990

vegetation and water/aquifer systems. 3

Russell, Joel S. with Andrew Meyers "Planning Charrettes"
PAS Memo Chicago, IL: American Planning Association
August 1995
T h e r e is of course a great variety in how such guidelines

and topics might be combined. In many cases, there is

no "expert" answer as much as an "expert" question

which m o r e often than not can be asked naively, by any-

one engaged in a local Environmental Design Charrette.

Community awareness and learning naturally comes

f r o m environmental thinking and often provides the

fortuitous result or impetus to a whole range of solu-

.
 :te Boards

T h e project b o a r d s selected f o r publication r e p r e s e n t Lynn Simon, Assoc. AIA

t h e following cities: A J A San Francisco C O T E

99 Jersey Street, # 4
• Fort Collins, C O
San Francisco, C A 94114

• Independence, M O 415-282-2992 • 415-282-8490 fax

• Kane'ohe, HI

• Kansas City, M O David Pecharka, AIA

• Milwaukee, W I L.D. A s t o r i n o a n d Associates

227 F o r t Pitt Blvd.

• Minneapolis, M N
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
• N e w t o n & Waltham, M A
412-765-1700 • 412-765-1711 fax
• S a n t a Monica, C A

• Waterloo, LA Bruce David Bradsby, AIA

Blue Sky Studios

615 West Lynwood Ave.

Project Coordinators
San A n t o n i o , T X 78212
Tony Souza
210-732-6339 p h o n e and fax
13 C e n t r e Street

N e w B e d f o r d , M A 02740
George Garnett
508-997-1776 • 508-997-1776 fax
T h e G r e e n Institute

1433 Franklin Ave., Suite 7A

Carolyn Esswein, AIA
Minneapolis, M N 55404
University of Wisconsin, M i l w a u k e e
612-874-1148 • 612-870-0327 fax
School of A r c h i t e c t u r e and U r b a n Planning

P O Box 413
Peter Smith, AIA
Milwaukee, W I 53201-0413
130 Washington, Street
414-229-6193 • 414-229-6976 fax
N e w t o n , M A 20158

617-342-1081 • 617-969-5243 fax

6 1995 Environmental Design Charrette Boards

Sue Ehrlich Deborah Weintraub, AIA

601 E. A n a p a m u Street, The Canadian Consulate General

Apt. 311 550 S. H o p e Street

Santa B a r b a r a , C A 93103 Los Angeles, C A 90071

805-963-0860 ( p h o n e and fax) 213 346-2761 • 213 346-2767 fax

Lawrence Goldblatt, AIA Kirk Gastinger, FAIA

1529 G r a n d Avenue, Second Floor Gastinger & Walker Architects

Kansas City, M O 64108 10875 Benson Drive, Suite 140

816-421-4432 • 816-421-3374 fax Overland Park, KS 66210

816-421-8200 • 816-421-1262 fax

Robert Powell, AIA

H o m e o w n e r s M o d e l E x p e r i m e n t , Inc.

107 E. Bessemer A v e n u e

G r e e n s b o r o , N C 27405

910-273-5038 • 910-273-1411 fax

Brian Dunbar, Director

Institute of the Built E n v i r o n m e n t

C o l o r a d o State University

314 Gifford Building

Fort Collins, C O 80523

303-491-5041 • 303-491-4855 fax

Jill Spradling, Assoc. AIA

A I A Iowa

1000 Walnut Street, Suite 101

D e s Moines, IA 50309

515-277-0007 • 515-277-1723 fax

Robert R. Bell, Jr.

AIA Honolulu Chapter

1128 N u u a n u A v e n u e

H o n o l u l u , H I 96817

808-536-6671 • 808-531-6672 fax

 7 FORT COLLINS, COLORADO

VISITOR'S INTERPRETIVE CENTER

COLORADO
STATE
UNIVERSITY
FT. COLLINS

PROJECT

O n October 6, 7 and 8 , 1 9 9 5 , the Institute

for the Built Environment at Colorado State
University organized a multi-disciplinary
charrette. Thirty-three professionals and
students gathered to program and design an
8 3 0 0 square foot Visitors Interpretive
Center for the existing Environmental
Learning Center, d u e j a s t of F t Collins.

'oudre River

ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNINl
CENTER
The ELC is a place of experiential
SewagejTreatment Plant X - . C S U Environment ig Center
learning for Colorado State
University students and faculty and
the Ft. Collins community. Over
45,000 people visit the center each
year and participate in ecological, LOCATION MAP
wildlife, and Native American
programs.
The ELC consists of four major
ecological habitats, each supporting a
rich mix of plant and animal life. The
Cache la Poudre River, with its
riparian woodland, flows through and
bisects the ELC.

GOALS

• Materials/land (integration)
• Education (for ELC user)
• Minimize site impact
SITE HISTORY
• Multi-disciplinary team involvement
The site has a rich Native American
• Sensitivity to site history
cultural history. The first Indian Agent in
the region was one of the original owners of
the land. The Arapaho nation, led by Chief
Friday, camped northwest of the existing
Rigden farm, constructed in 1871. T h e
Native American presence is still evident
today. The Native American community
here in F t Collins has embraced this site for
its historical and spiritual significance.
8 FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
Goals
T h e f i r s t goal w a s to
p r o v i d e an inviting view
f r o m Interstate 25 and
Prospect Road. The
solution w a s to p r o v i d e
an i m m e d i a t e s e n s e of
what this Visitors Center
was created for. This
was achieved by creating
an o x - b o w a l o n g t h e
existing Box elder Creek
that f l o w s alongside the
site. This ox-bow creates
a d r a m a t i c first v i e w to
the site and is a excellent
learning amenity for
visitors.
The next goal was to use
the structures on the site
and t h e a r r a n g e m e n t of
t h e s e s t r u c t u r e s as a
gateway to the
Environmental Learning
C e n t e r and t o tie t h e
Visitors Center with the
Environmental Learning
Center. This was a
c h a l l e n g i n g goal in that
t h e V i s i t o r s C e n t e r is
s o m e one-half mile f r o m
the Environmental
Learning Center. To
create the gateway
p a t h w a y s are aligned
p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the
structures. A c i r c l e of
p o l e s at the entrance to.
t h e structures c r e a t e s a
threshold that is passed
through as visitors
c o n t i n u e on to the E L C .
T o tie the Visitors Center
a n d the E n v i r o n m e n t a l
Learning Center together
the path between the two
is lined with p o n d s and
wetlands that are a visual
t i e w i t h the C a c h e la
P o u d r e River which runs
through the E.L.C.
SITE P L A N Urth
Path to Environmental Learning Center
Site Design Description
T h e site design f o r the
Visitors C e n t e r f o r the
E n v i r o n m e n t a l Learning
C e n t e r h a s three goals:
t o p r o v i d e an i n v i t i n g
view f r o m Interstate 25
and Prospect Road, to tie
the Visitors Center to the
E n v i r o n m e n t a l Learning
C e n t e r , to integrate the
Visitors Center into the
surrounding environment.
T h e last goal for the site
d e s i g n w a s to i n t e g r a t e
the Visitors C e n t e r with
the surrounding
environment The ponds
and wetlands that line the
path to the
Environmental Learning
View Toward the Visitors Center
C e n t e r will p u r i f y t h e
waste water created by
the users of the Visitors T o Interstate 25
C e n t e r . T h e r e will be a
g r o v e o f trees b e t w e e n
the p a r k i n g lot a n d the
s t r u c t u r e s to c r e a t e a Parking Lot (For 30 Cars)
b u f f e r b e t w e e n the t w o
G I K & O H D B U
and to p r o v i d e l u m b e r in
the f u t u r e to replace 233 lOEJJ
w o o d used in boardwalks
ESJ2B rrn
in the E.L.C..
T h e amphitheater is split
by the wetland leading to j r o v e to Pr
the E L C . On one side of firPStufi Creek
the wetlands is seating on
« «> «
a g r a s s y slope. On the [Visitors Cei
other side of the wetlands
is the s t a g e on a grassy
plateau.
lildren's Play Area.
T h e site is dominated by .
the trees that are located
a l o n g t h e b a n k s of t h e
streams and wetlands and •
the grasses that are native
to this region. Amphitheater
The structures are
s u r r o u n d e d by grassy Wetlands
slopes. T h e s e slopes hide
part of the structure
a l l o w i n g the v e g e t a t i o n
and l a n d f o r m of the site,
to be the dominate
element
Summary
These goals of: providing
an appropriate and
inviting view from
Interstate 25 and Prospect
Treatment Ponds R o a d , tying t h e Visitors
Center to the
Environmental Learning
Center, and integrating
the Visitors C e n t e r into
the e n v i r o n m e n t of t h e
surroundings create a
Visitors Center that will
be a great asset to
Colorado State University
as well as to the public as
a whole.
Seating^
Wetland / Amphitheater
Wetland
 9 FORT COLLINS, COLORADO

CLASSROOMS

SUNDIAL
LEARNING CENTER
CLASSROOM/LECTURE AREA
-Can be divided into two classrooms
-Accommodates 35-70 occupants
-Storage cabinets
FOUNT;
-Flexible group tables
-Slide projection, motorized screen OFFICES
-Video (T.V. access)
-White Boards
RESTROOMS
-Male: 1 Stall ADA, 3 Urinals
-Female: 3 Stalls (1-3 ADA)
VISITOR CENTER
STAFF MEETING/KITCHENETTE
FIRST FLOOR:
-Storage for supplies & display equipment
• INFORMATION D E S K / C O N C E S ^
-Large work surface w/ chairs
-Calendar of events
-Sink feUILDING FORM
-Tower staircase
-Mini-refrigerator
-Courtesy phone The village consists of three buildings or
-Microwave
-Textbook, t-shirt sales "centers." Each center has its unique
A D M I N I S T R A T I O N OFFICES
-Trail maps, brochures function and feel. The first building, the
-Private, adjacent to staff meeting
-self-sustaining vending machines point of entry to the facility, houses
• DISPLAYS administration, information, and display
-Should be integrated throughout areas. It is the intellectual center of the
building ELC. Additionally, this building is the only
-Flexible displays, props two-story structure, marking it as the
• RESTROOMS/STORAGE building public face. To encourage upward
I What Animal am -24 hour movement, a ramp winds up around the
-Interior and exterior access building, culminating on the second floor
-Fountain and pay phone south-facing balcony.
-Display storage
-Janitor closet The second, smaller building is the learning
SECOND FLOOR: center. All learning functions occur in its
• T W O ADMINISTRATION OFFICES spaces: classrooms, meeting rooms, and
• ONE PERSON RESTROOM research spaces. T h e building hugs the
• STORAGE earth, with a berm to the north and an
• PRIVATE BRIDGE [T"^ amphitheater to the south.

Integrated within and around the buildings,

the third center is a series of small " p o d s "
designed for children. The pods are playful
areas which encourage the discovery of
everything from the structures to the
e n v i r o n m e n t T h e pods' function changes
by day, hour, and season.

The building forms are dominated by large,

sweeping roofs hovering over the land,
creating varying degrees of shelter. The
roofs mimic leaves falling to the ground,
both shade and spatial definition,
experience under the roofs also
exploration of the E L C

Entrance
10 FORT COLLINS, COLORADO

t O >
m NATURAL FORCES

Exterior Airflow
\ P r e v a i l i n ^ V e s t and N W Winds

Summer S u n ,

Winter Sun
ROOFING/CEILING: Fly ash concrete
DAYLIGHTING &
MATERIALS

Summer Sun
EXTERIOR WALLS: Adobe
Rammed earth River rock
Winter Sun Earth berm Straw bale

F L O O R I N G : River rock Flagstone

Fly ash slab on grade w/ radiant floor
FOUNDATION: Rubble trench Trash bale
Fly ash concrete

BLDG. COOLING

DomesticXHot W a t e r s "

Gray Water

Domestic Cold Water Wet lands Treatment

Back up Fuel
 INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI 11

In February, Kirk Gastinger,

Planning For the Future
partner in Gastinger a n d W a l k e r
of the Architects, F e l l o w o f the A m e r i c a n
Jackson County Institute of Architects and a
Courthouse practicing architect a n d p l a n n e r with
a national reputation in
e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y c o n s c i o u s design,
The Jackson County Courthouse,
suggested that the C o u n t y seek
listed o n the National Register o f
d e s i g n a t i o n of the C o u r t h o u s e as a
Historic Places, is the focal point o f
site for a n e n v i r o n m e n t a l w o r k s h o p
the Independence Square in
b e i n g s p o n s o r e d by t h e national
Independence, Missouri. The
A m e r i c a n Institute o f A r c h i t e c t s in
c o u r t h o u s e , rich in history, c o n t a i n s
the Fall o f 1995. T h e architects call
the restored c o u r t r o o m and o f f i c e o f
these w o r k s h o p s "Charrette", a term
f o r m e r Presiding J u d g e Harry S
they take to s y m b o l i z e an intensive
Truman. O n c e the h o m e to four
multiple day (and night)
functioning courtrooms, the
brainstorming effort aimed at
c o u r t h o u s e is largely u n d e r u s e d at
building i n n o v a t i v e solutions to
the present time. Currently in the
c o m p l e x e n v i r o n m e n t a l challenges.
c o u r t h o u s e there is o n e c o u r t r o o m
that h e a r s c a s e s on a daily basis, the
County Archives, the Jackson
A p r o p o s a l w a s s u b m i t t e d to the
C o u n t y Historical Society, a n d the
A m e r i c a n Institute of A r c h i t e c t s
C o u n t y Election B o a r d .
T h i s m o s t recently c o m p l e t e d c o u r t h o u s e w a s C o m m i t t e e o n the E n v i r o n m e n t asking that this
r e m o d e l e d in 1852 and again in 1872 w h e n an east C o u r t h o u s e b e n a m e d as o n e o f the sites involved in
w i n g and clock t o w e r w e r e erected and north a n d a n a t i o n - w i d e b r a n c h o f Charrettes. T h e p r o p o s a l
s o u t h p o r c h e s and b a l c o n i e s w e r e a d d e d . In 1887, a e m p h a s i z e d the role the building plays in the history
red brick exterior w a s a d d e d , urns w e r e placed of both the area and the nation and the n e e d f o r
a l o n g t h e roof line, a n d a west a n n e x w a s preservation. It d e s c r i b e d the need to try a n d
constructed. examine the building's needs in light of
e n v i r o n m e n t a l sustainability, a value system that
T h e p r e s e n t structure is u n c h a n g e d f r o m the a d v o c a t e s w e stay in b a l a n c e with our e n v i r o n m e n t .
e x t e n s i v e 1933 r e m o d e l i n g a n d r e b u i l d i n g d o n e
d u r i n g Harry S T r u m a n ' s term as c o u n t y j u d g e .
T h e A I A h a s f o u n d that
e n v i r o n m e n t a l charrettes
The Jackson County bring a diverse set of
Courthouse in 1872, interests to problem
refaced with brick, a new
solving. T h i s diversity in
tower on the east and
A Look Back at History central heat; in 1887 with thinking enables new
the addition of a 2 story insights to w h a t the real
annex and modification to p r o b l e m actually is. B y
In 1826, the State Legislature created J a c k s o n
the tower; and in 1907
C o u n t y and gave instructions to locate the C o u n t y d e f i n i n g t h e real p r o b l e m ,
refaced in yellow brick
Seat at the geographical center of the County. T h e and a redesigned tower. r e s o u r c e s c a n be allocated
surveyors f o u n d that the center w a s h o m e to a stand more efficiently then
of trees, and on their o w n volition, they located the when guided bv
site at the nearest clearing. T h e y r e f u s e d to cut conventional thinking. By examining built
d o w n trees j u s t to put the c o u r t h o u s e in the center o f e n v i r o n m e n t a c t i o n s context of h o w w e can live in
A Look at the Present
the C o u n t y , so, even f r o m its first days, J a c k s o n w a y s that d o not u s e u p our world, w e really solve a
U p o n taking the o a t h o f o f f i c e in January, 1995,
C o u n t y w a s guided by s o u n d environmental key p r o b l e m , w h i c h is civilization's threat to its
Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields
planning. h o m e planet.
a p p o i n t e d an A d H o c J a c k s o n C o u n t y B u i l d i n g
Study C o m m i s s i o n . T h i s C o m m i s s i o n , chaired by
T h e first C o u n t y c o u r t h o u s e w a s a t w o - r o o m log
L a w r e n c e Goldblatt, A I A A I C P , w a s c o m p o s e d of
building, p l a n n e d a s a t e m p o r a r y structure. The The Truman Courtroom
V i r g i n i a J e n n i n g s N a d e a u , A S I D , o w n e r o f her o w n
18 x 3 6 - f o o t structure, built by C o l o n e l J a m e s has been restored and is
interiors f i r m ; C i n d y F r e w e n , A I A , o w n e r o f her currently used to show
W a l k e r and S a m u e l S h e p h e r d , a slave, was
o w n architecture a n d p l a n n i n g firm; R o n P o s e y , slides of the Truman era
c o m p l e t e d in 1828 for $150. It w a s used f r o m 1828 and to hold wedding
A I A , o w n e r o f his o w n architecture and p l a n n i n g
until 1836, w h e n it w a s m o v e d to its current site at ceremonies.
firm; A l a n M c l n n i s , o w n e r o f his o w n architecture
104 West K a n s a s a n d the first permanent
and p l a n n i n g firm, B o b Shirk, c o - o w n e r o f an
courthouse was completed.
architectural e n g i n e e r i n g firm, and C h o o n A l l e n ,
designer a n d c o - o w n e r o f a design and construction
firm.

T h e B u i l d i n g Study C o m m i s s i o n w a s charged
The Brady Court was
with e x a m i n i n g the condition o f various facilities o f cleaned up and repaired
the C o u n t y , and r e c o m m e n d i n g a c t i o n s f o r the on the initiative of Circuit
County Executive to consider. One of its Court Judge Vernon
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s w a s that the original C o u n t y Scoville who hears cases
daily in the courtroom.
C o u r t h o u s e in the c o u n t y seat. I n d e p e n d e n c e ,
n e e d e d i m m e d i a t e short term repairs and a m o r e
detailed study to identify l o n g t e r m i m p r o v e m e n t s .
T h e C o u n t y E x e c u t i v e m o v e d i m m e d i a t e l y to
correct m a i n t e n a n c e repair needs, h o r the lirst t i m e
in years, clock t o w e r n o w reports the correct time.
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI 2137

THE C H A R R E T T E Local Historian Tells of Civil

Opening Ceremonies for the War in Independence, M O
Charrette were held in the T r u m a n Throughout thel
C o u r t r o o m w h e r e Larry Goldblatt, Charrette, o u r local ]
A I A , A I C P , director of the charrette, and national experts J
introduced County Executive were available tol
Katheryn Shields, the M a y o r s of answer questions I
Eastern Jackson County, f r o m the p a r t i c i p a n t s . !
C o n g r e s s w o m a n Karen M c C a r t h y , In addition, each w a s |
o u r national experts; Kirk Gastinger, given time to present their
F A I A , and Jerry Berggren, A I A , and k n o w l e d g e to the g r o u p . Ivan
local experts; architect Vince Slaughter related his personal
LaTona, civil war historian Ivan
Slaughter, African American —sj- research o f the Civil W a r to the
group.
historian C h a r l e s Reed.
Interest Not Just Local
T h e larger part of the w o r k s h o p w a s
held in the basement of the Jerry Berggren, A I A , is a N e b r a s k a
C o u r t h o u s e . M o s t o f the g r o u p felt architect a n d m e m b e r o f the A I A
that being in the C o u r t h o u s e and in F1RST FLOOR PLAN
Historic R e s o u r c e s C o m m i t t e e a n d
relatively tight quarters was the National T r u s t for Historic
beneficial to the process. R e s o u r c e s Preservation, w h o h a s b e e n involved
were close at h a n d and t e a m w o r k in historic c o u r t h o u s e restoration
was promoted. charrette w o u l d be e v a l u a t e d with projects a c r o s s the country. M r . Berggren
The local public television respect to the e c o n o m i c impact on the presented a slide s h o w detailing s o m e o f his
station filmed the entire
c o m m u n i t y , particularly the Courthouse projects. T h e wealth of i n f o r m a t i o n he shared w a s
weekend with the intention
of creating a video that Square. beneficial and very e n c o u r a g i n g as the study o f the
will be used to J a c k s o n C o u n t y C o u r t h o u s e continued.
demonstrate the usefulness T h e larger g r o u p b r o k e up into smaller sub-
of the process in
groups to evaluate the building with
community projects.
regard to w h a t p u r p o s e it should serve.
T h e g r o u p w a s c o m p r i s e d o f a w i d e range of people S o m e of the issues raised included selecting uses
o f d i f f e r e n t ages, with varied backgrounds, that w o u l d be guided by historic preservation,
e x p e c t a t i o n s and interests. M a y o r s and students sat economic vitality, and compliance with Jerry Berggren and
side by side, w o r k i n g as partners. A m o n g the environmental and A D A requirements. One Larry Goldblatt
suggestion w a s to m a k e the building the "living discuss the charrette
participants w e r e the solo j u d g e w h o currently hears
proceedings during a
cases in the historic c o u r t h o u s e , life long residents r o o m " o f the c o m m u n i t y . O t h e r issues related to the
mid-day break.
of Jackson County, representatives of the national significance o f the building and j u g g l i n g
I n d e p e n d e n c e S q u a r e C o m m i t t e e s , architects, a services currently provided vs. potential
lawyer, business o w n e r s , archivists, museum uses/services.
officials, city planners, preservation experts,
e n v i r o n m e n t a l experts, Eastern J a c k s o n C o u n t y A s the g r o u p realized the m a g n i t u d e o f the varying
B e t t e r m e n t Council m e m b e r s , Jackson County issues, the s u b - g r o u p s b e c a m e specialized, each
Historical Society M e m b e r s , as well as an f o c u s i n g in on a particular aspect o f the solution.
environmental folk singer, interior designers, and T h e g r o u p f o c u s e s were: Cultural R o l e s o f the
several experts o n the history o f I n d e p e n d e n c e . Building; Design a n d Planning; Energy a n d
County employees Daniel
E n v i r o n m e n t ; Historic Preservation; and Use
Hefley and Joe Biggs ran
Analysis. A f t e r the s u b - g r o u p s brainstormed o n the our computer stations
p r o b l e m s in a c h i e v i n g the goal and the large g r o u p linking us to the other
had r e c o n v e n e d , it b e c a m e clear that a very d e f i n e d sites through the internet.
and precise definition of the goal for the w e e k e n d
w a s necessary. A f t e r m u c h discussion and revision,
the g r o u p agreed u p o n the f o l l o w i n g :

The goal of lhe Charrette is to create a comprehensive, compelling,

sustainable vision for the highest and best use of the historic Jackson
County Courthouse that serves the community for the long term.

H a v i n g d e f i n e d the goal, f o c u s w a s reestablished o n

Dan Raneau, Truman High School student,
captured the character of several of the
charrette facilitators at work.
T h e w o r k s h o p got under way with a b r a i n s t o r m i n g
session to find what the group's e x p e c t a t i o n s o f the
w e e k e n d were. T h e g r o u p e x p e c t e d that the
solutions o f the w e e k e n d would be i m p l e m e n t a b l e .
practical a n d would e n h a n c e the sustainability o f the
C o u r t h o u s e . T h e desire to see the "east versus west
d i v i d i n g line" erased a n d the C o u n t y united w a s
clearly v o i c e d . S o m e expected that the o u t c o m e s o f
the p r o b l e m s . O n e p r o b l e m universally accepted in
the g r o u p w a s that the building w a s not being used
to its fullest capacity. In addition, other p r o b l e m s
identified included the need to d e t e r m i n e w h a t w a s
being preserved, o b t a i n i n g f u n d i n g and creating
solutions to stay within m e a n s , b a l a n c i n g integrity
and c o d e r e q u i r e m e n t s , and trying to integrate all
the various, s o m e t i m e s c o m p e t i n g interests in the
building.
A f t e r a presentation o n preservation by Patrick
Steele, I n d e p e n d e n c e historian and preservation Dan Raneau sketched several of the
participants chatting about the Charrette
expert, the g r o u p s m o v e d o n to d e v e l o p possible
outside the Courthouse.
solutions that w o u l d attain the goal set forth.

RECOMMENDATIONS
At the c o n c l u s i o n of the w e e k e n d ,
the w h o l e g r o u p presented final
recommendations to County
E x e c u t i v e Katheryn Shields. E a c h of
the s u b - g r o u p s explained the p r o c e s s
by w h i c h they arrived at their group's
solutions. It should be noted that the
presentations illuminated solutions
and issues that certain participants
felt were important but that w e r e not
c h o s e n as m o s t critical by the entire
group. F o r instance, the s u b g r o u p o n
Historic Preservation felt an essential
use o f the building w o u l d be to
maintain the archives in the
C o u r t h o u s e . T h i s w a s not c h o s e n by
the large g r o u p for inclusion in the
final s u m m a r y o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s ,
but that d o e s not discount it as vital
to be c o n s i d e r e d in the reuse
strategies for the building.
By the end o f the charrette, the collective g r o u p had
c o m e up with r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s that were e n d o r s e d
by all participants:
We recommend that the existing Jackson County
Courthouse should be preserved and owned by the
County. Significant spaces include the exterior
envelope, Truman Courtroom, Brady Courtroom, and
public corridors.
We recommend that there should be a comprehensive
process that enables the County, Jackson County
Historical Society, Eastern Jackson County
Betterment Council, and other stakeholders to
complete their own strategic plans; that
comprehensive process should be initiated by the
County Executive by November 1, 1995, with the
support of the County legislators. The County
Executive should then initiate the evaluation of the
plans of the interested parties and the creation of a
consolidated strategic plan for the building; this plan
should be presented to the public on President Harry
S Truman's birthday. May 8, 1996.
T h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f the individual g r o u p s are
as follows:
Design a n d P l a n n i n g
T h e D e s i g n / P l a n n i n g g r o u p noted that their j o b
w o u l d c o m e into p l a y after the uses for the building
were d e f i n e d . That w o u l d a l l o w t h e m to understand
the p u r p o s e for the building a n d to w o r k
accordingly to evaluate the existing s y s t e m s a n d
c o n d i t i o n s and f o r m u l a t e a plan for rehabilitation
that w o u l d w o r k best with the intended uses of the
building. T o illustrate this, they o f f e r e d a d i a g r a m
in w h i c h the other f o u r g r o u p s were represented a s
o v e r l a p p i n g circles. T h e small area w h e r e the
circles o v e r l a p p e d d e f i n e d the place w h e r e this
g r o u p felt s a w t h e m s e l v e s fitting.
O O O
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
T h i s g r o u p m a d e it clear that a b o v e all else, they
required the a d o p t i o n o f the Secretary o f the
Interior's definition of rehabilitation to g u i d e
renovation. S o m e o f the s p e c i f i c aspects this g r o u p
studied were c o n c e r n s about lead paint a n d
asbestos, A D A r e q u i r e m e n t s , a n d b u i l d i n g codes.
In addition, the g r o u p considered the c o m m u n i t y
f u n c t i o n a n d plan. T h e y said, "Take d o w n the wall -
(the 1960's u r b a n renewal e f f o r t s ) - it is a barrier!"
T h e y a l s o addressed circulation, parking, a c o - o p
system with o t h e r T r u m a n sites in the area, and
m a k i n g the site m o r e pedestrian-friendly.
T M f W t - <JV!\= {jWfc
To i*^"*-
^ Oat A
National Expert, Kirk Gastinger, FAIA.
illustrates the notion of "tearing down the
wall" in a sketch reminiscent of the 1930s
landscaping plan.
Energy and the Environment
T h e g r o u p a d d r e s s i n g E n e r g y and the E n v i r o n m e n t
o f f e r e d s p e c i f i c r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s related to their
focus. T h i s g r o u p r e c o g n i z e d that e n e r g y s o l u t i o n s
m u s t a d a p t to use needs, but that uses m a y h a v e to
adapt to e n e r g y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . W i t h this in m i n d ,
they o f f e r e d s p e c i f i c suggestions, s o m e o f w h i c h
are listed.
T h e h e a t i n g s y s t e m , w h i l e currently a d e q u a t e , could
p r o d u c e additional s a v i n g s b y installing f l u e
d a m p e r s , a d d i n g heat e x c h a n g e r s , a n d p r o v i d i n g
c o m b u s t i o n air to boilers. T h e boilers t h e m s e l v e s
could be investigated, c h e c k i n g capacity, burners,
installing turbulators and steam traps.
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI
T o d e c r e a s e overall e n e r g y loss, it
b e c o m e s necessary to correct several
p r o b l e m s of the current structure. It
will require a m o n g other things,
additional internal insulation of north
walls, r e g l a z i n g with insulated glass,
repairing and sealing windows,
restoring upper sashes to operation,
insulating the r o o f , elimination o f
b y p a s s e s in the ceiling that a l l o w
heat to e s c a p e through the roof, and
taking a d v a n t a g e o f energy-saving
features such as airlock vestibules.
Water Systems
W a t e r usage is a m a j o r cost factor.
T o cut d o w n on w a s t e d water,
existing water closets should be
p h a s e d out and replaced with water
saving toilets, with infrared sensors
installed on the water closets and
sinks. F l o w restrictors will also cut
d o w n o n water v o l u m e . T h e e f f i c i e n c y of hot water
p r o d u c t i o n is also in q u e s t i o n , as well as the
possibility f o r water c a s c a d i n g i n v o l v i n g water
recovery and grey water r e c l a m a t i o n .
W h e r e v e r possible, replace existing high wattage
incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient c o m p a c t
f l u o r e s c e n t bulbs. For e x i s t i n g f l u o r e s c e n t bulbs,
reballasting the fixtures will increase the energy
e f f i c i e n c y o f the fixtures. It m a y also be necessary
to " r e b u l b " e x i s t i n g fixtures to m a t c h wattage to the
task. A n u n d e r u s e d resource is natural sunlight. By
careful consideration, appropriate uses can be
located within the C o u r t h o u s e to m a x i m i z e the f r e e
solar lighting. Additionally, n e w technology, such
as o c c u p a n c y sensors, can b e utilized to c o n s e r v e
electrical e n e r g y by controlling light automatically.
Cooling System
C o o l a n t l o a d s o n the C o u r t h o u s e are impressive,
a n d steps need t o be t a k e n to m a x i m i z e the
b u i l d i n g ' s inherent design load. A large gain could
be a c h i e v e d b y r e g l a z i n g with d o u b l e p a n e glass.
T h e g a i n s w o u l d pay f o r the e x p e n s e in a short time.
A n underutilized design feature is the possibility for
c r o s s a n d stack ventilation. By u s i n g natural wind
patterns, w i n d o w s can be repaired to operating
condition, creating e n e r g y - f r e e cooling. T h e m a s s
o f the building can a l s o be used. By o p e n i n g the
C o u r t h o u s e at night, stored cold can be radiated
t h r o u g h o u t the day. U s e s can be relocated to take
a d v a n t a g e o f this. F o r sensitive areas, such as the
archives, unit heat p u m p s , ( m o r e efficient than
w i n d o w A C units) can be installed to k e e p a
constant t e m p e r a t u r e .
L
^TKAT,^
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI 2139
Landscaping
The landscaping in the immediate
area of the Courthouse, if improved,
can become an asset to the site, while
increasing energy efficiency at the
same time. To decrease the energy
loss from the stiff north wind,
evergreens can be planted either
adjacent to the building or off site to ^ general, the group hoped that the
create a windbreak. It would also be
recommended to replace the dying, ^ C/)
water-intensive pin oaks with slow-
growing oaks, such as bur oaks.
Eliminate turf areas and replace with 7?
xeriscape.
New trees should be added to
maximize shade on the east and west
sides, and these plantings can be
irrigated with energy-free gravity
drip irrigation systems, using
captured rainwater. To generate
funds, an "adoption" program can be initiated,
giving personal recognition to donors (e.g., an
"Adopt-a-Tile" program). As a final note, indoor
plants can be added to improve internal air quality.
•icw.K'pe.F XX • (allows for local review
ii
The Human Dimension
In order to assure that changes to the building
system take effect, it is necessary to develop a staff
training program that educates the users and
maintainers of the Courthouse of the energy-saving
features. This program would provide incentives to
encourage the staff to implement environmentally
sensitive programs of purchasing post-consumer
goods, "pre-cycled" materials with zero packaging,
and a recycling program which re-invests into the
Courthouse. Maintain a new system of energy
savings tracking on a personal level, as well as
reporting to a higher energy authority which can
judge the progress made by the Courthouse. It is
also recommended that this new efficiency serve as
a public model, with demonstrations, as well as
including the bigger picture of sustainability and
resource management.
This combined group also addressed
general uses they felt were integral:
Maple Avenue a government and tourist information
center, and comfort station;
functioning courts and exhibit space
and a conference center. They
-P placed emphasis on judicial, service
0>
and recreation/tourism uses. In
0;
-P building would end up with multiple
uses and that it would be user
friendly. Other considerations
included uses that would be revenue-
generating. would reorient the
Courthouse to the Square, or would
preserve the Truman and Brady
Courtrooms.
Lexington Streel SITE PLAN
After the sub-groups had each made
their presentations, the program plan
was presented to the County
Executive.
New Construction At a time separate from the charrette, the director of
Any new construction must be environmentally the charrette asked that several analyses of the
friendly. The use of ecologically benign materials is Jackson County Courthouse be initiated. The
recommended. These should be local, not exotic, following information is a brief summary of the
materials which limit packaging, while at the same reports generated from those inspections.
time cut down on environmental impact by limiting
shipping distances.
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Energy solutions must adapt to use A walk through structural analysis of the
needs, but uses may also have to Courthouse was done by a local structural engineer.
adapt to energy considerations. The building was found to be very close to the
drawings of the 1933 renovation.
The observations made indicated that the building
seems to be in good condition. There were,
Historic Preservation however, several items that were noted as requiring
The Historic Preservation further attention: Cracks indicating the possibility
«»> group emphasized the of foundation movement; water damage in framing
need to develop a strategy members; stone coping at the parapet is loose; and
to insure continued possible termite damage to the wood framed areas.
historic protection of the In addition, the cupola does not have continuous
building and site. columnar support to the foundation.
This includes designation
as a local historic site
process vs. federal) and
ROOF ANALYSIS
use of the Secretary of A walk through roof analysis was also conducted.
The findings indicate that the coal tar pitch built-up
the Interior's Standards
for Rehabilitation. In addition, they focused on was roofs on the east and west sides of the building need
developing a strategic plan that evaluates cultural, some repair after which a ten year serviceable life
environmental and preservation issues; and defines can be expected with proper maintenance. The
highest and best use. The group also stressed the analysis showed that the shingle roof area on the
importance of providing spaces for tourists, central piece of the Courthouse needs to be
archives, court use, government information and a replaced.
comfort station.
CONCLUSION
The organizers evaluated the Charrette, and found
Cultural Role and Use Analysis participants reported that their expectations were
The Cultural Role and Use Analysis groups met or exceeded; that they would gladly join
combined and reported their findings together. This another similar effort. Indeed, the workshop
group noted that it would be necessary to upgrade participants reconvened for one more meeting to
the building to comply with ADA, electrical, fine tune the final recommendations. Everyone
HVAC, plumbing and energy conservation codes. reported that they gained new understanding of
Attention was turned toward the need to create a either historic preservation or environmentally
strategic planning process for the use of the building conscious design. Everyone thought the prospects
with participation from the County, the Jackson for the building were much improved. The
County Historical Society, the Eastern Jackson Charrette accomplished a great deal toward
County Betterment Council, and other interested restoring the felling that it is possible to achieve the
parties. felling of Jackson County as "one County."
2140 K A N E ' O N E , HAWAII
2141 K A N E ' O N E , HAWAII

MAIN STREET" - KAMEHAMEHA HIGHWAY RETAIL CENTER

Existing Business District r e - z o n e d A n c h o r at N o r t h e n d of "Mainstreet"

t o Business M i x e d - U s e Existing Mall p a r k i n g lot a n d strip
A c c o m m o d a t i n g growth in under-utilized c e n t e r s f r o n t i n g "Mainstreet" r e - d e v e l o p e d
business district in o r d e r t o p r e s e r v e with M i x e d - U s e Z o n e d buildings f r o n t i n g
existing o p e n s p a c e t h e street sidewalk
E m p h a s i s on "Mainstreet" establishes town
identity and fosters sense of c o m m u n i t y
T h e L a n d U s e a n d Air Quality C o n n e c t i o n -
Providing a l t e r n a t i v e s to t h e a u t o m o b i l e
P e d e s t r i a n friendly district with t r e e
s h a d e d sidewalks, building c a n o p i e s a n d
a landscaped median
P u b l i c transit e m p h a s i s with a K a n e o h e
to Kailua bus shuttle
R e - n a m e this "Mainstreet" section of
K a m e h a m e h a Highway to
KAMEHAMEHA PARKWAY
Mixed-use z o n i n g p r o v i d e s diverse
multi-family housing types
R e s o u r c e efficient i n f r a s t r u c t u r e
• I n f r a s t r u c t u r e efficiency with
compact development
• Gray water reuse
• Ground water recapture
• Waste Compost
R e s o u r c e efficient buildings
" Photovoltaic power
• Passive solar cooling
• E a r t h friendly building p r o d u c t s

AIA ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN CHARRETTE

KANEOHE, HAWAII
 2142 K A N E ' O N E , HAWAII

KANEOHE STREAM

" Create Mauka/Makai Greenbelt Hike &

Bike Trail t o c o n n e c t t h e o c e a n and
the m o u n t a i n s t o t h e p r o p o s e d Civic C e n t e r
" R e - e s t a b l i s h e s c o n t a c t with n a t u r e a n d
increases mobility (especially for c h i l d r e n
and t h e elderly) by providing t r a n s p o r t a t i o n
a l t e r n a t i v e s to t h e a u t o m o b i l e
• Build p e d e s t r i a n b r i d g e s at key d e a d - e n d
streets
* Convert former sewage treatment plant
to a p a r k , a n c h o r i n g the s t r e a m ' s m o u t h
at a n ancient fish p o n d

FoxeJftt TBwl C«*l»- Team A

CIVIC CENTER

• A n c h o r at S o u t h e n d of "Mainstreet"
• N e w T o w n Hall, A u d i t o r i u m , A m p h i t h e a t e r ,
T o w n G r e e n , Police Station, L i b r a r y and
P u b l i c P a r k i n g S t r u c t u r e d e v e l o p e d o n site
of f o r m e r Police Station a n d L i b r a r y
• F r o n t a g e along K a n e o h e S t r e a m G r e e n b e l t

Town C w i ^ A
AIA ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN CHARRETTE
CIVIC C5NT&R-
KANEOHE, HAWAII
18 K A N E ' O N E , HAWAII
 KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

H O U S E : Housing Ourselves in an Urban Sustainable Environment

the charrette and its impact

The charrette leadership e n v i s i o n e d an approach t h a t w o u l d b u i l d
u p o n the s t r o n g t r a d i t i o n o f c o m m u n i t y labor a n d i n v o l v e m e n t o f
the local Habitat organization. The project is t o develop and
design a p r o t o t y p e for affordable h o u s i n g t h a t can be built largely
by v o l u n t e e r labor crews. The charrette p r o p o s e d t o develop a
p r o t o t y p e using established guidelines for affordable h o u s i n g from
Habitat for Humanity and guidelines for sustainability t o be
d e v e l o p e d in the charrette process.
Habitat for Humanity, Kansas City, Inc. is a non-profit
organization w h o s e primary goal is t o build affordable,
energy efficient houses o n inner city sites for sale at 'no
profit - no interest' to selected low income families w h o J
cannot otherwise acquire decent shelter. The q
organization's second objective is t o bring new vitality £ a w i n n i n g t e a m The charrette was made up of
to b l i g h t e d urban residential areas. t approximately 30 young architects, designers, students and
engineers. The setting in the AIA-KC office and exhibition space
This project is an a t t e m p t t o strengthen the
was reminiscent of a college architectural studio with large work
relationship b e t w e e n t h e h o u s e h o l d and t h e c o m m u n i t y
tables flanking an area for pin-up and presentation. The format
by m o v i n g a step b e y o n d Habitat's t r a d i t i o n a l single- allowed the leadership of Habitat to visit, listen to preliminary
ideas and offer constructive comments during the design
AIA / W
family arrangement to clusters of t w o or three homes w i t h
certain shared amenities o n a single lot. process. 24 hours after their visit, they returned for a final
presentation.

a specific site a n d p r o g r a m The group was made

aware of the inner city urban site in advance so that they could
c h a r r e t t e d e s i g n g u i d e l i n e s The facilitators u s e d a unique a n d
visit it and become familiar with the conditions of security,
provocative p r o c e s s for d e v e l o p i n g c o n s e n s u s a n d goal s e t t i n g for t h e
environment, traffic, context. Although the area is in decline, it
charrette. The result w a s a truly unified a n d broad s e t of g o a l s t h e entire
is still vital and reflects its more prosperous past, wide
g r o u p w a s responsible for:
boulevards, trees and a setting that still commands attention.
Computer generated plans and perspectives were made available
Use design to provide for W 5 Provide for ease of
energy efficiency and low I B construction, as an aid in developing designs that would meet the
various requirements of the neighborhood. A program
maintenance. h ^ H HHBI
was developed that called for six or seven, three
bedroom townhouses in duplex format, each under
Design a health inducing Strengthen community ^ ^ i3oosf. Parking was to be provided on site
home. inter-action and foster ^ H along with community and garden space for
homeowner pride. each homeowner.
r e s u l t s The participants, through a
facilitated process were formed into
Provide the flexibility to •KM Create a sense of four groups to begin development of
accommodate in-home R ^ j homeplace and familial ideas to meet the goals and
business. autonomy. ^ program of the project. One
group immediately began to
focus on building materials
Create a project that Create a development research and resources. They
demonstrates sustainable that enhances the sense became a resource for the other
technologies and of community both within groups throughout the weekend. After
innovations useful to both the development and also/ presentation on Saturday morning the four
Habitat and also the within the neighborhood./ " \ d e s i g n ideas became two and they were
design community. ultimately developed for presentation
\ o n Sunday, at the end of the
\ charrette.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

H O U S E : Housing Ourselves in an Urban Sustainable Environment

exploration of a new frontier For our t e a m , the
Environmental Design Charrette (EDC) w a s a time of exploration into
n e w i d e a s . Individuals described in w o r d s a n d in drawings i d e a s
a n d technologies t h a t they b r o u g h t with t h e m . S o m e poured over
published resources a s s e m b l e d at t h e "T r ?
EDC site to d e v e l o p further their - 1 ' h (LiJ
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of a c o n c e p t b e f o r e
A* Row
relating it t o t h e g r o u p ; o t h e r s brought —
expertise in specific topics that they
could convey without further
preparation. The p r o d u c t s from this
effort were varied in form a n d
s u b s t a n c e but each a d h e r e d t o t h e
guidelines established by t h e t e a m in
t h e w e e k e n d ' s o p e n i n g exercise a n d vOcdaoX
each w a s s h a r e d with t h e whole t e a m .
They ranged from
^ ^ written lists of materials to be r e c o m m e n d e d for
| C < -> ) u s e by Habitat t o schematic d i a g r a m s t h a t would
later be e v a l u a t e d a n d incorporated
• • w h e r e a p p r o p r i a t e into t h e final ^ H ^ ^ B H l
d e s i g n s . The i m a g e s a n d text that fill j j j j j M g w S r a S w
this p a g e represent a sampling of the ^ ^ B ^ i f
1" f f type of product - each described with K
ii ir g j j — f - t h e efficiency a n d l o o s e n e s s
RAPIAMT i characteristic of a charrette. tijW \ /

^obitQfi
55°
eaktW

alternative materials inventory

Team m e m b e r s s c o u r e d alternative materials guide b o o k s for materials
t h a t were both a p p r o p r i a t e for Habitat a n d a d h e r e d to t h e charrette
guidelines for sustainability. The following is a n example of materials from
o n e CSI division.
Division 7 - Thermal & Moisture Protection
why straw bale? Straw bale construction Product
Cellulose Insulation
Advantages
97% post-consumer newspaper Fiberglass Insulation
t e c h n i q u e s have b e e n tried by Habitat in other
Low-embodied energy
countries; t h e d e s i g n e r s at t h e HOUSE charrette Cotton Insulation 100% post-industrial cotton fabric Fiberglass Insulation
were particularly interested in experimenting with Sustainable Low-embodied energy
straw bale at this site. A variety of roablocks exist Conventional rigid
Research Fiberboard Insulation Recycled paper and cellulose insulation
at this point, specifically code approval within the
city limits of Kansas City Missouri.
Team Extruded Polystyrene Super-insulation w/o thermal break Stud-frame wall
"Sandwich Panels" Ease and speed of construction
Characteristics
Steve Clark, Recycled roofing felt 75% post-consumer paper Conventional roofing felt
• renewable, single- Charrette Facilitator Recycled Shingles 100% post-consumer plastics Conventional asphalt
s e a s o n resource y L w » Kirk Gastinger shingles
• abundant, J L b ^ ^ On-Site Expert
inexpensive supply ~ K- VALUg5 WIMDOWS
in m i d w e s t J" j Lauralyn Bodle
• excellent thermal ; *~ | Kimberly Hickson
S«JMME£: ftEfLtCT'VE.
qualities r • •••'.. • . ^ Susan Jackson ABSORBS
• thick walls create S o n y a L. J u r y
M
£«T: SE CUFUV.
h o m e with s u b s t a n t i a l feel
Chris Kelsey
• perfectly suited to Habitat for Humanity's
Kirk R a b i u s
volunteer and family construction format: can be
built by many h a n d s with primarily h a n d t o o l s Frank Theis
bale characteristics Julie Wienberg
R-values: 2.38 - 3.15 R/inch d e p e n d i n g on w h e t h e r
h e a t flows a c r o s s or with t h e grain
 KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

H O U S E : Housing Ourselves in an Urban Sustainable Environment

paseo bend
• Skylights and light wells for natural
ventilation and daylighting.
• Traditional, attractive single family unit
appearance from the street.
• Visual and physical penetration of the
site.
• Photovoltaic powered outdoor security
lighting.
• Safe outdoor play areas.
• Stramit type structural wall panels
manufactured from renewable, non-
toxic agricultural waste materials. east elevation
• Bat house for natural mosquito control.
• Honeycomb floor panels.
• Option for future design modification
for strawbale construction.
• Conservation of water through low-flow
water devices and toilet back sinks.
• Conservation of electricity: compact
fluorescent light fixtures, natural
lighting, high R-values in building shell.
• Increased opportunities for interaction
of neighbors through consolidated

paseo bend
postal site, on site bus stop, shared
circulation, shared backyard.
• Exterior spaces designed to discourage
trespassers through landscaping and
north elevation
a reflection on the past private, shared yard spaces.

floMtg,

west elevation

aerial perspective south elevation

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

H O U S E : Housing Ourselves in an Urban Sustainable Environment

p l a n of p r e d e c e s s o r b u i l d i n g
d e m o l i s h e d in t h e 1980's

site p l a n

paseo bend
a reflection on the past
V f l b i t y ,
Paseo Bend
Design T e a m
Douglas Stockman
Denise Disney
Helen Cheng
Kamal Fulehian
|Ke\Guo
Jon Birkel
Andrea Ways
Tedd Hurt

first and second floor plans

site m o d e l

H O U S E : Housing Ourselves in an Urban Sustainable Environment
single unit perspective
paseo gardens
vernacular design in retrospect
paseo gardens
• Two story buildings set close to the street to
p e r s p e c t i v e v i e w of g a r d e n s
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
elevation
maintain front porch community.
Sculptural element at street corner. elevation
Kiosk with painted tiles designed by neighbors and
coordinated by local fine arts grade school.
Grass paving system for parking a n d landscaping t o
screen parking areas.
Central courtyard, gathering and activity s p a c e .
Courtyard landscaped with native vegetation.
Activities for children on playground.
Picnic area to promote resident interaction.
Steps to offer comfortable observation point for
parents.
Shared front porch balcony space.
Side yards t o offer private s p a c e complement to
communal space.
Roof terrace for private o u t d o o r s p a c e .
Front porch option.
section
Natural ventilation with stack effect t o d e c r e a s e
need for mechanical system.
In floor radiant heating system for energy efficiency
and improved comfort.
Attic fan for efficient s u m m e r ventilation drawn from
vents in crawl s p a c e .
Daylighting where possible.
Maximize solar gain in winter.
Collection basin from roof for rain water for
gardening..
Water saving devices.
Maintain modular spacing throughout.
Standard construction t e c h n i q u e s . j ^ J s ^ . ^
Lightweight concrete for roof terrace.
Donated brick for patios and landscaping.
Recycled metal roofing. a i r flow d i a g r a m t h r o u g h b u i l d i n g
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

H O U S E : Housing Ourselves in an Urban Sustainable Environment

site p l a n

paseo gardens
vernacular design in retrospect

M b i t , , ,
Paseo Gardens
Design T e a m
Jim "The Captain" Haake
David Hurley
Sanjeev Malhotra
Joel Marquardt
Elias Mohamed
Bart Parish
Andrew VanBlarcum

e x i s t i n g site c o n d i t i o n s

aerial perspective
 MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

An Urban Boulevard
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture & Urban Planning

j p - ' T a s b u g
c Site Analysis r—, -
- C 2

Elevated 794 Freeway Existing character of the Historic Third Ward district
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

Charette Process
The goal of our AIA Environmental Design Charette was Site Diagrams
to explore the reclamation and redevelopment of land
around and under the 794 Freeway in Milwaukee, and
determine necessary public actions to move towards imple-
mentation of the plan.

Communication and acceptance are key factors which require discussions

between various disciplines in the political and social arenas of develop-
m e n t Therefore, numerous local officials, professionals, and citizens were
involved in the charette to provide the expertise and debate necessary to
achieve realistic, environmentally responsive solutions.

A design studio made up of graduate students in the Joint Masters pro-

gram (Master of Architecture and Master of Urban Planning), at U W M ' s

JLrtr>i V <
School of Architecture & Urban PlanningfSARUP), prepared a design
for this area in the Spring 1995 semester. This design concept was pre-
sented at the beginning o f t h e charette including illustrations and the con-
cept benefits: transportation, jobs, tax revenues, energy conservation, en-

H v ' i
vironmental impacts, and the overall quality of life.

Program
T h e charette was broken into five sessions with the following topics:

I. PROJECT BENEFITS
n. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ED. IMPLEMENTATION Existing Figure Ground
IV. DETERMINE FUTURE ACTIONS

Transportation
Since w e already had a preliminary design concept to evaluate, S A R U P ' s
charette consisted primarily of an active dialogue with a few sketches
being generated to examine and modify the student's proposed plan. The
original transportation proposal was expanded from one at-grade boule-
vard to two one-way boulevards in order to accommodate m e projected
daily traffic counts. Public transportation options were also explored to
determine their inclusion into the plan: public shuttles between the His-
toric Third Ward and Downtown, connections with proposed light rail
lines, alternative bus routes, and connections between public buildings
such as the train station and the future convention center.

Environmental Impact
Improved quality of life and air quality issues were the focus of our envi-
ronmental impacts discussion. Emphasis was placed on the neighborhood
quality of the district and how bringing the cars to grade a n a p r o v i d i n g
more access points would improve the air quality. There would be less
congestion since cars would disperse at different points instead of funnel-
ing to two points of access.

Land Use
elderly p9pulation, in addition to support
The existing Historic Third Ward district provides a variety of commercial
types but limited housing types. We also felt it was necessary to expand Traffic Volumes
tne entertainment district, include a school for the neighborhood, ana pro-
vide commercial uses which compliment the existing commercial strips.
Public spaces are linked throughout the plan from the River Walk.

Future Actions
Future actions toward implementation include developing a Fact Sheet
along with a presentation to local business associations and local organi-
zations to gatner support and funding. Money is needed to fund an engi-
neering study which more thoroughly examines the concept and provides
the credibility needed to move the plan towards implementation. The re-
placement of the freeway with the at-grade boulevards would take place
when the existing freeway needs to be tom down and replaced, we are
simply suggesting it not be replaced with another above-grade freeway. - " O S E S BBfZsiS0Ml EBnSOtMf

Beautifully designed boulevards that highlight and cel-

ebrate arrival to the city and create a formal landscape
connection between the river and the lakefront will be a
tremendous asset to Milwaukee.

Existing Parking Structures & Lots

 MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

PROPOSED CONCEPT

Site Plan

Convention
y p i i i u 'Usy U L J a n L U J I U J L
Center

aiiisfflBQ^
Srf Milwaukee ( p - i ' p ^ J r z 3 IP, I

CJimp
^ G M M fOne-Way Boulevard
Clybourn

One-Way Boulevard
Lake
Interchange Michigan
Train S t a t i o n

Third Ward

The design concept creates value and

provides desirable places for people. On-street ' r
parking is provided wherever possible to replace Housing
the existing parking lots under the freeway and provides --^
a buffer between pedestrians and moving vehicles. Streets are \
lined with trees to provide for pedestrian activity and create a pleasant
environment. The trees also give pedestrians a sense of enclosure and
safety. The street grid is re-established in areas where it has deteriorated
over time. A complete street grid adds to the legibility of the city and
provides connections crucial to the consistent creation of value. Finally,
building uses reinforce connections between downtown and the Third
Ward. Streets which currently have street-level commercial activity are
continued to strengthen the sense of connection and vitality.

Boulevard Detail

S W "5

/
s
local traffic (
1 (

/
local traffic

[a parking two-way b-oulevard four travel lanes (one-way)

Ifl
joulevan two-way parking
0
10' 34' 12' 48' 12' 34' 10'
160'
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

BEFORE & AFTER IMAGES

View of the existing conditions under the 794 elevated freeway, looking north- Same location, a view of Pompeii Square looking toward residential buildings
west toward downtown Milwaukee. with first floor commercial services and downtwon Milwaukee in the distance.

794 is in the foreground and the downtown in the background. retail with commercial and residential uses above.

View looking along the street alignment of the existing conditions with vacant
land in the foreground and downtown Milwaukee in the background. chored by apartment buildings at the intersections with a view of downtown.
 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

Design Objective Site Informatio fll

Tha Q T H & l n « t i t u t « w a n t s t h a b u i l d i n g t o ba t h a g a
The site for the G r e e n I n s t i t u t e ' s E c o P a r k
way t o a r a v i t a l i z a d P h i l l i p s n a i g h b o r h o o d a n d as s and E c o B u s i n e s s I n c u b a t o r is p a r t of a 20-
I M I U t o d — n n s t r a t a a nsnr w a y o f d e s i g n i n g b u i l d i p l u s a c r e industrial a r e a in t h e P h i l l i p s
and naw ways o f d o i n g t h i n g s . T h i s i n t u r n f l o w s f n e i g h b o r h o o d o f the C i t y o f M i n n e a p o l i s . It
t h a o v a r a r c h i n g g o a l o f t h a Or aa n Z n s t i t u t a w h i c h
is located 2 m i l e s s o u t h - e a s t of d o w n t o w n
" . . . t o p r c a o t a s o s t a i n a b l a d m l n f n t b y c r a a t
h i g h q u a l i t y j o b s i n axnriroossofcally sound i n d u s t r i a
Minneapolis o n the western edge of the Hiawatha
(Hwy. 55) c o r r i d o r and e n j o y s g o o d a n d rap-
idly i m p r o v i n g a c c e s s t o f r e e w a y s , d o w n t o w n
M i n n e a p o l i s , the a i r p o r t and the U n i v e r s i t y
of M i n n e s o t a . T h e s i t e i n c l u d e s 4 a c r e s of
c l e a n i n d u s t r i a l land at t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n of
E a s t 2 9 t h S t r e e t a n d H i a w a t h a A v e n u e . It w a s
the b a t t l e g r o u n d in a 12 y e a r s t r u g g l e b e -
t w e e n the c i t y and r e s i d e n t s w h o d e f e a t e d
plans to build a garbage transfer station
t h e r e . B e c a u s e the s t r u g g l e k i n d l e d m u c h com-
m u n i t y a c t i o n it s e e m e d l o g i c a l t o c h o o s e
t h i s s i t e for a p r o a c t i v e e c o - f r i e n d l y b u s i -
n e s s c e n t e r s y m b o l i c a n d i n s t r u m e n t a l in the
r e v i t a l i z a t i o n of P h i l l i p s n e i g h b o r h o o d ; the
p o o r e s t a n d m o s t d i v e r s e n e i g h b o r h o o d in M i n -
n e a p o l i s w i t h a m e d i a n i n c o m e of $ 1 2 , 0 0 0 in
1990 and a d e m o g r a p h i c c o m p o s i t i o n i n c l u d i n g
A m e r i c a n Indians, A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s , A s i a n s
(mainly H m o n g ) a n d p e o p l e of E u r o p e a n de-
scent. U n e m p l o y m e n t is h i g h . O v e r 92% o f hous-
ing s t o c k w a s b u i l t b e f o r e 1940 and 31.2 % of
h o u s i n g s t o c k is c l a s s i f i e d s u b s t a n d a r d . 8 7 %
of r e s i d e n t s a r e r e n t e r s .

A BRIKF FOR THE BUILDING

fl» l a t o ba ae l a a a t M i t h i n o a i
[ U B o a l n a a a Castas? [21a t a c a t i o n and ttaaonrca Cantor
Jka a a n t H p m y a

Linkages aro\ to Eco Ind Park

m m m m m d i ^ d m - , . ^
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

J
B
S
a n e t
e n n e t
w a i n :
F
t
L
o r d : J o h n
: P a u l
e i £
P r e s t o n : D a v i
A n d e r s o n : M a r t
V a n h a l a J T i m o t h
d
a
y
Alternative Solutions
R
K
i c e : C a r o l
l o c k e m a n : D e r r i c k
W e i s t J o h n
E d w a r d s : K e v i n
Building Form & Site Use
B r a u e r : R a y m o n d J a c k s o n : K a r e n
H c S p a d d e n : W h i t n e y C l a r k : L a n c e
P u s t i n : J o e l B e r l o w e : P e t e r
L u n d e e n : D e w e y T h o r b e c k : M a r y
G u z o w s k i : G r e g M a x a m : G e o r g e
P a p p a j o h n t B r i a n M y e r s : A n d r e
T h r o w e r : A n n D u B o i s : P e t e r
P f i s t e r : J a c k B o a r m a n : S a h i y a h n
K e o b o u n p h a n g x J a n e t S m i t h : M i c h e a l
N e l s o n : M a r i o M o n e s t e r i o : K e l l e y
H a r d e m a n : R i c h a r d V e n b e r g s L y n e t t e
P o l l a r i : T a t y a n a P a r h o m o v s k y : S t e v e

i M m

H o o n o u j : D e a n Z l m m e r p e r s o n : S a n d r a
M a l l o r y : J a n e t P e t e r s : L i l l y
B r e s e n a : J o h n K o e p e c k a : T a m s y n
A l i x a n d r a : J a z m i n S m i t h : F i t
B o t t k o r : N a n c y K i d d : 0 1 i v e r
Z a r a g o z a : J i m W i d d e r : A n n e - M a r i e
C i s e k : C a n d a c e C a m p b e l l s L y n n
D a i : R o b e r t A l b e e : P e g g y S a n d : R i c k
C a r t e r : S h a w n Y o u n g : Y a n a
F r a n k : J o s e p h B e s t e r : A a r o n
T h o m a s : E r i c H o v e : T h e r e s a H u e g : M a r k
V o n U e i t z : K e i t h H a r r i s : J i m
R e i n e r t s e n : W i l l i a m T i m m e r s : T i m
G r i f f i n
 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

Youth Task Force s ign Detai1s

Jobs for Young People
Internships in business management and ownership
Paid positions: child care, teaching other young people,
custodial, maintenance of buildings, gardens and grounds.
Jobs and businesses would include the following:
Youth Tour of the park, three or four times a week; Bi-
cycle Shop: Repair and MaintenanceToy Factory; Vegetar-
ian Restaurant; Coffee Shop - next to a playground;
Barber Shop; Child Care Centers; Office Supply Store;
Communications: Television, Video, et al.; Record Store;
Movie Theater; "Hang-out" Restaurant, like "The Peach Pit";
Ice Arena; Sport Shop; Pet Store; Plant Store; Video
Arcade, including a testing service for video game compa-
nies; Skill Games Center, like "Circus, Circus," with
solar powered go-carts, mini-golf.

Support and Services

Youth Advocate Above: Sketch of courtyard
Green Police- security for the park
Below: Section through building (team 6)
Homeless Shelter
Office Supply Store (also a business)
Conputer Lab- include Internet
Education Services:
I. How to Start a Business; 2. How to Get a Job; 3. How
to Buy a Home; 4. Home Maintenance; 5. Parenting Classes;
6. Art Classes - Painting, Dance, Ceramics, Traditional
Arts 7. Cultural Traditions and Storytelling; 8. Health
Care; 9. Tutoring for All Ages; 10. Chemical Dependency;
II. Learning About Helping the Community
Recreation Center - workout gym, indoor and outdoor basket
ball courts and pools, sauna, steamroom, gameroom, ping-
pong, parks and playgrounds with spaces for kids and
grown- ups together ccmwi
M r
High School Site - partnership with South High
Social Gathering Sites, indoor and outdoor - for Below: A chil* 's solar vehicle
debates, dances, contests (including races),
concerts, conversations and visiting, a house
by young people, and free massages Below: Section through court-
Community Building - reading area and garden, with yard of earth sheltered
huge couches and sculptures. building

Features of the Park A/flTjt£.

Place for families. Place for grown-ups to hang- NO Pccum&u>

out while children cure in the playground Conser-
vatories; Trees; Gardens; Sliding Hill; Outdoor
and indoor ice skating arenas - use melted ice for
hydro-electricity. Spiral staircase; Non-toxic
paint; Huge outdoor clock; Mobile and changing
mural surfaces; Climbable sculptures, performance '_SOlm Mmtattw jj a Ifiou ^atu
art sites; T.V. Studio with satellite hook-up -
solar powered.

Safe bike paths and garagas;. Good access for handi- 's solar railcar
capped people; Braille for the blind; Play music; Below R: Solar light (see gate)
Signs which say "Phillips Neighborhood" Below C: Solar streetlight
Below L & Bottom: Main gate into the park
poor P«nx •
J r w i w r B

Care for the Park: No Vandalism

Community Watch and meetings
24 hour activities and center
Graffitti Wall - paint it blank for new paint-
ings each month
Community involvement in:
Designing the park
Building the park
Using the facilities
Maintaining the facilities
Preventing crime
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

I. Materials
A. Construction Stage
1. Use recycled and reusable materials
2. Re-use existing buildings
3. Minimize materials used
4. Minimize materials wasted
5. Closed-loop material flow
6. Non-toxic materials
7. Locally produced materials
8. Emphasize human labor

A2 .Construction Concepts -. V^Vl'ikf

1. Flexible design; "soft" eco-design [ V.^^rJ^
6EM5 T A ^ t
2. Minimum maintenance as design goal ^^^^Hfti
3. Capitalize on natural processes to do
"work" of heating, etc... ^^^^HH
Connect ioj
B. Operations Stage tail
1. Non-toxic, recyclable products only
2. Reduced input = Reduced output
3. Closed loop
4. Use Paul Hawkins' Four Stage Approach for de
termining impact and desirability of products
5. Locate and use second-hand, repro
cessed materials

Water
Closed-loop cycle Wind
Conserve and use rainwater Function of Area(of the sweep) x Velocity squared
Implement water conservation measures Obstructions drastically reduce wind power output
Reclaim and process gray water through a biologi- Wind speeds greater at higher altitudes (80 m)
cal wetland system Could have symbolic as well as functional meaning
Eco-scaping for conserving water—natural prairies
Heat water through solar technology on-site V. Conservation
A. Building orientation/ siting
III. Land use of responsible materials like straw bale,
A. Preserve green space clay, etc.. heavily insulated
B. Compact, mixed-use development B. Lighting
C. Increase biodiversity 1. T-8's
D. Plant native species 2. compact fluorescents
E. Landscape xvith natural systems: e.g. wind 3. electronic balance fluorescents
F. Develop on-site resources 4. Task lighting
G. Land as producer: gardens, farms, native C. Air to Air heat exchangers
grasses, hemp D. Use of waste heat
H. Waste = Food through composting E. Wise-use water policy

Air
Natural means of purification and ventilation
1. use of organic systems for cleansing
2. design for thermal gradients, natural heating
and cooling
II. T r a n s p o r t a t i o n :easy access, focus on eco
logical modes; walking, biking, shuttles, buses

I. Solar Thermal I I I . O r g a n i c e t h i c :building and site; include

A. Active Systems residents in labor pool and decision-making
1. Water heating for industrial uses
2. Space heating—radiant floor system under
concrete slab
3. Air systems—solar preheat using solar
wall—perforated metal building skin heats
air coming into building
V. Resource center
II. Passive Solar A. computer link/ access
A. Daylighting B. library
1. Light shelves C. business training assistance-consulting, plan
2. Clerestory ing, financial start-up
3. Direct gain—light tubes D. cafe or common kitchen
4. Overhangs to block summer sun E. child-care center for workers and family ser
5. Trombe '.'/alls vices
6. Greenhouses •"-F. art and recreation opportunities
7. Plants and trees for shading i - ' l X * ' ^ - ? ' ^ . • ' * V r - ' t N & S V ' j • *''•**..
VI. Eco-hostel/ dorms
III. Active Solar A. temporary living for: tenants, workers, visitors
A. Photovoltaics (seminars and training programs)
1. Integrate into bldg. skin: roof, overhangs,
covered walkways and parking lots VIZ. Security and stabilization
2. Integrate into site lighting A. a place that is safe, supportive and renewing
W I W a M H B H H j l p I r -V
 2158 NEWTON & WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

SIB FLOWED MEADOW NEIGHBORHOOD

Environmental Design Charrette - Newton & Waltham, Massachusetts

The Flowed Meadow Charrette is about waste, abandonment, and

reclamation in a landscape profoundly altered by humans. The study
area encompasses several landfill sites and one abandoned incinerator
in the Charles River Basin along the border of the cities of Newton and
Waltham in the metropolitan Boston area. The "flowed meadows,"
coves, and broad river in this area were created in 1814 by a dam
downstream. These lands are the last major green spaces along the
river before it meets the densely urbanized shores closer to Boston.
Existing conservation and recreation lands are part of a proposed green
river corridor.

B r a n d e i s University

W ? "
3 Cemetery "

Conservation Land Wetlands

E l e m e n t a r y School

Organized by
T h e Boston Architectural research Center
Architects for Social Responsibility
G r e e n Decade Coalition/Newton

In C o n j u n c t i o n with
T h e C o m m i t t e e on the Environment of
T h e A m e r i c a n Institute of Architects

Environmental and Social Context

Social Landscape:
• history o f f a r m i n g , industry, boathouses and
canoeing, fishing, skating
• existing mixed land uses - single and
m u l t i f a m i l y residential, light industry,
c o m m e r c i a l , recreation and open space
• c o m m u n i t y desires environmental clean up,
d i s m a n t l i n g of incinerator, and recreational uses
o f land
• N e w t o n Public W o r k s Dept. desires continued
use o f a portion o f one landfill f o r recycling,
c o m p o s t i n g , and materials stockpiling
• recent i m p r o v e m e n t s in river water quality and
recreation use
Solid Waste Issues: Natural Features:
• n o i m p e r m e a b l e liners for landfills • shallow coves and wetlands
• k n o w n a n d potential soil c o n t a m i n a t i o n • invasive vegetation (phragmites, p u r p l e
• k n o w n a n d potential ground a n d s u r f a c e w a t e r loosestrife, water chestnuts)
contamination • w i l d l i f e habitat (including 4 species o f h e r o n )
• potential for differential settling o f landfills • nutrient-loading (eutrophication) o f c o v e s
• m e t h a n e generation m u s t be m o n i t o r e d a n d resulting from u r b a n land use practices
vented
• potential recoverable resources
34 NEWTON & WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

FLOWED M E A D O W N E I G H B O R H O O D
Environmental Design Charrette - Newton & Waltham. Massachusetts

Emerald Necklace along the Charles_River

View of Environmental
Center for Research
(Former Incinerator Building)

7 y \ v m v ^ of Wetland Plants
O / J U U U \Vv Nursery
i"Nu

View of Coves

1 ^ - V ^ ^ ^ F ^ h Urban Greenway
^tfcS-'^ along the Charles River

Detail of Improved
Riparian Emerald Necklace Riparian Edge

5 year p l a n 100 y e a r plan

To connect important natural amenities to
distressed neighborhoods, educational institutions,
and vital surrounding communities, we propose an
emerald necklace along the length of the Charles
River. This urban greenway will include public
parks, former landfills, and wetland farms to forge
an ecological and cultural identity that includes
disparate communities and fosters an understanding
of the interdependence of economic and ecological
processes.
The Charles River and existing undeveloped land
will link the health of one community to the health
of another. Through this mutual recognition of
interdependence, a cross-jurisdictional decision-
making process can facilitate constructive planning
and promote development.
Establish "Cross-jurisdictional Lakes District Citizen's Rumford landfill becomes community gardens.
Advisory Commission to develop future framework. Incinerator building continues as educational resource
Combine education and economic incentives to make Reduce Pine Street landfill and use to grow local food
public aware of their own waste. Morse Island develops as an eco-commercial park, as
Every school playground in Newton and Waltham will an aqua-cultural farm, and as a research center for
have a composting area managed by children. ecological harvesting.
Link education to sites surrounding schools. Provide links along riparian corridor.
Determine green space opportunities along the Charles Make the water of the Charles River potable.
for recreation and protected open space.
Reduce waste and pollution by changing values. Team Members
Glenn Allen
25 y e a r plan Gloria Champion
Prepare landfills as resources for wetlands nursery. Michael Chin
Use incinerator building as arboretum and educational Jeremy Liu
resource modeled after the Mass Audubon Sanctuary. Jay Lee
Reduce diversion of the Charles River at the Mother Matt Miller
Brook and increase flow in coves. Karen Nelson
 2160 NEWTON & WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

FLOWED MEADOW N E I G H B O R H O O D
Environmental Design Charrette - Newton & Waltham, Massachusetts

: T h e 100-Year Plan
New Housing ^ f i f ^ f e

Features:
• Landfill Mining
• Restored Wetlands
• Cove Improvements
Observation Tower
• Nature Education
• Legal Protection
Upland Wilds • Continued Mixed Land Use
J Clean
f Coves • Community-Based Restora-
tion and Recycling
• Visual Access from High
Points

§We"tlan<E
;6oar3wal

Pedestrian Paths Restoration Activities:

Promotion of Biodiversity
Planting of Native Species
Upland Wilds Removal of Invasive
Exotics
Linkage of Varied Ecologi-
cal Zones
Expanded Wildlife Habitat
^ Elementary School
Restoration of Wetlands
Water Filtration Functions
Elimination of Point Pollu-
tion

Wet Meadow Water Filtration

Sl r ac
> ! f eRunoff Light Industry
Restored Wetland Materials Recovery Facility - —

f i 1 , i
§ PorofPabng l NrfLlt/Fertilizer Zone
Oil/Water Separator / //

Bringing Back the Meadow Community-Based Ecological Restoration

The preservation and en-
hancement of the last major
urban wilds downstream on
the Charles River is the most
urgent task at Flowed
Meadow. A century from now
this area can be a permanently
protected green corridor whose
healthy ecological processes
have been restored and are
maintained by the residents
and businesses of Newton and
Waltham.
The process requires land-
fill mining, the dismantling
and recycling of the aban-
doned incinerator, establish-
ment of a materials recovery
facility for businesses and
consumers, creation of a na-
ture study center near the ele-
mentary school, restoration of
the wetlands, and linkage of
the upland and lowland green
corridor by paths, observation
points, boardwalks, and boat
landings. At the same time, two parcels of land. Team Members:
the area can continue to pro- A strong organization Bill Boehm
vide space for Newton's com- composed of citizens from Larissa Brown
posting and public works both Newton and Waltham is Cynthia Campisano
needs. essential for successful Heather Heimarck
Early steps towards the ecosystem restoration and Paul Leveille
100-year vision include a com- management Neighborhood Ellen Levine
plete environmental assess- stewardship can "bring back Miguel Linera
ment of all sites; a landfill the meadow." Jon Seward
mining pilot project; enlarge- Kevin Smith
ment of culverts at the coves;
public education on nonpoint
pollution; and acquisition of
2161 NEWTON & WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

FLOWED MEADOW NEIGHBORHOOD

Environmental Design Charrette - Newton & Waltham, Massachusetts

River jj
Recreational

Riverside J j f * j Story Telling V

Retreat
•Story Telling Tower

^School of"' W i M w
Clean Environmental Purgatory; Industry^-.Reclamation Research
Purgatory Technology Cove 1 & Development
Cove
I E w i 7 /
City Reclamation'"
Networicofr X
D P W / ' ^ ? * Footpaths • J W S f c a ! ^ o i ? . - . ^ R e s t o r e d :
/ Restored; ( Brook!
Reclamation P
Area' 1 ' Cattail
t Swamp
; 'Cattail Water t
Preserve Native Plant I * Filtration System
Wetland Nursery MsfK ^ L ^ f / ..-Density Housing
Begin
Reclaiming Pine
Street Landfill $ Neighborhood
^ ' R e c l a m a t i o n Center

Bun-
School

Flowed Meadow Neighborhood Within Five Years Flowed Meadow Neighborhood Within Fifty Years

View to Tower from Moody Street View to Reclamation Center from Tower View to Cram's Cove from Tower View to Watch Factory from Tower

Full Cycle Industrial Revolution to Reclamation Revolution

This area was a wellspring of the Industrial Revolution in
America. The "flowed meadows" were created when the
Charles River was dammed to provide power for the first
integrated textile factory in the country. Ironically, it was the
mass consumption, made possible by similar mills, that led to
the proliferation of landfills that now mar the neighborhood.
In the 21st Century, economic, technological, and social
forces may bring the Rowed Meadow Neighborhood full
cycle from the Industrial Revolution to the Reclamation
Revolution. Studies indicate that the growing costs
associated with producing virgin materials will lead to the
rapid expansion of a "secondary materials economy" in which
used materials are recovered and reprocessed. The
Worldwatch Institute projects that cities will become a more TEAM MEMBERS
important source of materials than rural mines and forests.
The combination of readily available material resources, a Susan Brown
progressive populace, and innovative entrepreneurs could Susan Glenn
make this area the cradle of yet another revolution. Paul Kamoski
Shirley Kressel
In this scenario, a reclamation research and education Marion Linden
complex is developed along Rumford Avenue. To the north Chris Roycr
and south of it, filled land is reclaimed to improve the health Daren Sawyer
of the local ecosystem, while physically and spiritually Diana Shank
reconnecting the community to the Charles River. Replacing Brooks Stewart
the mill tower symbolically is a lookout tower atop the Woerd
Street Landfill. From there the neighborhood's story of change
and adaptation can be told.
 2162 NEWTON & WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

FLOWED M E A D O W N E I G H B O R H O O D
Environmental Design Charrette - Newton & Waltham, Massachusetts

.Organic
restaurant
Manufacturing
1 Artists

7
I S i V - W V - J ' . l i l A i W J
View of P u r g a t o r y Cove
r
100 year plan

Waste & Water: Integration in the Lakes

The process of healing the Flowed Meadow
Community must go beyond curing t h e soil,
water and wildlife. An enhanced sense of pride
in t h e place must be restored in o r d e r for this
community to be sustainable.
The opportunities are:
• Creating green links between what are now
disconnected waterways and land areas.
• Connecting coves and widening their outlets to
t h e river to begin the healing of the waters.
• Enhancing interaction with land and water to
renew a cultural relationship to nature.
• Harnessing local energy: solar, wind, methane,
& plants for electricity, heat, and purification.
District
This team focussed on implementing a vision for
a realistic sustainable community.
• Establish Joint-Cities Commission & pass new
ordinances for managing the Lakes District
Charrette Team: • Transform t h e incinerator building into a new
community jobs/education recycling facility
Ron Aberle • Establish green walkways to link activity areas
Jestena Boughton • Encourage industries to follow beautification
Jeff DiCastro standards to enhance industrial complex
Peter Levasseur • Increase recreational use of waterways
J e r r y Ludwig • Rezone to allow increased housing density
Paul Pandolfo within three story height limit.
Marion Phallis • Encourage co-housing with shared personal
J o h n Rossi vehicles, eating and grounds m a i n t e n a n c e
Peter Smith • Implement programs for village snow storage
Anatol Zuckerman to eliminate hauling and central storage
2163 NEWTON & WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

FLOWKD M E A D O W t N E l G l f B O M l O D l f e ^
E n v i r o n m e n t a l Design Charrettc=>---i^e:w:T^_&^'alihani. Mas

Public A r t : Giant Infatable

Waterchestnut for summer festivals
at Purgatory Cove.

Public A r t : Bronze lines of poetry

by local poets in grass berms.

•W"

Abandoned incinerator transformed

into E c o - T e c h School.

Pedestrian oriented m i x e d - u s e
M a i n s t r e e t and L i g h t - R a i l .

Housing densified to optimize

infrastructure and reduce sprawl.

EcoCommon Village From Landfill to Ecological Park

A time-honored centerpiece of New England Ecology, carved out of the Rumford Avenue Landfill. Team:
communities, the common, is re-interpreted: dormant Underground, beneath a new park, a MRF, a recycled Joan Brigham
landfills are mined and transformed into a center for product production centcr, composting and public David Del Porto
resource management and re-utilization. This Eco- works will take place. Viewing courts above provide Daniel Glenn
Common integrates restored wetlands, a Material access for public education. The original route of the Tom Grayson
Recovery Facility (MRF), an Eco-Tech School, an Charles River through the Flowed Meadow is re- Maureen Harrington
Urban Farm, a pedestrian oriented retail/housing established, purging the coves of sediments and Chris Harrison
"mainstreet", a new light rail station, and outdoor reforming the island for development as a model Mike Kyes
recreation areas into a single ecological park at the ecological community. Through grassroots organizing Fritjof Palmeijer
centcr of a densified and revitalized neighborhood. At efforts. Block Commons will develop for urban, Annie Reed
the heart of the EcoCommon is a Department of Public Pat Ribbcck
gardening, recycling, composting, and shared play.

SANTA M O N I C A T R A N S P O R T A T I O N C E N T E R
A utomobile traffic is a serious concern for the
Civic Center and the surrounding community.
One concept put forth during the charette was
to create a major rail/bus transit center adjacent to the
site. A bus station and an old Sears Department store
right on the freeway could become the basic building
blocks for a regional transit center. Electric shuttles
and pedestrian ways could link the downtown area
and civic center to the station.
This shade arcade is also a photovoltaic generating station
A public plaza thai is planted as an orchard
SANTA MONICA CIVIC CENTER
2164 SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA
A community garden and a public park are courtyard
centerpieces for passive-solar designed buildings.
60LIPWASTE.
T lo live in a place designed
to generate and preserve resources
instead of taking them from the
wider worid is a gift more of us could have
the opportunity to experience.
• Swales, riparian ways, indigenous
vegetation.
• A finer grain of design that improves
walkability.
• Buildings that open to die sun and the
breezes.
• Structures built of materials that are
renewable or recycled and nontoxic
whenever possible.
• A village that can harvest food, water
and energy, and in general be more
responsive to the natural worid of which
itisaparL
These are some of the elements of
sustainable design shown here that speak
not only to enhanced self-sufficiency, but
also to a greater sense of community and a
richer quality of life.
L. A. COTE/ECO-CITIES COUNCIL
40 SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA
T he S a n t a M o n i c a C i v i c C e n t e r
occupies 45 acres of land It is 70%
parking k x Location of Santa Monica's
G t y Hall, a County Court Building, a Civic
A u d i t o r i u m a n d t h e h o m e of the R a n d
Corporation, it about to be redeveloped.
Both the City and Rand, the two major
property owners, have interest in creating an
"environmentaT project. The G t y is motivated
because it is faced with an obligation to apply
its own newly adopted sustainabQity guidelines
to this major redevelopment.
This push toward sustainahility gave the
charerte particular relevance because though it
followed on the heels of a voter-endorsed
Specific Han, that plan left open numerous
opportunities for sustainable design.
•ag- f C
SANTA MONICA CIVIC CENTER L. A. COTE/ECO-CITIES COUNCIL
W e organized 3 5 architects, landscape
architects, engineers, planners and sustainable
designers into five teams charged with evolving
a sustainable direction for the Civic Center
keeping in mind some the program restraints of
the Speafic Plan.
A s the surrounding charts indicate, we
operated from the premise that sustainable
d e s i g n m a k e s e c o n o m i c as well a s
environmental sense.
W h a t emerged w a s extremely powerful
because despite variations in approach, there was
a harmony of overall design flow that dearly
w a s i m p a r t e d b y e a c h of the t e a m s ' s
c o m m i t m e n t to the guiding principles pf
sustainable design.
m
I
®
NORTH
 2166 SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

SANTA MONICA CIVIC CENTER L. A. COTE/ECO-CITIES COUNCIL

2167 SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

W
ater is a resource often taken for granted even in a water-
poor area like Southern California. Thus the extent to which
a development can harvest water and use it efficiently and
repeatedly is a cornerstone of sustainable design. Ideas suggested
during the charette included cisterns to capture runoff. Living
Machines to process waste water via bio-remediation instead of
chemicals, riparian ways that honored the topography of the land,
wetland areas tied into wastewater processing as well as natural
habitat, greywater systems to immediately reuse water for irrigation
and flow-form fountains to aerate the treated water.

SANTA MONICA CIVIC CENTER L. A. COTE/ECO-CITIES COUNCIL


City of
WATERLOO
RECLAIMING THE DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT, OCTOBER 6-8, 1995
AIA and AIA/IA COMMITTEES ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Expanded Fourth Street bridge
The workshop was
convened by Mayor John
Rooff and staff of the City
of Waterloo. The weekend
event was organized
through the efforts of the
American Institute of
Architects and the AIAIowa
Chapter Committees on the
Environment, the Cedar
Arts Forum, and Iowa
Community Design at Iowa
State University.
The Waterloo Sustainable
Design Workshop brought
together design
professionals, community
representatives, technical
advisors, faculty and
students for an intensive
charrette . The workshop
was also part of a network
of 19 Environmental
Design Charrettes which
took place simultaneously
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN WORKSHOP
CEDAR ARTS FORUM
around the country linked
by E-mail, fax, and the
World Wide Web. A Web
homepage
(http://www.public.iastate.e
du/~rfindlay) was created
by ISU architecture
students. Updates about the
progress of the workshop
were posted twice daily.
This document is a report
of the workshop and
records the background,
process, and
recommendations of the
many volunteer
professionals who
participated.
Waterloo was protected
from the floods of 1993 by
floodwalls constructed
along the Cedar River, but
those same walls also
separate the city and its
citizens from the river
WATERLOO, IOWA 43
IOWA COMMUNITY DESIGN/ ISU
which had been the reason
for the city's existence.
Having served its
usefulness as a stimulator of
industrial development, the
river is now being
considered an asset for
other kinds of economic
development that would be
compatible with
recreational uses as well.
As the hub for the proposed
Smokestacks and Silos
National Park sites in
Northeast Iowa and a stop
on the American Heritage
Trail, Waterloo is
beginning to examine ways
in which it can capitalize on
its tourist attractions as well
as making its downtown a
livelier and more appealing
place for its own citizens.
44 WATERLOO, IOWA 44
City of
WATERLOO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN WORKSHOP
RECLAIMING THE DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT, OCTOBER 6-8,1995
AIA and AIA/IA COMMITTEES ON THE ENVIRONMENT
The primary intent of the
workshop, therefore, was to
increase the community's
understanding of
sustainable design and its
role in community
development.
The workshop participants
worked in sub-teams that
concentrated on the river
corridor, the riverfront, the
downtown central business
district, implementation,
and communications. The
public was invited to an
open "Town Meeting"
discussion at the start of the
weekend and a presentation
of the following
recommendations at the
close of the workshop
Sunday evening.
CEDAR ARTS FORUM IOWA COMMUNITY DESIGN/ ISU
River Corridor: SCO-
S o o eon-
BE4R
OLflW Eaurrr
The Cedar River must be
1. P E W O P I C
OUP^IM Q o 0
thought of as an entire WUnsiiJa, O o o
biosystem: what happens
3 . fJo p e e c s D J a ,
« o
upstream affects 4, u o p a s p a M
TO-* • •
downstream. Parks,
greenbelts, and bike paths Dredging options
are existing and proposed
systems that are a good
. ^ d l U G , "POLE FLKTTCW^S
foundation for working with
the river rather than in
opposition to it. Trails and
bike paths have both
recreational and commuter
uses and form connections
that tie together various
parts of the city. The group
proposed a series of
"follies" which celebrate
the heritage of the city and
serve as guideposts to
attractions, facilities, and
recreation areas.
 WATERLOO, IOWA 45

City of

WATERLOO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN WORKSHOP

RECLAIMING THE DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT, OCTOBER 6-8,1995
AIA and AIA/IA COMMITTEES ON THE ENVIRONMENT CEDAR ARTS FORUM IOWA COMMUNITY DESIGN/ ISU

Riverfront plaza and expanded Fourth Street bridge

Riverfront:
Working from the idea
expressed by Mayor Rooff
of creating a comfortable
"room," the sub-team
suggested that the river
corridor should
accommodate a wide
variety of activities, be
legible for pedestrians and
motorists, and promote
compatible land use.
Property acquisition along
the corridor should take
into account flood control
and use. The river is a
living thing. The city takes
structure from it, and it
symbolizes movement.
Continuous paths along the
river with linkages to the
city along the way would The path should
reinforce the image of the be continuous from the
river as a connector and life Mullan bridge to the Sixth
line. A series of St. bridge or even the
interventions along the way railroad bridge, creating a
would become gathering loop that connects the two
points, resting areas, etc. sides of the river.
WATERLOO, IOWA 2171

City of

WATERLOO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN WORKSHOP

RECLAIMING THE DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT, OCTOBER 6-8,1995
ALA and AJLA/1A COMMITTEES ON THE ENVIRONMENT CEDAR ARTS FORUM IOWA COMMUNITY DESIGN/ ISU

Central Business District:

Fourth Street is a major

corridor for shopping and
traffic and is a highly
visible indicator of the
vitality of the downtown.
The group recommends a
concerted effort to in-fill
vacant lots along Fourth St.
and create a strong retail
density. Parking would
eventually be moved to the
edges of the CBD. Phase
one should strive for
concentrated development,
then expand outward in
phase two. Mix
entertainment and retail
businesses. Re-use existing
buildings, increase density,
provide riverfront
accessibility. The urban
character of the CBD would
be reinforced with three and
four story buildings, no
setback, first floor retail
and residential above. plazas from existing parks
Bring housing toward the at either end of the 4th
river to connect residential Street bridge for art fairs,
areas. Continue the music, celebrations, etc.
development momentum on Encourage use of energy-
the east side of the river by efficient and sustainable
in-filling existing gaps. concepts for the new in-fill
Need a higher density of construction.
people to increase activity
so some selective
residential high rise
development is
recommended. Develop
 WATERLOO, IOWA 47

City of

WATERLOO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN WORKSHOP

RECLAIMING THE DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT, OCTOBER 6-8,1995
AIA and AIA/IA COMMITTEES ON THE ENVIRONMENT CEDAR ARTS FORUM IOWA COMMUNITY DESIGN/ ISU

Seven Sustainable
Design Principles that
apply specifically to the
CBD:

USE f^viPON/KEwmcf
ENEP^Y efficient F0=<SfCN6N£.
> 5C>% O F l > 6 M A T E ^ l A L ^ b
ENEftSl vs o e e o
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a Hl^u p e p f c W V X N C E
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HVAC

0T1UZE.fcWINGBOILOI^ PPOVIDE. A W&ALW,

AW IHF«Asma-UllE-

EHVIBQNMENT"

REDUCE COHSTFOCnON / DESIGN W U M K AKI>

LANDSCAPE W A P S .
DEMOLITION ^ C P f f f i t m L
lbCP5A.SE. Bicycle., WATE?> e^ficiEHr
PEPCSTR^ AND MASS WASTE.
TFANStt" OSE. - ffflaaJf fmwzes
SME- OP
W ^ T E .

ifcsewus
WATERLOO, IOWA 2173

City of

WATERLOO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN WORKSHOP

RECLAIMING THE DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT, OCTOBER 6-8,1995
AIA and AIA/IA COMMITTEES ON THE ENVIRONMENT CEDAR ARTS FORUM IOWA COMMUNITY DESIGN/ ISU

Implementation: with ISTEA funds that

would then attract funding
Reinforcement of Fourth from many other sources.
Street as an important New buildings should be
corridor, retail stimulator, encouraged in conjunction
and connector. Need a with the use of land-
multi-disciplinary team to banking to make land
formulate and implement a available with incentives
master plan. and control.
Year 1: Create a
master plan; identify
financing mechanisms;
gamut of issues in two days.
celebrations, such as 4th
Now the city's challenge is
of July, organized and
to take next the next steps,
promoted.
especially in planning and
Year 2: Site
follow through, including
acquisition.
the involvement of the
Years 3-5: Complete
citizens and sharing the
river and Cedar Valley
excitement. Mayor Rooff
trails; build a new, large
Thanks and Farewells pledged administration
office building; river
support of the planning
plaza/walks/ bridge
Mayor John Rooff thanked system and implementation
improvements; trail
the workshop participants of their plans.
authority.
for taking part and giving
Years 5-10:
their time and energy. He The audience was invited to
Neighborhood connections,
said that having been at the come to the front of the
trail amenities, new
workshop at the beginning room where they could look
construction.
and at the end, it was at the displays and ask
Ongoing: Financing, obvious that the questions of the team
Silos and Smokestacks participants had run the members.
connections, coordination,
in-fill construction,
preservation, marketing,
communication, and master
plan evaluation. Need to
coordinate master plan with
Corps of Engineers, DNR,
etc.

Trail system can be a good

stimulator for financing
 49

E
ach of the Environmental Design Charrettes so that many people can work together, essentially

sponsored by the AIA Committee on the "reading from the same page" to create a smooth run-

Environment undertook a different project and program, ning event. Decisions that need to be put into place

and in each case, adopted a format of organization tai- include a charrette meeting location, sufficient planning

lored to their specific circumstances. Each charrette time prior to the event, involvement of key stakehold-

group stated that their event was a success. Is it possible ers, and an organizational group or committee. The

that any and all such events come off successfully? organizational roles require leadership, initiative, diplo-

macy, persistence and humor! The role of "facilitator"

The answer of course is, probably not. There are pitfalls
is key and is described in Chapter 4. The present chap-
and there are different degrees of success. A meeting
ter describes the organization steps preceding, during,
that brings together a diverse set of community repre-
and concluding the event.
sentatives, public leaders and outside "experts" is by

definition "loaded" with conflicting agendas, diverse A charrette is typically a two- to three-day event, in

personalities and cross-purposes. Meetings that are not the case of the October 1995 Environmental Design

well planned and facilitated can set community discus- Charrettes, starting with a kick-off dinner and inspira-

sions back due to miscommunication, misunderstanding tional goal setting (Friday evening), continuing all day

or misuse of the initial good will that should otherwise Saturday and ending with a "public presentation" of

prevail. Nevertheless, there are ways to help make such results mid- to late on the third day (e.g., Sunday after-

meetings successful. It takes advanced preparation, noon). In some cases, more time is needed, although

careful work and the right mix of ingredients of people, this makes it more difficult to include a large number

place and program. This chapter describes what some of people in the entire event. A typical size of group

of the elements of success might be, based upon lessons is between thirty and sixty people, although many

learned from the 1995 AIA C O T E Environmental charrettes have involved several hundred and more.

Design Charrettes. Involving greater numbers is possible but should be

considered "advanced level" in terms of organizational

Any group or community meeting requires an organiza-
and facilitative capacity.
tional structure defined to a sufficient level of detail

T h i s chapter includes recommendations of many individuals who participated in the October 1995 Environmental Design Charrettes, includ-
ing Gregg Ander, Kristine Anstead, Robert Bell, Bob Berkebile, Jestena Boughton, Robert Cevero, Brian Dunbar, Sue Ehrlich, Elizabeth
Ericson, Pliny Fisk, Jim Franklin, Greg Franta, Kirk Gastinger, Harry Gordon, Christopher Gribbs, Peg Howard, Chris Kelsey, Paul Leveille,
Gail Lindsey, Andy Maurer, John B. Peers, David Sellers and Lynn N. Simon.
50 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

T h e c h a r r e t t e event in t h e c o n t e x t and document different approaches to report and

of c o m m u n i t y d i a l o g u e disseminate lessons learned about action-based

In the best cases, the charrette workshop is linked to community development, establishing the basis for

a larger initiative, before and after the event, that builds continuous professional and community learning.

local community initiative and development. The fol- 8. Create youth initiatives: Include young men and
lowing guidelines indicate characteristics that are rec- women in charrette organization roles, providing
ommended for successful community development that "real-life" opportunities for youth leadership.
builds upon Environmental Design Charrettes:
Generally, a minimum of three months (most typically
1. Listen and learn: The charrette process provides
six months) is needed to prepare for a successful event,
for listening and understanding. It works if it facili-
with a longer time frame required for more
tates mutual learning and capacity building amongst
complex events. The months prior to the charrette
community groups, rather than perpetuating depen-
involve a series of key actions:
dency upon outside "experts" and resources.

2. Combine and focus: Create focus by combining

projects and programs within "high impact" areas

strategically selected for demonstrable and

1 Identify a s i g n i f i c a n t
project

replicable results. Everyone who has been involved in organizing char-

rettes usually has one message: Don't do it unless there

3. Create community participation: Emphasize
is evident local commitment to use the charrette as part
participatory decision making that enables collabo-
of a larger and longer range commitment to take action.
rative partnerships and encourages local initiative,
It is important to choose a topic that will engage both
volunteerism and community-based leadership.
positive and substantive community support. The initial
4. Build upon local networking: Link local initiatives
proposal need not be perfect. It should be open to mod-
(bottom-up) to broad (horizontally linked) net-
ification as discussions and planning proceeds. It has to
works, such as citywide collaborations.
be a project that is inspiring and at the same time feasi-

5. Create multi-disciplinary linkages: Link commu- ble, that is, it does not raise false hopes. Community

nity- and university-based professionals from a range aspiration is too valuable a quality to squander on false

of disciplines to represent economic, social and starts and dead ends.

community planning experience and knowledge.

Work at defining an issue or program focus that is
6. Emphasize sustainable development: Emphasize
meaningful, such as a local neighborhood area that
the need to integrate economic, social and environ-
deserves community discussion of alternatives and
mentally sustainable approaches to planning,
improvement. The size of project can range from build-
programs and projects.
ing-scale to one well beyond the neighborhood scale.

7. Invite scrutiny and evaluation: Experiment with The range of viable Environmental Design Charrette

projects is evident from examples in Chapter 2. These
projects worked because there was a local constituency
that cared and thus put in the time and effort to prepare
for the charrette.
Start with an initial proposal but let it develop with
input from local constituents and stakeholders. Out
of a number of preliminary discussions, key issues will
emerge. Keep these and the goals of discussion rela-
tively focused, while not ignoring larger and more
complex implications.
In defining an event project, be open to a wide range
of possibilities. In the October 1995 C O T E charrette
held in Milwaukee, the initial proposals began months
earlier as an academic assignment in Peter Park's
design studio at the School of Architecture in the
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and were given
the apparently "disdainful" description of being
"merely an academic exercise" at the public hearing
to imply that it was neither real work nor relevant.
However, as the charrette evolved, the student propos-
als gained credence as they were debated and devel-
oped by professionals and community leaders, ending
with the unexpected result that they became part of a
broadly supported community agreement to implement
designs initiated by the students.
Early on in the planning, it will be essential to contact
an experienced facilitator in order to add input and
guidance to the charrette preparation. The normal
cadre of professionals trained in workshop facilitation
may or may not be familiar with the Environmental
Design Charrette process. If a facilitator is not experi-
enced in Environmental Design Charrettes (but is
nonetheless a skilled group process facilitator), then
Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 2176
a group of architects, landscape architects and/or
planners will be needed to add the necessary design,
planning and environmental experience. Additionally,
university faculty at schools of architecture and plan-
ning may include individuals experienced in leading
a charrette process. Chapter 2 includes a listing of indi-
viduals who provided facilitation and environmental
expertise for the 1995 AIA C O T E Environmental
Design Charrettes.
2 I n v o l v e c o s p o n s o r s w h o are
s t a k e h o l d e r s in t h e results
There are two guidelines to involving stakeholders:
The first guideline is, "Get stakeholders involved early
on." Approach key stakeholders in a low-key way and
in their terms, letting them know who you are and what
you are about. Make their concerns yours.
A second guideline is "Don't leave anyone out." If the
charrette project involves different groups or communi-
ties normally left out of the planning and decision
process, organizers may find themselves from the outset
dealing with a potentially disruptive situation. The
advantage of a charrette is that the visioning exercise
can be "low risk," that is, it can limit itself to proposing
"unthought-of" alternatives and to illustrate new
options, leaving it to others to evaluate and decide
between competing options.
David Lewis, whose reflections are included in Chapter
5, states, "You have to get to the point where the vari-
ous goals and agendas are not in conflict. One never
gets there by confrontation...it never works. Only
through a public consensus building process do plans
have a sustaining life."
52 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

One frequently asked question that naturally arises

is whether or not to involve private corporations as

sponsors who may be perceived as having only a private

3 Establish pre-event meetings that keep
planning going forward

The overall questions in organizing a charrette are

"corporate-advantage" agenda. Certainly, the charrette
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, W H E R E , WHY and HOW.
can be used selfishly, to further one set of interests over
Of all of these, the HOW is usually the most difficult
another. For this very reason, people are normally suspi-
question at the beginning. That is, there is a perceived
cious of many planning proposals, evident in the nega-
need but the way to get there is not clear. In such cases,
tive and oppositional stance often taken by community
a broad-based and representative discussion and input
groups in public planning and zoning hearings. The best
from stakeholders is most helpful. A series of small-
protection against "being snowed and hoodwinked"
scale organizing meetings may be the best approach.
is open discussion and critical debate. The charrette
Once established as regular meetings, they become
process specifically enables this to occur by allowing
"heartbeats" to the organizing process. In the New
alternative visions to be drawn up and detailed. In this
Bedford charrette, organizers met weekly for several
process, the best attitude is "let's just see what it would
months at a local restaurant to define and prepare their
look like, let's imagine it first and only then decide
program, calling themselves the "Tuesday Breakfast
whether it is foolish." In this discussion, corporate inter-
Club." As most meeting organizers know, good coffee
ests can be treated just like anyone else's, worthy of cri-
and food go a long way in bringing folks to the table.
tique, so long as all options are given equal hearing.

The Greensboro, N.C. organizers held two precharrette

From this standpoint, the decision of whether to
events, each organized as a "mini-charrette," one for
include or exclude corporate sponsorship—or any
the steering group and a second for low-income home
other point of view for that matter—depends entirely
owners, which proved especially valuable since it gave
upon whether or not such sponsorship would preclude
a more familiar setting for this group in which they were
a fully open and critical discussion of environmental,
able to express their needs and priorities in their own
economic and social impacts of proposed future plans
terms (rather than to be immediately thrown into an
for conservation and developments. On the other
unfamiliar and professional setting).
hand, it is reasonable to recognize that there are situa-

tions that are far too "loaded" to permit a reasonable Communicating a clear goal is essential. Once the over-

community discussion to occur. One such situation was all intent and purpose of the Environmental Design

experienced in the 1995 Environmental Design Charrette is agreed to, it is useful to state the goals or

Charrette, when the site chosen in Bridgeport, Conn, desired outcomes, keeping in mind that these too will

was later selected as a potential location for a contro- evolve. Stating the goals as a desirable future vision

versial casino development. As a result, the charrette makes it easier to capture the enthusiasm and support

planning was suspended until after the casino option of participants. The Independence, Mo. organizers made

was resolved. sure their goal was defined much like a mission state-

ment, that is, clear, concise, inspiring and understand-
able. It read: "The goal of our charrette is to create a
comprehensive, compelling and sustainable vision for the
highest and best use of the Jackson County Courthouse
site that serves the community for the long term."
It is essential to gain "buy-in" of participants in the
charrette goal. One of the initial event (or pre-event)
tasks is to develop a set of goals by consensus discus-
sion. Such goal setting was used as the kick-off discus-
sion at the Kansas City Habitat House charrette,
resulting in a list of eight goals that defined the criteria
for the house design.
Timing the event is important. Like any significant plan-
ning proposal, there is a right time and a wrong time.
The Minneapolis Green Institute organizers considered
that the timing of their event worked out to be perfect,
quite by accident since the October date was selected by
the national committee. The Green Institute had been
working for several years in assembling land parcels and
in building community consensus and political support,
all necessary preparation for real world discussion and
action. Without this groundwork, their event would not
have worked so well.
Pre-event preparation, including training for facilita-
tors and group leaders, is identified as crucial by most
charrette organizers and evaluators. Kirk Gastinger
who assisted both the Independence and Kansas City
charrettes, comments that, "The [pre-event] facilitator
workshop and the highly organized process for devel-
oping the charrettes were fundamental to their success.
The training helped the leaders to keep the event
running smoothly."
Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 2178
With a statement of intent and the program defined,
organizers are then ready to move onto second level
decisions of implementing and preparing for the event,
most typically through task group assignments that
follow normal definitions:
• Program: program definition and
support materials
• Funding: funding and/or contributions
in kind
• Communications: getting the word out and the
press in
• Logistics: particulars of space and
support materials
4 Define t h e c h a r r e t t e
program
There are at least two different ways to provide the
basic organization of groups participating in the event.
The one to choose or the right combination depends
upon the task at hand.
The first is to organize into generalized and integrated
design teams, typically five to six people on each team
who work together to develop a design, while experts
roam between teams consulting with each team
throughout the charrette. This option is appropriate
where the predominant project goal is to come up with
new design and planning visions.
An alternate is to organize specialized expert teams,
in which case the number per team can be typically
six or more, who work together to develop a set of
2179 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

recommendations related to a particular specialized environmental building materials, and became a

topic, that is, lighting, building envelope, landscape, etc. resource to the other teams. As the event proceeded,

This model was adopted in the AIA C O T E "Greening the various design team ideas were combined and

of the White House" and the other "Greening" series. reduced to two, each developing alternatives that were

This approach works well where there is an existing presented on the third day. By being narrowly defined

building or set of conditions that are pre-existing and and with a predominance of professional architects, this

otherwise already designed that require a specialized set charrette was able to go very far in developing specific

of environmental recommendations. designs and construction details for a Habitat for

Humanity House model to be built in Kansas City

Combinations of these two options were adopted in var-
during 1996.
ious degrees at each of the 1995 Environmental Design

Charrette events. At the Independence, Mo., Jackson An obvious variation is to use both integrated design

County Courthouse charrette, four teams of eight to teams and specialized consulting groups, although lim-

twelve people were formed around defined issues: his- ited time and the "getting used to" any particular organi-

toric preservation, economic development, environmen- zation cautions against anything overly complex. Each

tal considerations and cultural change. For a small-scale design project will suggest the nature of team composi-

project with a well defined scope and working closely tion, "division of labor" and integration of expertise. The

together, this division of the assignment worked, accord- Kane'ohe, Hawaii, charrette involved fifty participants

ing to Kirk Gastinger, since overlapping conversations addressing large-scale transportation and land-use con-

between groups were encouraged, with team interac- cepts for an entire suburban area. Participants divided

tions and communications directed by the facilitator. into specialized topic teams with some overlaps, that is,

At the Waterloo, Iowa, charrette, which undertook a several transportation teams, an environmental land

revitalization of the downtown area along an engineered development team (organized around specialized topics

floodway that otherwise divides the urban downtown, and expertise) and several "town center teams" (inte-

five teams were assigned different but overlapping top- grated design teams) so that there was a multiplicity

ics, each with a set of questions it was asked to investi- of effort that was both contrasting and complementary.

gate: Central Business District (CBD) planning, River

Kristine Anstead, who assisted the Fort Collins, Colo.,
Corridor planning, New CBD Building Design,
charrette, recommends a combined format that includes
Implementation and Communications.
both integrated design teams and specialized topic

At the Kansas City Habitat House charrette, the project teams working alongside one another, with the

was to design a model house and was undertaken by specialized teams working on "context and culture"

design professionals, architects, engineers and interior including natural systems and "building systems and

designers. They divided into four design teams, working materials." In any and all cases, individuals should have

in parallel. One team self-selected a particular focus some choice in selecting the groups they work with, to

for their work, out of their interest and expertise in allow for interpersonal choices and passionate interests.
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 2180

It is important to include diverse groups in organizing sultant Gregg Ander, "The graphics were very good

the charrette and in the event itself. Remember the quality and provided an abundance of drawings to view

facilitator's rule that the best ideas come from the least and discuss."

expected source. Minneapolis Green Institute included

In summary, an early indicator of success is the prior
youth in planning, but also had a special "Youth Dream
preparation of the organizers, to have the charrette
Session" where high-schoolers worked on ideas on their
assignment well defined and to have all documentation,
own apart from the main charrette, then presented their
design objectives, regulations, and expertise available
ideas to the entire group. "It was fabulous and I would
and accessible. Most organizers found that it was critical
recommend this or something similar in all charrettes,"
to have all data maps and documentation assembled
comments Minneapolis consultant Greg Franta.
well ahead of time, prepared in the form of a briefing

Robert Cervero, who assisted the Santa Barbara Goleta book, a process that sometimes takes months. Advanced

Old Town charrette in which 120 individuals videotaping of interviews of various community repre-

participated, found that there was a broad and repre- sentatives proved to be a valuable technique for

sentative mix of people including design and planning documenting, defining and presenting local input.

professionals from architecture, economic and business

development, housing and transportation from both the

Charrette kick-off
private and public sector. Some but not all were advo-
The introductory meeting provides a crucial "kick-off."
cates of environmentally sustainable development.
In many cases this began with a dinner followed by pre-
Students actively participated. Approximately one-third
sentations intended to inspire, to inform and to set the
were Goleta residents or from the business community.
stage for community creativity. The kick-off is an event to
This balance was carried into the team design as well.
which one can invite local officials and others who would
Each of eight teams at Goleta was assigned a team color
like to be briefed...some may be intrigued enough to
and a team leader (who wore a T-shirt of that color),
change their schedules and stay on for the rest of the
who was also a member of the organizing committee
event. Some of the 1995 charrette programs began with a
and thus fully knowledgeable and briefed beforehand.
video that explained sustainable design principles and
Each team had a balance of members, professionals of
examples. The kick-off or opening session is also typically
a variety of disciplines, students and community/busi-
used to provide the technical briefing to set the teams in
ness representatives. Cervero observes that "the multi-
place, get logistics out of the way and prepare groups for
disciplinary perspective was essential in ensuring that
action. In the case of the San Antonio charrette, Pliny
a breadth of concerns and ideas was expressed within
Fisk presented an introductory overview of sustainable
each group. Only in a few cases were there ideological
design principles, with emphasis upon approaches most
clashes that stifled group process."
appropriate to Texas and the local bioregion, which sub-

At the Santa Monica, Calif., charrette, a graphic artist sequently was adopted for a statewide series of profes-

was assigned to each team, so that, according to con- sional workshops on sustainable development.
2181 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

In Santa Barbara, the organizers selected a controver- necessary, and returned some lands, especially the

sial site that had already had a master plan developed. sacred lands to their original pristine form."

This potential controversy was aired at the beginning of

the charrette, giving "equal time" to each point of view,

Schedule
including a group of citizens who opposed the master
While the charrette event is relatively short, the overall
plan even though it had been previously approved by
process is extended in both directions, that is f r o m four-
referendum. Gregg Ander comments that this high
to six-months in preparation and an equal or longer
degree of emotional and vocal opposition could perhaps
time in implementation. But the event itself needs to be
have best been handled by briefings prior to the event,
scheduled within its allocated time, to capture the inter-
since the "master plan" was not subject to change.
est and focused energy of the participants.
However, the planning guidelines are subject to inter-

pretation, which was the charrette's real value, that is,

T h e r e is a variety of experience and opinion related to
to foster the consideration of alternatives to better
the length of time or duration of the event itself. T h e
inform policy and planning guidelines. A n d e r also
A I A C O T E sponsored-October 1995 charrettes lasted
observes that, " T h e academics seemed to ignore the
essentially forty-eight hours over a three-day period,
'real' constraints in the beginning and needed coaching
that is, beginning late Friday a f t e r n o o n and running
to bring their ideas in line with city goals and objec-
until mid- to late-Sunday afternoon. Some participants
tives... the planning commissioners, the mayor and the
considered that this was too short a period. In other
facilitator eventually turned the situation around,
instances, charrette events have run three entire days.
resulting in more practical and valuable solutions."
R/UDATs are generally five days or longer (and

requires substainally longer preparation time.) T h e

In cases where the site is large, complex and not com-
proper length of time is a function of the n u m b e r and
pletely familiar to all participants, a tour of the site is
complexity of the participating constituents. T h e greater
appropriate and more immediate and informative than
the n u m b e r of participants, the more difficult it is to
a slide show briefing. At the Kane'ohe, Hawaii, char-
keep the high-energy high-involvement pace. But,
rette, which involved an entire suburban area that is
clearly even three days requires shortcuts and may risk
h o m e to over 50,000 people with many overlapping
coming to an unsatisfactory conclusion b e f o r e full con-
neighborhoods, an early (Saturday) morning bus tour
sensus is reached.
was organized for some participants, while others visited

specific cultural and heritage sites within the project

For Independence, Mo., which defined for itself a rela-
area, guided by local leaders who provided an essential
tively small-scale project scope in determining adaptive
advocacy for community values. Writes Kane'ohe consul-
re-use guidelines for a historic courthouse, the two-day
tant John Peers, "Many community members identified
schedule worked perfectly. According to Kirk Gastinger,
a powerful feeling of kinship with nature and the need to
"The attention span of the group for the two days of
maintain a sustainable community that protected, where
intense discussion was just about right. T h e timing
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 57

worked well by allowing everyone a little time to them- There are advantages to changes of pace during the

selves at the end of the weekend." event, including easy and unforced changes from ple-

nary discussion to break-out groups. Some found that

Where the charrette goal includes some detailed
by the third day (Sunday in the October 1995 event),
designs, most designers will want more time and will
a relatively quiet and easy schedule was most welcomed
accept an extended schedule to obtain meaningful
and most productive.
results. Kristine Anstead reports from the Fort Collins

charrette that, "We needed more time on design...more Preparing and rehearsing for the final "public" presen-

time to design and coordinate between teams." While tation keeps to focus the charrette effort. There's noth-

recognizing the value of the short term two- to three- ing like a deadline for "Showtime!" In most cases,

day event, Gail Lindsey, consultant to the Greensboro, a spirit of cooperation and participation develops, much

N.C. charrette felt that more time would produce better like getting ready for a theatrical production. Ideally,

results and suggests a longer event, along the lines of everyone would feel that they can be part of the presen-

a R/UDAT, which she summarizes as follows: tation, although not all can be "on stage," but it is

important to present the work in the most representa-

Day 1 Bonding: participants get to know each other
tive manner possible. It is a perfect time for the "stake-
Day 2 Learning: tours/technical experts learn about
holders" and/or implementors such as community
the community: listening and learning
leaders, youth and student participants to present the

Day 3 Interaction: technical experts and public results, instead of the outside "experts." At least one dry

interact run of the final presentation is recommended to make

sure that timing and transitions are worked out.

Day 4 Work: brainstorming and priority setting

Day 5 Report: compilation of proceedings and At the Goleta Old Town charrette, only one of eight
findings. alternatives was shown at the public presentation that

concluded their event. In their case, like so many

Charrettes generate a high level of energy and work.
others, community support was essential. They invited
Santa Barbara, Calif., consultant Robert Cervero
the entire community to an exhibit of all the work.
commented that, "The workshop itself was a grueling
This allowed groups to discuss their work informally,
fourteen-hour-per-day enterprise. Except for a lunch
similar to an exhibit opening or a conference "poster
break, teams largely worked from 8am until 10pm.
session." Local television interviews took place within
The immense challenge of turning Goleta Old Town
this portion of the schedule, followed by a formal pre-
around seemed to energize us. Despite it being
sentation, expressing all points of view but focused on
a bright sunny weekend with an exciting airshow at
the one representative scheme. A question and answer
the nearby airport, for most participants the charrette
session followed, all of which proceeded quickly to the
became a labor of love."
conclusion and the question "Where do we go from

here?" With municipal officials on hand, a consensus

58 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

recommendation was voiced and agreed upon, to form In some cases, all of these services were donated, but

a redevelopment district for Goleta Old Town to insure the equivalent value is still in the range of $5,000.

the implementation of design and development criteria

A likely source of funding support related to energy
in the spirit developed by the charrette.
and environmental design goals are local utilities as

Defining the program and schedule to illustrate contrast- well as municipal planning authorities. Both sources

ing alternatives is itself a useful "design and debate" represent a vested interest in energy conservation,

tactic. Writes Gail Lindsey of the Greensboro, N.C., pollution prevention and waste elimination. Local and

charrette, "Taking a look at two diverse conditions during regional community and environmental agencies and
the charrette—an urban in-fill site as well as a rural associations are additional likely sources of endorse-
site—was quite instructive. One participant, Ron ment and support funding.
Morgan, brought another level of information into the

discussion. He flew over the case study sites, took aerial The important message is that in cases where there was

photographs, then scanned the aerial photographs into a strong intent on the part of an organizing group to

his computer simulation program. Design proposals were hold a charrette, sufficient funds were typically not a

plugged into the sites on the computer to simulate what problem. Local sources of funds and donations in all

they might look like if the changes were implemented." cases covered the costs to produce the results illustrated

in Chapter 2.

5 Putting a f u n d i n g s t r a t e g y
in p l a c e
6 Establish a news and
c o m m u n i c a t i o n plan
The 1995 Environmental Design Charrettes were

funded in a variety of ways. Some organizers were suc- In most cases, the local press is easily involved in public

cessful in raising funds in the range of $10,000 to communication and coverage, provided that notice is

$20,000 which enabled their event to involve more given (ideally, an informative and interesting press

people (e,g., paying lodging expenses for students release) so that media reporters know about significant

and/or community representatives and/or for producing meetings and the event itself. Both the kick-off and the

a multi-page publication after the event.) Sources of final public presentation of the charrette work can be

such funds included local foundations, utilities, banks, organized to provide media coverage. Local newspapers

businesses and chambers of commerce, with "contribu- are often a readily available means by which to publish

tions in kind" by restaurants, hotels, newspapers, televi- the results, such as in a special "Sunday Supplement"

sion stations and art materials suppliers. The average printed as a community service. To assist in all of the

"lowest reasonable cost" per charrette is in the range media coverage, high quality reproducible graphics

of $5,000, to cover costs typical of space rental, food for provide helpful visuals for articles. As described in

participants, travel, honoraria and lodging for facilita- Chad Floyd's contribution to Chapter 5, local television

tors and group leaders and printing and publications. stations are a source of media equipment, technical
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 2184

support and air-time, which d e m o n s t r a t e a capacity thus captured the center of attention of the school com-

for the charrette process to reach many thousands of munity. T h e perfect location would of course combine

people throughout the local region. both advantages, that is, proximity to the project site

and central location.

Perhaps due to the compelling nature of the t o p i c -

the adaptive reuse of the Jackson County Courthouse, T h e entire event should be held in one room, such as

a national historic landmark building, located in a gymnasium, in which many groups of five to six people

Independence, M o . , - t h e I n d e p e n d e n c e charrette can work. Each group should have access to flip charts

received extensive press coverage. Kirk Gastinger and ample wall space. T h e charrette space should have

observes that, " T h e public was m a d e aware of the char- at least one long wall that can be used to tape up

rette at many levels and was given several opportunities flip-chart sheets and the maps and drawings that are

to participate and provide their input during the produced during the event. Recording the ongoing dis-

process. Local businesses were notified as were local cussions on flip charts is important, so that information

high school and college students. T h e entire proceed- can be inspected and in turn responded to by others.

ings of the Independence, Mo., charrette were filmed Flip-chart sheets, n u m b e r e d appropriately, also b e c o m e

by the Kansas City Public Television Station (KCPT). an important record of the event discussions that might

The television station plans to make a documentary of otherwise be lost.

the process and results. In addition, the Kansas City

Standard folding rectangular tables can be placed
Business Journal featured a story about the charrette,
throughout the space and are easily movable by any of
with the headline: " C o u r t h o u s e Cause: Scores Converge
the groups. It is not necessaiy to be too formal. In fact, is
on Dilapidated Jackson County Courthouse to
essential to avoid an imposing centrally organized space,
Determine its Fate."
such as a stage or podium. All that is required is a large

space in which many discussion groups can occur. While

Logistics part of the discussions will be "in plenary" with the

entire group listening to one another, at least half the

time and typically more is in small break-out groups.

Where to hold the charrette event
T h e n u m b e r that makes up the "optimum size" of a
There are several recommendations about the charrette
small break-out group is debatable, but highly interactive
workshop location itself. O n e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n is to
groups, ones where all can have an active say, should be
hold the event at or near the actual project site, or at
limited to five to six people per group. Experienced
least to provide easy access so that site conditions can
acilitators can run meetings with over fifty such break-
be visited, seen and discussed. An alternative recom-
out groups, that is, with 250 or more people participat-
mendation is to hold the charrette in a publicly visible
ing. However, an essential part of the process is the
and accessible location. T h e Minneapolis G r e e n
small scale break-out discussion, where everyone has
Institute charrette was held in a central location at the
a say. T h e r e is a great deal of learning by conversation,
University of Minnesota College of Architecture and
60 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

sharing of ideas and mutual discovery. In large meetings, O t h e r materials to have on hand include:

microphones placed informally around the room allow

• tags for names of participants
for plenary discussion to occur without a centralized
• reusable coffee mugs (or ask participants to bring
podium layout.
their own)

• tape dots (the facilitator's computer)

Materials and resources

• yellow post-its 3 x 5 or larger (the facilitator's

Charrette materials and supplies should include ample
advanced computer)
quantities of flip charts and pads of paper, removable

masking tape (not drafting tape), water-based markers • slide film ( E K T A - C H R O M E for one-hour

(avoid bringing any p e r m a n e n t markers into the char- processing) to document site conditions and

rette in order to protect wall and table surfaces) and charrette events.

paper! Organizers can shop around for best paper sup-

It is useful to provide within the room a "community
plies. Normally, rolls of paper can be purchased in bulk.
wall" and resource area for key information and
Architect and engineering offices are a source of blue-
exhibits. This normally includes the maps and resource
print paper to be re-used. Newsprint is often consid-
information displays that are part of understanding the
ered, but if too absorptive, it soaks u p markers too
project context, such as overhead photos and maps f r o m
rapidly, resulting in insufficient markers and/or blotched
the local planning office. In addition to a resource
notes. Crayons are an inexpensive option for markers.
board, some sort of interactive communication board

O t h e r presentation tools that may be needed include is often helpful, especially in large groups. C o m p u t e r

overhead projectors, which allows both group and interactive tools are increasingly available, to be used

plenary presentations to be much simpler and easier to like a library resource during the charrette.

project and record. Convenient access to an l l x l 7 - i n c h

copier is helpful for presentations. In some instances,

Yum!
availability of a one-hour p h o t o processing shop may
Food brings folks to the table. Provide good high energy
also be helpful, for example, for slides of views of the
food. Environmental Design Charrettes need to d e m o n -
site for projection and enlargement to create overlay
strate and practice what they preach that is, well being
perspective drawings of design proposals.
and well living, so that food should be served that is

healthy and not wasted (have a local community organi-

zation take any extras).


There are advantages to bringing in food. It cuts down
or reduces travel time, disruption of the charrette
process and helps to encourage "working lunches."
An alternative to delivered meals is to utilize near-by
restaurants, providing a time and place for breaks that
need not unduly interrupt the flow of work.
What was learned from the electronic
charrette experiment
The October 1995 AIA C O T E Environmental Design
Charrettes were connected by electronic media, includ-
ing e-mail, World Wide Web, chat-room, along with the
more familiar telephone and fax connections. This was
undertaken as an experiment to determine whether or
not electronic communication would provide expertise
to local sites from experts participating at other sites.
The cost of establishing such electronic networks was
minimal, essentially the cost of e-mail and network use.
Events that utilized university or public local area net-
works obtained use of electronic networking without
cost. Some of the sites used the e-mail connections
actively, while others did so either minimally or not at
all, depending upon locally available equipment and
expertise in electronic equipment usage.
Because the use of electronic connection for design
charrettes is new—the October 1995 events were the
first that we know about to use such media for so
many charrettes at a national scale—the following dis-
cussion provides an overview and some instructional
detail about perceived advantages and shortcomings.
At the conclusion of the October 1995 event, each site
organizer or media contact (the individual monitoring
e-mail connections at each site) was asked to answer
the following questions:
Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 61
Please answer the following questions as part of our
process evaluation, simply YES or NO:
1. We found that the e-mail communication was
helpful.
2. We received good ideas via e-mail that we would not
otherwise have had.
3. We used the W W W page of the E D C event.
4. We have the following suggestions to improve the
e-mail dialogue next time:...
Eight of eleven Environmental Design Charrettes
responded, indicating that three sites did not establish
or use the electronic communication. Of the eight char-
rettes that participated, responses varied from very
positive to mildly negative, for reasons cited below.
• 5 of 8 sites responded "yes" to question 1.
• 5 of 8 sites responded "yes" to question 2.
• 6 of 8 sites responded "yes" to question 3.
Five of the eight sites responded positively to questions
1 and 2 and added favorable commentary about the
electronic communication. The key question is number
2, to which the responses should be unequivocally "yes"
if the e-mail network can be said to be a great success.
Technical problems and lack of an identified "net-
worker" at each site accounts for some of the "no"
responses, and these shortcomings can be easily cor-
rected. Other lessons learned, provided from answers
to question 4, are detailed below. These responses indi-
cate that with preparation, training and organizational
improvements, electronic networking can become a very
beneficial source of expertise, information and ideas.
2187 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

Sue Ehrlich, who provided electronic networking at the gave us a good sense of being part of a much bigger

Santa Barbara charrette, found the electronic communi- picture. We received good information in response to

cation to be very helpful and "added an element of technical inquiries and in turn we were able to provide

excitement and extended the sense of community know- information to others. Our site was continuously logged

ing that the other charrettes were taking place. Points on to the W W W and used the charrette home page for

brought up by other sites were useful in helping us to both demonstration and information purposes. In addi-

address as many issues as possible. We used World Wide tion, we used search capabilities to attempt to obtain

Web. In fact, our wonderful computer resources special- information for other sites." Gordon offers these rec-

ist is still at work adding graphics and team reports to ommendations regarding electronic communications:

the team pages on the Goleta/ Santa Barbara H o m e

• Establish the technical set-up for e-mail connection
Page. We hope to install a computer kiosk at the Goleta
well before the event. People should be familiar with
Community Center within the next couple of weeks that
the system before the charrette begins. Get the
will allow the community to view the various team
mailing list worked out well in advance of the
designs and to leave comments and messages about the
event itself.
design ideas."
• Have a university/college link if at all possible. They

David Sellers, who facilitated the Milwaukee charrette, have the experience and interest in using the net.

reports that the e-mail dialogue added a necessary (We had two students who worked full time on this

national perspective and relevance to the local discus- aspect throughout the Iowa charrette.)

sion and, as the e-mail communication increased during

• Have a person serve as a recorder, who is not part
Saturday, was an observable source of energy to their
of any team. This provides a designated recorder
discussions. Initially skeptical about the electronic net-
and networker to document what is happening and
working, Sellers recognized that we have much to learn
communicate with the other sites.
in utilizing the electronic network. H e stated, "Our cur-
• Use graphics transmission worked out to exchange
rent mode of designing and creative interfacing is quite
sketches and visual information during the
unfamiliar with this and performs only at the pre-
charrettes.
puberty level." Sellers adds that the availability of a

national on-line network of experts requires that we all • Designate specific times and perhaps topics for

have to learn a new mode of design, networking and "chat rooms" to use this feature.

responsiveness, concluding, "We became part of a

Robert Bell of Kane'ohe, Hawaii, reported that the elec-
national debate and development of a national
tronic connections were beneficial, adding the following
issue...part of a movement to a more civil society."
suggestions to improve the e-mail dialogue, "Have some-

Harry Gordon, who assisted the Waterloo, Iowa, char- one on the computer exclusively at your site. Try to get

rette, reported that "e-mail was very useful to us. It the e-mail network list set a week before and allow for

enabled us to get and send useful information. Also it some communication and discussion before actual event.
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 2188

This way some communication would be established Chris Kelsey worked at the Kansas City charrette and

ahead of time and up-and-running on the first day." reported that they did not use the electronic connec-

tions, explaining that, "In retrospect, we realized that

The electronic connection was well received and utilized
we needed someone directly responsible for managing
by the Fort Collins/Denver charrette. Brian Dunbar
the e-mail system. The second problem we detected
reported that, "We used the Web site and access exten-
with the e-mail side of the charrette format (our con-
sively. It would have allowed for greater feedback and
nection was simply too slow to work with the home-page
exchange if most of the sites had the opportunity to
successfully) was the large volume of fluffy information
input drawings. We should have assigned one person
relative to the amount of technical discussion available.
almost fully to the e-mail functions and had another
I wish we had designated an electronic access person.
computer for Web review and input. As it was, we felt
Nonetheless, we had very positive feedback and I think
torn between keeping our teams going, having good
all participants found the effort worthwhile, particularly
input to our teams, and reviewing and responding to the
in the opportunity to learn about new technologies from
e-mails." Kristine Anstead confirmed that the e-mail
some of their more involved peers."
communication was helpful. She noted, "However, I felt

that the sites really didn't know what to do with it or Christopher Gribbs who assisted the Newton-Waltham,

didn't develop a protocol in answering questions until Mass., charrette reported that, "The e-mail communica-

late Saturday, when things began to flow. We should tions were helpful when a team decided to write out

have had a more formal method of using the e-mail a question and allowed time for an answer. Answers

communications so that everyone would have jumped tended to be general in nature. We suggest posting all

onto it quicker." Anstead adds that, "It would have notes or queries that come in electronically so that these

been better to have a clear way of knowing who an can be easily viewed at each site for all participants to

e-mail is from [that is by name and not simply the review and comment." Paul Leveille who also assisted

e-mail address]. Even if there is a master list, one is too the Newton-Waltham charrette added, "At one point, we

rushed to refer to it and it is best to have each message all took a break to compose a few questions for our [vir-

identified by the name of the person sending it." tual] cohorts at other sites and sent those to the bulk list.

We did receive a few responses, nothing too earth shat-

The Minneapolis Green Institute organizers reported
tering. Our problem was that we didn't have time allot-
that, "It was really nice to have the connection to others
ted for letting everyone check out the good info and
doing similar things at the same time. It provided a sense
great work at other sites. It took me a while to get up to
of national importance to our event. We had some of our
speed and figure out what was happening electronically."
experts respond to questions from other sites and we

received answers to some of our questions. It is tough Gail Lindsey echoed this observation, "The fact that

to evaluate it as a technical, design tool or facilitation several sites across the United States were having simi-

resource, but its value as a promotional tool was great." lar events energized the local participants." Kristine

Anstead reported from the Fort Collins, Colo., charrette

64 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

that, "Our participants were really excited to see [the how it could be used for wide access. A more interactive

electronic connections and World Wide Web pages]... system locally and nationally would be beneficial, with

it's a great tool for showing people the method we used a capability to transport drawings electronically. Also

and what we've been doing." setting aside specific times in the schedule for electronic

communication may have helped."

Pliny Fisk, who assisted the San Antonio charrette, sees

great potential in networking to other localities and Elizabeth Ericson who assisted in the New Bedford,

areas that have similar bioregional traits. He recom- Mass., charrette recommends that a "charrette commu-

mends that, "Topics could be shared through the tem- nicator" be appointed from the community leadership

perate grassland biome, for example to explain how who would be energized by talking to other community

suitable sites can be adopted for future communities leaders and communicators at other sites about solu-

relative to similar conditions. [At our charrette] a great tions and opportunities, suggesting that such leaders

deal of excitement stemmed around the use of straw would benefit from the computer networking and could

and straw panels (now manufactured in Texas), use of be valuable resources in preparing future charrettes.

caliche and waste materials for cement (e.g. fly ash from
Kristine Anstead describes an unforeseen accomplish-
coal-burning plants). These ideas and experiences with
ment of the electronic connection between charrette
indigenous materials can be shared with other regions
sites, "We [at Fort Collins] did get some feedback from
sharing similar resources."
our questions...Most importantly, the New Bedford

More than the technology of electronic linkage is charrette asked us to send them a letter from Colorado

needed. Kirk Gastinger observed that, "At Indepen- Senator Campbell describing the federal legislation

dence, Mo., we had two computers operating for the pending on their site. This was done, signed and sent

entire event. We had some participation on the World out at our Sunday presentation."

Wide Web, but this was limited, due to the group's

In summary, the overall evaluation of the electronic
intensity to solve the problem at hand. Frankly, they felt
communication is positive, with the clear set of recom-
the process was going so well, they just didn't have time
mendations and provisos that the electronic connection
to 'surf.' A chat line should be explored in the future.
has to be closely tied to the ongoing discussion, includ-
A charrette participant dedicated to the computer
ing pre-established technical set-up and communication,
would facilitate more communication."
pre-event training in electronic networking, easy access

Locating the computer terminal to be easily accessible to all within each charrette site, visible communication

during the charrette is essential. Gail Lindsey recom- and dialogue (such as bulletin board posting), active use

mends that, "the main terminal should be in the center with an "electronic networker" at each site and perhaps

of the charrette room." Further, she suggests that pre- scheduling times for chat-rooms or other electronic

charrette computer training would have allowed more reports. It can also be concluded that electronic dialogue

people to access the computer or at least understand would have much greater impact if the communication
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 2190

includes visual communication. In the October 1995 an overall evaluation, along with very valuable insights

Environmental Design Charrettes, this was limited to and ideas for improvements and next steps. It is impor-

World Wide Web postings, which only a few sites actively tant to tabulate and publish the results. "Inviting

used. The obvious next step is to provide telecommuni- scrutiny" can thus be shown to inform the entire

cation between sites for both face-to-face discussion and process. In addition, the event might be monitored

active sharing of sketches and other visual results. by an "evaluator" or "reporter" who is asked to sum-

marize and evaluate results.

Evaluating the event Elizabeth Ericson suggests that a structured set of ques-

tions be kept clearly in mind from the outset, by which

Most charrette events go quickly with a great degree of
to evaluate results. The evaluation questions that she
intensity and focus, so that when it is over, people leave
suggests below distill many of the recommendations
quickly to catch up with things left undone for several
put forward in this chapter into three straightforward
days. However, without some evaluation process, valu-
measures of success:
able lessons learned may go unheeded. It is therefore

recommended that some form of event evaluation be 1. Community implementation of ideas after the

put in place, allowing time in the concluding session for charrette: What action does the community take to

evaluation forms to be completed before participants create and implement a plan? This may take several

leave. This evaluation, whether in questionnaire form months or years to evaluate, but should be kept con-

or otherwise, should allow for commentary to capture stantly in mind. The immediate question is "Who in

creative insights and suggestions for improvement. the community will carry on the ideas generated by

the charrette?" The best measure of success is

If an evaluation questionnaire is simple and easily
whether participants will carry the mission into the
understood, participants will fill it out. It can be as
community and what actions take place as a result.
simple as:
2. Personal growth by team participants: The impact
1. What worked?
of the event can also be evaluated on the basis on

2. What didn't work? how people were personally affected. Were partici-

pants' personal viewpoints in any way enhanced,

3. Suggestions for improvements?
broadened, challenged by what took place? Would
4. Suggestions on next steps?
they do it again? Would they help neighboring cities

5. Other thoughts? run a charrette? Ask the facilitators to question

their team as to what ideas were new to them and if

Ask people to fill out their responses in clearly written
their attitudes in any way changed. Facilitators could
form, explaining that what they say is important and
ask their teams what they think the next step ought
that answers can be transcribed as is and made avail-
to be. These questions may end up empowering
able to all interested. Such responses will often yield
people to take action.
2191 Lessons Learned: Guidelines for Charrette Organizers

3. Adoption of environmental design strategies,

concepts and/or design ideas by the planning and

design profession: The impact of the charrette can

also be measured by how the graphic results are

used by the profession. One could monitor and

establish a library resource on-line or on paper.

A library of briefing books could be maintained and

developed as experience continually improves our

understanding of the process.

Ericson summarizes her recommendations, "More

emphasis could be placed on the charrette process as

an innovative tool for community change. The charrette

planning and its success depends on how well the com-

munity as a whole feels empowered and takes action in

creating its own future."

Just how that might be experienced is expressed by

Glenn Haas, Director of the Environmental Learning

Center and participant in the Fort Collins charrette:

"To say the very least, the new experience

proved to be a wonderful experience I won't

forget. Tlie creativity, focus, dedication, profes-

sionalism, comradeship, convergence, synergy

and results exceeded my expectations.I remain

awestruck by the unselfish commitment of

thirty people to come together over a three-day

period and work on a project for which they

had previously little knowledge or attachment."


Facilitator Guidelines*
A
facilitator of a group discussion whether involv-
ing 12 or 120 participants must combine many
skills. Like the orchestra leader who more often than
not is hidden from view of the audience, a facilitator's
work may not be apparent and yet will hopefully help
to create a flawless performance. A charrette facilitator
enables a productive process of dialogue and design to
take place on topics in which the facilitator may or may
not be expert, by orchestrating professional expertise
and design team leaders.
The skills of group facilitation are no different from
those of a good educator or artful discussion leader:
an ability to listen and to create an ambiance of group
listening; to include all voices; to balance conflicting
points of view; and to deal with the occasional loud and
disruptive voice. There are many facilitator "tricks of
the trade" for each and any of these circumstances, all
to help a group of individuals go through the steps of
a community design process. These approaches are
discussed in this chapter.
An experienced facilitator creates the setting for dia-
logue on shared issues of concern, and to the extent
possible, a consensus on actions and implementation.
The task is to bring together the right mix of ingredi-
ents to create group chemistry. Since this relies on a
certain magical touch, the facilitator is perhaps best
described as a group alchemist.
*This chapter draws upon discussions at the A I A Committee on the Environment ( C O T E ) Environmental Design Charrette Facilitators
Workshop, September 1995, made possible through a grant f r o m the U.S. D e p a r t m e n t of Energy, whose support is gratefully acknowledged.
67
The charrette design process is not much different than
the usual design process that a designer, architect, land-
scape architect and/or planner would use in their own
office, except that it is very compressed and requires
that some steps be made clear and allow for broad
participation. It is a short-hand version of design, made
more visible and more participatory in the charrette
setting. Design, of course, takes much greater depth
of study and more quiet and reflective time than the
charrette allows. A typical charrette provides time only
to frame key planning and design issues while allowing
some "quick sketch" alternatives to be proposed. This
early "concept design" process is most important in
that it sets the terms for the overall design program.
Charrettes allow a participatory dialogue to occur at the
beginning of design, before things get too established
in order to include the perceptions, values and creative
suggestions of a wide community constituency.
Examples in Chapter 2 show the wide range of design
projects and the diverse set of design approaches. In
most cases, in spite of the broad divergence of projects,
the facilitator's task is similar. This chapter, written for
and by facilitators, attempts to distill a number of guide-
lines about the art of facilitation, an art which can be
learned as the discipline of nondirective leadership. 1
68 Facilitator Guidelines
Educating as "drawing out:" the art of
nondirective facilitation
The commitment to transform a situation requires the
ability to work with people in their own terms and to
"draw out" (the Latin root definition of "education")
from the group the confidence and capacity to under-
take transformative action.
A nondirective facilitator attempts to initiate a group
empowerment and leadership process without creating
dependence on the leader, that is, to make oneself
unimportant. The process starts with the facilitator in
the middle (calling the meeting to order and setting the
terms of discussion) but quickly (through encourage-
ment of participation) getting to the edge of the group
and then (through well-timed dropping out) getting out-
side the decision making circle. This is done by allowing
the group to gain a sense of listening, talking to one
another and then developing an action agenda, all the
while that the group "teeters on the brink" (of the lead-
ership vacuum) so that others from the group step for-
ward. The nondirective facilitator measures success by
how quickly and seamlessly this independence can be
accomplished. A directive leader on the other hand cre-
ates dependence ("You need me to be here to be your
expert, etc."). A nondirective leader empowers the
group to go confidently on its own way.
M. Scott Peck describes the group transformation
process as "stages of community building" that includes
"pseudo community," that is, the first gathering where
the impression of consensus may be perceived and not
yet actual, "chaos" which for many is an initial barrier to
taking risks but in fact is a necessary ingredient of cre-
ativity, "emptiness" which Peck describes as a moment of
listening where one is attuned to the others point of view
and to as yet defined future possibilities, and finally,
if the group process can get to that stage, "community"
defined as an agreement on outcomes and steps to
achieving those outcomes. Peck writes that "not every
group that becomes a community follows this paradigm
exactly. Communities that temporarily form in response
to crisis, for instance, may skip over one or more stages
for the time being...but in the process of community-
making, this is the natural, usual order of things." 2
Facilitator's preparation for the event
The facilitator is given responsibility to direct the group
process. The following provides a checklist of how a
facilitator might best prepare for a charrette:
1. Audit existing conditions. Make sure the room will
work and that all necessary materials and support
functions are in place.
2. Discuss expectations with the organizing group
in terms of goals and outcomes. Establish ways to
measure success and consider an evaluation form
to measure participant responses at the end of the
event to find out what went well and what needs
improvement.
3. Understand the nature of the group and community.
The organizing group may or may not be represen-
tative of the community that is most impacted by the
project or program being envisioned in the char-
rette. There is one rule of thumb: LISTEN, but
then E C H O : reflect back what you have perceived
to be the nature of the community issues.
4. Organize around goal statements. At any point in a
group discussion, people will disagree on any and all
points. An astute facilitator doesn't ask "How do
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 69

you feel?" but instead asks "What will you do? How check points to be sure the event keeps on schedule.

can we effect the outcome?" At the same time, the A facilitator could also set in place a "fast-response"

scope of the issue or problem area will expand or team of advisors who are the "eyes and ears" of the

contract, depending on different views and styles of process and can quickly meet to advise the facilitator

learning and action of those involved. Some think of on suggestions as the event proceeds.

parts while others think of wholes. Both are needed,

but the best way to get everyone "reading from the

same page" is to list goals and outcomes, and then

Ground rules of facilitation

detail how to get there. T h e following guidelines might be explained by the

facilitator as "ground rules of discourse." The list is not

5. Include all stakeholders. A stakeholder can be
complete...you can ask the group to add their own vari-
defined as anyone whose participation, energy,
ations. Agreeing on ground rules helps to establish the
agreement and volunteerism will contribute to the
setting for group discussion, listening and learning.
success of the effort. This creates the "quandary"

of trying to get some focus and action while listening 1. All ideas are valid.

to all constituents and stakeholders. Establish work-

2. One at a time. Only one person speaks at
ing relationships among the stakeholders early on in
a time...listen to each other.
the charrette preparation and get the entire group
3. Get to "yes!" Emphasize "yes, and..." and
to learn the habits of listening and echoing.
discourage "no but..." statements.
6. Prepare a schedule that anticipates variations in the
4. Observe time frames.
discussion sequence. An experienced facilitator

learns how to balance a fixed schedule with time and 5. Seek common group action, not problems

alternatives "built in" for discussions to take their and conflict.

own turn. At different and to some extent unpre-

A facilitator's task is made much easier by using flip
dictable times during a charrette, there are times for
charts, which the facilitator or a recorder (anyone who
a "plenary" discussion and times for "break-out"
writes or prints clearly) uses to take notes of the discus-
group discussions. A good agenda has the flexibility
sion. By recording all ideas, everyone feels that they have
to allow for both. A prepared agenda is especially
been heard and recognized, that their idea is part of the
important for the first half of a charrette by which
record. An additional aid to communication and creative
the facilitator has in mind a "story-board" of how the
thinking is to use graphics, that is, to express ideas in
discussion might be undertaken. A "story-board"—
both verbal and graphic terms. Often a capable cartoonist
a term used in film-making to refer to a set of steps
or graphic artist can express ideas more succinctly
that tell the story and show a sequence of events—
through a drawing and this helps visual imaging, which
is useful for both facilitator and organizing group to
becomes more important as a charrette proceeds. The
help anticipate the steps in the charrette and various
roles of discussion leader, facilitator, record and artist
70 Facilitator Guidelines

can be assumed by separate individuals or combined. Jim • Allow time and place for both reflection and

Franklin likes to facilitate a meeting and to record notes synthesis,

in (multicolored!) sketch form, all at the same time,

• Use specific data to make the discussion
a skill that he calls "using one's second attention."
concrete,

• Make your own process of facilitation

Elaine Stover on facilitation transparent, i.e. state the rules, be fair, give

all a chance to speak.

Elaine Stover, a professional facilitator who offered her

expertise and experience at the Facilitators Workshop,

2. Time and space
offers this advice to facilitators:
• Set up the space ahead of time, including the

Facilitators are the people with the questions, not the sound system,

answers. Ask the question that solicits the answer. You

• Establish timelines to each segment of the
need a focus question for every meeting, e.g. "What are
discussion,
the components of an affordable sustainable neighbor-
• Provide frequent summaries and "sense of
hood?" This focus question keeps it clear what are you
where we are;" people want to come to some
trying to accomplish. The assumption is that the answer
closure,
is in the room. The facilitator sets the stage for reaching

the answer by going overboard in establishing a favor- • Allow for roles and responsibilities to be

able setting for group discussion. defined, as discussion evolves so that leader-

ship emerges.
Remember that we are both rational and emotional at

the same time, so that your facilitation has to respond 3. Content

to different ways of interacting and learning. When
you ask questions, you are asking your participants to
respond in both a rational and an experiential manner.
Thus, as a facilitator, you should be aware of what you
want people to know (rational objective) and what you
want people to experience (experiential objective).
• Define the themes, so that detailed discussion
takes place in some context,
• Be aware of messages, both obvious and hid-
den, in the terms used, help the group under-
stand the "implicit values" that such messages
convey,

Facilitation is three things: management of process, • Get the group to define alternatives as
time and space and content. All three of these can "scenarios," both best option and worst case;
be enumerated upon as things a facilitator needs to this allows for both free thinking as well as
think about: realistic assessment, both are needed.

1. Process

• Create and maintain the context to make

people comfortable,
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 71

Guiding a group decision-making process A similar approach parallels the technique that most

of us are given by our writing teachers in instruction on

One short outline to guide discussion that Elaine Stover
how to write an essay: 3
uses is called " O R I D , " which stands for "Objective,

Reflective, Interpretive and Decisional" phases of a • Describe "what is" and document facts in an objec-

group discussion. These words describe a sequence of tive manner so that others can either agree or

questions that a facilitator may have in mind to get to disagree and thus lead to a consensus a statement

a depth of understanding that recognizes our different of existing conditions and issues.

styles and modes of thinking and feeling. • Analyze "how, what will and what if" prior to

evaluation.
0 objective

What are the facts? What caught your • Evaluate "what ought" in terms that address the

attention? What did you remember? These ques- agreed upon issues statement prior description

tions aim at some objective description but also and analysis. Try to "refrain" from judgment until

reveal that everyone sees something different. the facts are in and there is agreement and

brainstorming on what will be, and what could be.

R reflective

What was your emotional response? What did this

Disagreements or conflicts can often be resolved by
remind you of? This gets the group in a reflective
going backwards in this sequence. Conflicts in evalua-
mode and allows them to remember associations
tion and/or conflicts and disagreements on "what if"
and related ideas that are usually forgotten or
can be untied by going back to determine if there is at
remain unspoken.
least agreement on "what is" (existing conditions) and

1 interpretive "what will" (predicting what will happen if no corrective

What was of greatest interest? What did you find actions are taken). This process of sequential agreement

that was most important? These questions get at doesn't always work because of the well recognized fact

implicit values, meaning and purpose, that people that our perceptions of fact are determined by our

are normally reluctant to bring into the discussion. values. What we see is often determined by what we

It gets at differences in values among group partici- believe, or as Einstein put it "Our theories determine

pants that may reveal sources of hidden conflict and what we measure." Where there is deep conflict of

barriers to consensus. ideologies and values orientations, people don't even

agree on a factual description.

D decisional

What is our next step? What decisions need to be

made? These questions are the critical action steps

by which participants take responsibility, make res-

olutions and define next-step actions, all necessary

to bring closure to the discussion.

72 Facilitator Guidelines

Jim Franklin on facilitation authors who can then see what one topic item has sur-

vived the gauntlet. This then becomes a "straw vote" for

Jim Franklin has many helpful techniques for facilita-
each person, who is then asked to select from their orig-
tion. These he uses or holds back depending upon the
inal list, which one they still consider to be most impor-
flow of a meeting, which he monitors as significant junc-
tant to them. In the resulting list, each person gets to
tures in the program schedule. Jim calls these techniques
choose their most important thing, but only after seeing
forth as appropriate to a particular moment, as ways of
what (in this case) six others consider important.
furthering discussion, reaching a "sense of meeting,"

agreeing on what to agree on, or resolving conflict.

"Those dots" exercise: Issues and action items that are

"culled" or any other list that is put forward in group

Five finger comfort vote: When a discussion needs to be
discussion can be put to group vote by handing out from
summarized and clarified, the "five-finger exercise" can
one to three stick-on "dots" (available from stationery
be used to quickly get a consensus vote on any particu-
stores on sticky tape...the best size is about 3/4" to 1"
lar summary or set of issues, which are best written
in diameter). Each person is asked to use from one to
down on flip charts. For the five-finger comfort vote,
three dots to be placed next to the issue or item they
Jim attempts or asks someone else to attempt to formu-
feel is most important, worth taking to the next level of
late a synthesis statement, which may or may not modify
discussion, etc. This is a good exercise to assign during
what is already written down. H e then asks "Is this
a coffee break, so that when the meeting is reconvened,
what we are talking about?" All present are asked to
all can see a sense of what the group considers to be
vote by a show of fingers as follows:
important.
• One finger: "start over"

SWOT brainstorming: Based upon approaches first

• Three fingers: "I'll go along"
developed by Kurt Lewin as "force field planning"
• Five: "don't change a word"
(increase strengths minimize weaknesses), S W O T

brainstorming is a format for reviewing an organization,

"Pass and cull" exercise: When a discussion needs to
a community context, or any topic for that matter, with
be reduced to a specific issues list or action list, the
a defined outline as follows:
"pass and cull" exercise is away of getting these state-

ments written down and prioritized. The facilitator asks • Strengths: define our strengths

each person to list seven items on 3 x 5 cards (the

• Weaknesses: define our weaknesses
"items" can be focus issues at the beginning of a discus-
• Opportunities: what are our opportunities
sion or "action items" at the end of a discussion). Each

card is then passed to the next person who eliminates • Threats: what are the barriers and

what in their mind is the least important. The process is pitfalls.

continued until each card is "culled" by all in the group,

S W O T brainstorming is useful because it is very simple.
so that at the end, the cards are returned to their
There is no perfect formula to any such discussions.
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 73

These and similar approaches have been incorporated • Continually check for feasibility: W H O W H A T

into "total quality management" assessment techniques, W H E R E W H E N W H Y and HOW.

in which one "scans the horizon" of peer organizations,

• Protect everybody there by acting fairly,
identifies "world-class" benchmarks, assesses one's
giving all a chance to speak, taking time for
current performance and establishes measurable goals
minority opinions and critique.
to an organization to work towards in a process of con-
• The best ideas often come from the least expected
tinuous improvement.
source, e.g. "the cabin boy who saved the ship."
Jim Franklin's final recommendation is to recognize
• There is great knowledge hidden in any group;
that "the key to facilitation goes far beyond behaviors
consider the lessons of the "life raft" experiment:
and tapedots...If there is any group alchemy to be
give any group the assignment of listing what they
found through facilitation, it's best attained through an
would need to survive on a life-raft, they usually can
attitude on the facilitator's part...easily described but
identify by consensus discussion 90% of the items
virtually never achieved in practice: for the facilitator to
that an expert group would recommend.
rid oneself of any interest in the outcome...literally car-

ing nothing other than in the present process and the • Be inclusive and give space, include children,

affirmation of the people immediately involved." This elderly, etc.; communicate across class, race

ideal is somewhat akin to Horace Walpole's proscription and gender.

of what it takes to be a good historian, "...it is necessary

• Don't simply "include" people by inviting them in a
to be without religion, without country, without profes-
token manner...make sure that all points of view are
sion, without party." A facilitator by intent and practice
fairly and equitably given voice...community folks
learns to assume this position, once removed from any
are very likely to be intimidated by large groups,
vested interest in particular outcomes, other than estab-
especially with professionals present; you have to
lishing the context for an enabling and empowering
figure out how to create settings where all are
group discussion.
comfortable.

• People have knowledge of their place...learn about

Tips for Facilitators place through their eyes; use Polaroids, even videos,

Among additional facilitator guidelines are these tips: asking people to document what interests them

about their neighborhoods.

• Everyone is on a first name basis—leave titles

at the door. • Become U N I M P O R T A N T . . . do not substitute for

the local people's identifications of their needs and

• Keep stating the question to keep the
their own decision-making processes.
discussion focused.

• If you initiate group organization based on outside

• Visualize the future options in the present tense,
resources (e.g. promise of outside funding), you may
so that they are thought of in real and present terms
be poisoning the discussion from the beginning; you
(we always dream in the present tense).
2199 Facilitator Guidelines

should get the group to realize its own resources; more changes from break-out to plenary and back,

shared and collaborative problem solving, elimina- the better.

tion of redundant and inefficient use of existing

• Try to be disclosing; state what your own values and
resources and volunteerism are the hidden wealth
opinions are, but in a manner that is advisory, rather
in any situation.
than directive.

• You need a "safe zone" or retreat setting for such

• Use multiple ways of representing ideas: working with
discussion, one in which there is no risk in speaking
graphic images, cluster diagrams and story boards.
out and dreaming—What happens once the group
• Use experiential imaging: imagine the best that could
has a vision of change?—there is a risk of resistance
be and see the world from that point of view.
from those whose authority is challenged...thus the

need for nonthreatening settings. • BE TRANSPARENT! do not impose your own

values...let the values of the group emerge,

• The Native American consensus process—a feather
jump in only as necessary to keep things moving.
is passed around the circle to the person who wants

to speak, who holds it until finished, and then passes • Learn all you can about the audience: what is their

it to the next person who signals for the feather, prevailing style of communication, thinking

with the rule that no one speaks twice until all oth- and learning?

ers have had their chance.

• Learn the techniques of active listening, learn to

• Creative work gets done in the down time—allow it. read body language:

• Work hard at not judging; assume everyone has 1. Observe watch and listen for what people

a valid viewpoint. think, feel, intend, and do.

• Stay process oriented; you are not a problem solver, 2. Acknowledge: paraphrase play back and check

let the group make its own evaluation and take "did I get that right".

responsibility for action.

3. Encourage; if only minimally U H H U H but

• Have fun; be so enthusiastic that it is "catching". also acknowledge the great idea, W O W !

• Build an agenda from aspirations instead of reacting 4. Use open ended questions—questions that can't

to conditions out of fear, frustration and anger. be answered with yes or no—repeat the last

phrase, listening for what was left out, seek clari-

• Be generous interpersonally, but critical of content:
fication by stating "sounds to me as though..."
"soft on the people and hard on the problem".

5. Interpret, that is echo, what was a said,

• Don't get caught up in the sequence of the sched-
in a way that seeks clarification.
ule; be prepared to improvise within the schedule to

take detours, to call break-outs, caucuses or plenar- 6. Use straight talk, keep it simple and

ies according to the need; as a general rule, the understandable.

 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 75

• Be aware of behaviors that people use to influence and drawing connections between issues, and helping

others: to establish the relationship and relative importance

of topics. These can be grouped into a reworked "net-

"pushing:" persuading, proposing and reasoning
work" of connected items and issues or simply left as an
"pulling:" bridging and attracting involving other
initial discussion. Later, the list can be revisited (for
people, listening, disclosing
example by a small task group) in order to make addi-

"pushing and pulling;" finding common ground tional refinements. A good way to determine relative

and visioning. importance and perceived priorities among the group

participants is to use the "dots" exercise, in which the

• Make your agenda clear.. .be entirely up-front on
facilitator hands out large sticky-backed dots (such as,
why you are there.
three dots per person) with the directive that each per-
• Just like the facilitator, public (and private) officials
son use his or her three dots to "vote" for the issues
have to be up-front too; it's always best to let it all
among those listed that they think are most important.
hang out, to give a public airing to all issues and

agendas. In the Facilitators Workshop, the following issues were

listed by participants in an introductory discussion to

determine the context of "what we are doing?" Approxi-

Discussion starter: What is our mind map?
mately thirty facilitators and organizers attended and

A "Mind Map" exercise is a good warm-up to start a dis- thus represented a broad range of project sizes and

cussion or as an introductory pre-charrette preparation types. Yet the issues, listed below, were quickly devel-

meeting. A mind map is a wall-sized posting of the topics oped and represented a consensus on topics that might

and terms that individuals in the group consider to be arise in most any environmental design charrette :

key issues. It can be constructed on a blackboard or set

• Social equity
of flip charts or ideally on a very large sheet of paper
• Environmental responsibility
that may run up to thirty feet or more in length. In using

the large sheet of paper, leave room for addition notes • Urban design

so that the entire sheet of paper serves as a large

• Job creation
"memo" to the group for the duration of its discussions.
• Citizen empowerment in sustainability

To start the mind map exercise, the facilitator invites

• Health, safety and welfare
anyone with a key issue to state the issue, which is then
• Sustainable building materials, construction
written in large readable type on a wall-sized sheet of
methods and standards
paper. Usually, such ideas come fast and furious, once

the group starts talking. After an initial round in which • Sustainable design and green building

everyone is more or less satisfied that their issue is prototypes

"posted," the facilitator then leads the group in seeing

76 Facilitator Guidelines

• Site design and biodiversity restoration and increase • No input from youth and others

• Affordable housing • No industry contributions

• Reconnect to the waterfront • Community divisiveness

• How to use and reuse downtown (recreate • No use of natural resource potential

the value)
• Separation of people from goods and resources

• Eco-industrial park
• Sense of loss of center

• Solar and other renewable energy

• Gridlock and mind lock
technologies
• Business as usual
• Waste as resources

Participants then brainstormed the list of issues or

• Pollution reduction/elimination
group's "Mind Map" and followed it by a reflection on
• Aquifer reclamation/restoration
"where do we want to end up?" These produced a

• Suburban and regional planning restatement of sorts as well as a reinforcement of key

goals of the Environmental Design Charrette process:

• Community building and community identity

• Establish sustainable processes of economic and

• No quick fix
environmental development.
• Reuse/rehab existing buildings and land
• Raise awareness of the need for urban environmen-
• Waste management and reclamation
tal research.

• Urban/environment research and education

• Create models for community education.

• Transportation
• Raise funds for sustainable community development.

• Healing the freeway "rips"

• Provide a means for broad-based political

• E C O - N O M I C S + political context acceptance of sustainability.

• Make the process replicable.

The Mind Map exercise can be followed by asking what

will happen to the community without the project. Ask • Define models for partnerships with public and
the group to project into the future with the question, private sector.
"What will happen if nothing is done...if we do not take
• Create stakeholder involvement.
action?" Here's how the Facilitators Workshop partici-
• Address issues of environmental racism and
pants answered, with reference to the charrettes that
communities of color.
they were planning:

• Create means of community empowerment and

• Non-acceptance of city officials
self-determination.
 Environmental Design Charrette Workbook 77

• Show communities their history: reflection on where References Chapter 4

we've come from, that every site and community has ' Spencer, Laura Winning Through Participation Alexandria, VA:
Miles River Press 1989 1-800-767-1501
a history.
:
M. Scott Peck in Whitmeyer, Claude, editor In the Company of
• Establish examples of community-based research Others: Making Communities in the Modem World New York:
Putnam Publishing: Tarcher/Perigree Books 1993
which involves communities as participants not
3
Watson, Donald "The Ecology of Community Learning"
subject.
Innovating Rensselaerville, NY: Rensselaerville Institute Vol. 6
No. 1 Fall 1995
• Demonstrate the interdependence of human systems
1
and natural systems. For more on facilitation training, cf. International Association of
Facilitators 7630 West 145th Street St. Paul, MN 55124

• Show that what we are talking about is beyond eco-

logical design: it is a process of inventing the future.

Training the Trainers 4

A final recommendation is to use charrettes to train

facilitators. In this way, the positive effort and energy

that is created can be brought to other communities.

Success is contagious. Facilitation skills are learned by

doing, and to follow the adage on learning-by-doing:

"Watch one, do one, teach one."

This training objective can be used as one of the evalua-

tion points and a goal of any charrette. The question to

ask is, "Were the skills of group discussion and non-

directive leadership picked up, practiced and finally

instilled in the participants?" Even those who consider

themselves plagued by "fear of public speaking" can

learn group discussion techniques. To those who do not

yet have this self-confidence but are somehow intrigued

enough to try, we offer Harry S. Truman's memorable

exhortation on education, "If you don't know, L E A R N .

If you do know, T E A C H . "

 79

chanter 3
T Community TV and Community Design
hree reflective discussions conclude this review

and summary of "lessons learned" from charrette

Chad Floyd, FAIA
organization principles and practices. The first, by Chad Centerbrook Architects (formerly Moore Grover Harper

Floyd, describes the charrette process made part of a Architects), Centerbrook, CT

community-wide television program that he pioneered in

I'd like to summarize the lessons learned from our
the 1980s, by which the planning and design process can
firm's experiences in using television in community
reach the entire television-viewing audience of a city and
design. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, funded by
region. Sharon Sutton, in the second reflection, offers an
HUD-sponsored Community Development Block
insightful and insistent commentary by which issues of
Grants, our firm undertook approximately thirty com-
race, class, gender and cultural differences are embraced
munity design projects, of which a half-dozen utilized
and made part of community dialogue, in the spirit of
television to inform and involve the entire community.
inclusion and education, through which diversity is cele-
Let me outline the process by reference to one prime
brated as the spark of community creativity and consen-
example, our experience in Roanoke, Va.1
sus action. In the concluding reflection, David Lewis,

among the leaders in architecture and planning responsi-

The community design process that we developed
ble for formulating participatory design workshops
involved the three following elements:
beginning in the 1960s, offers insights gained from a
1. Community office: We began by setting up a store-
career long commitment to community-based design.
front office, centrally located and accessible to all on

Taken together, these experienced voices describe the "Main Street." We advertised it in press releases,

hopeful context for continuing the charrette dialogue issued weekly reports. We set the office up as a sort

into the future. They are offered here as part of the of "architects on display," with one of our project

on-going discussion through which succeeding genera- architects working at a drawing desk in the front

tions of design professionals and community leaders window. And we provided a walk-in office, with sit-

can learn and relearn the power of community dia- around chairs, tables and maps to display and record

logue through design, and through which education ideas from the community. And coffee and donuts.

about the environment creates in turn the environment Don't forget the coffee and donuts.

for community education. 2. Community committees: We simultaneously estab-

lished several committees, including a 15-person

Steering Committee, which included public officials

80 Reflections

and community leaders and an active "Citizen The sequence of TV shows, each one-hour long and

Committee" of 30 active to 100 total participants, spaced approximately one-month between shows, was

representing all groups, citizens, business and gov- as follows:

ernment, attempting to achieve collaborative think-

1. First Show: The objective of the first show was to
ing, planning and action. We held about a dozen
get information from people by interview and by call-
meetings, beginning with a "treasure map" walk-
in, with respect to specific information boards that we
around to record all conceptions about community
had prepared. It was important to have people who
places and ideas. Community ideas and perceptions
were very informed about the issues. In Roanoke, we
were thus made part of the initial information
made the mistake of spreading out in a very large stu-
resource. The Committee process also allowed com-
dio which seemed to lose an "intimacy of contact."
munity evaluation and testing-avoiding the danger
It worked nonetheless. We interviewed community
of outsiders imposing outside values and interpreta-
representatives and experts in front of wall-sized
tions. In turn, the Community Committee became
posters that summarized the information that we had
the mouthpiece for expression of the ideas.
prepared from our prior community input. Call-in

3. Community outreach: We then used local TV for and interviewer ideas were sketched (in Roanoke by

outreach over an extended period of weeks, which we Charles Moore who had the talent to make any idea

developed by experience and made sure the format look interesting). People were captivated by these

was entertaining and interactive. As it developed, sketches. At the same time, we were able to obtain

we held four programs in Roanoke vs. six in Dayton, an immediate opinion on economic feasibility from

Ohio that paralleled the community design process, a financial analyst. In addition to the call-ins, which

over a three- to four-month period, each airing for provided real-time discussion and interest, we

one hour. The TV costs were relatively small because received a tremendous number of responses sent in

commercial stations were asked to give air-time as by mail. These were cut and pasted into issue cate-

part of their community access obligation. All local gories, which were ultimately organized in terms of

commercial stations are required by the FCC to pro- topics and design responses. (Today, we could do it

vide a certain number of hours of community affairs far more easily by word-processing).

programming. The TV stations also provided camera

2. Second Show: To focus the second show, we dis-
time, air time, production facilities as in-kind contri-
played a large map on the table, clearly painted for
butions to the process. We thus established a series
high resolution and close-up camera detail, showing
of community programs with the major local T V s
design ideas to date. This large map was then used
station and were able to obtain "prime time air slots."
to solicit discussion and feedback from a few invited

experts, municipal representatives and further call-in

responses. We then published a questionnaire in the

local newspaper asking for responses to the various

design options and proposals. This enabled all who

 Environmental Design Charrette Workbook 2206

were interested to "vote" on one option or another Roanoke City Manager Bern Ewart stated at the time

as well as to add their own suggestions. that "the television programs and the plan changed atti-

tudes in Roanoke...initially they viewed the shows as

3. Third Show: The design process was progressing,
purely entertaining, but soon large numbers of viewers
so that by the third show we were able to illustrate
tuned in, many from surrounding communities."
the most favored ideas by some three-dimensional

models, which responded to the highest profile/

That's how the process evolved. We used this process
priority issues. We obtained a commitment from
in a number of community design projects at various
Blue-Cross Blue-Shield to locate new offices in
scales including Riverdesign, Springfield, Mass.,
downtown Roanoke and this was announced and
(a large and complex plan) and Watkins Glen, N.Y.
illustrated on the show by a top executive of the
(a relatively small focus). In our experience, the televi-
company. We repeated the listener call-ins and
sion component made consensus building far easier
were able to get to some level of detail from their
than any other we have used. T h e T V process helped
input, just as you would in presenting a set of con-
us develop an approach which we came to describe as
cept options to any client or community group.
"situation design." Each piece of the plan is capable

4. Fourth Show: The final show was intended to illus- of standing on its own, although each relates to the

trate concrete results. A final model shown with plan as a whole. You design each project in the plan for

sufficient detail that a camera could get down to a particular situation. If it does get implemented, then

eye-level. The final show included a panel of the fine, but the whole plan is not dependent on it. That's

officials and leaders who in effect would become the way cities are supposed to b e - m a d e up of a lot of

responsible for project's implementation. This dis- little projects appropriate to its place. This approach

cussion was moderated like a T V anchor desk for- is better understood by the lay person, who tends to

mat (by this time, the local T V station was fully consider projects individually.

behind the idea of the shows and wanting to take

It did make our own work that much more challenging,
center stage).
given the added coordination and detail. We were sur-

In Roanoke, it was estimated that we reached a viewing prised and pleased that most if not all community lead-

audience of 90,000 people, according to Nielsen ratings ers and representatives were very moderate and helpful

of our third show. Following the broadcasts, our design in discussions in front of the T V camera, quite the oppo-

process achieved instant recognition and resulted in site of the frustration experienced in the usual planning

phenomenal community awareness. Within three years and zoning hearings. Moreover, the television shows

of our TV programs, the community voted for bond clearly built an increasing level of interest that, as far as

issues to fund all but seven of the 59 individual projects we can see, cannot be matched by any other medium.

that made up the total community development plan,

representing over $89 million in private funds and References

1
$41 million in combined local, state and federal funds. Also described in "Television as a Tool of Urban Design" by
Michael J. Crosbie Architecture Magazine November 1984.
2207 Reflections

Practicing Democracy through the Charrette Placing yourself along a continuum of

Process activist roles

Sharon E. Sutton, FAIA, Ph.D.

I have been trying to think and teach by keeping
University of Michigan
one foot inside the system and the other foot

"We as a people don't know how to come together to outside. ... To have an effect, I cannot live on

solve...problems. We lack the capacities to address the the margins of the system. I have to be in it.

issues or remove the obstacles that stand in the way of Naturally, this generates a certain ambiguity

public deliberation. Too many Americans feel power- that is part of our existence as political beings.

less" (Lappe and DuBois, 1994, p. 9). If democracy is to What is the nature of this ambiguity? In terms

be not only a set of formal institutions but also a way of of tactics, we all have one foot inside the sys-

life that lets us know our voices count, we need the tem, and strategically we have the other foot

active participation of persons in solving problems in outside the system. This ambiguity is often risky.

their everyday lives. Yet, we know that taking part in That's why many people keep both their feet

local decision-making does not always mean that disen- squarely inside the system. I know some people

franchised groups are able to exert influence or achieve who sometimes slowly try to place their right

a greater equity in their communities, which requires a foot outside, but they are immediately over-

fundamental transformation in the status quo. How can come by fear. They see other people who have

planners and designers help those groups become more stepped outside and are punished.

empowered in gaining influence and creating sustain- Freire 1985 (p. 178)
able environments? How can we not be seduced by our
As activists in U.S. society with its ongoing socioeco-
own embeddedness in positions of power, which
nomic struggles, we each must seek to clarify our own
inevitably limits the effectiveness of our work? How
political views and decide just how far outside the main-
can we (especially women and minorities who hold mar-
stream we wish to work. The following is a continuum
ginal positions within mainstream professions) work for
of social change roles that ranges from accepting tradi-
social change without risking our own advancement?
tional professional norms to resisting them in pursuit of
This essay offers a few suggestions for how to use plan-
a revolutionary agenda (adapted from Sutton, Crowfoot,
ning and design as a tool of democracy while fulfilling
Chesler, Lewis, and Weingarten, 1995, pp. 32-35):
our own personal goals.

1. Pursue the work for which you have been trained,

which is recognized in professional circles, but which

is also helpful to disenfranchised communities that

are engaged in environmental justice struggles

(AIA COTE's Environmental Design Charrettes

would seem to fall here).

 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 83

2. Create alternative, but professionally-recognized, place, explaining that "the activists who stay the course

programs that encompass an environmental justice longest seemed to have figured out how far they can go

agenda (the Women's School of Planning and in prodding others, how deep within themselves they

Architecture, formed by feminists in the 1970s to must look. They have a mixture of political insistence

offer an alternative space for mentoring women and and introspective tentativeness that allows them to be

working with communities, would seem to fall here). effective in spite of the ever-present frustrations" (p. 40).

3. Remain in the mainstream while going outside tra-

ditional roles and norms to be involved in activist Creating a safe space in which to grow

endeavors (Harvey Gantt's entry into politics, first

Given your place along the continuum of social
as Charlotte's mayor and later as a candidate for
activism, you will need to find a "safe space" within
Congress, would seem to fall here, as would my own
which to achieve political clarity. That is, you will need
service-oriented approach to being an academic).
to surround yourself by persons who share a similar

4. Achieve boundary spanning, new bases of credibil- vision and are willing to participate in a mutual growth

ity, greater flexibility, and more accountability to process, which is sometimes referred to as "a commu-

environmental justice values and organizations, nity of resistance."

a role that can be characterized as living in the

A community of resistance would take risks in
"margins." This involves searching out and main-
expressing the diverse perspectives within its
taining "safe spaces" that create minimum demands
own ranks as a way of becoming more open to
and maximum marginality relative to one's profes-
the viewpoints of disenfranchised persons. To
sional credibility (Jane Jacobs might fit here.
do this requires a safe environment—not one
Though not formally trained, she certainly achieved
that is sanctified or overly protective, but one
unmatched status in the field of city planning but
that offers a safety net; it requires a willingness
refused to join that profession, preferring instead to
to be patient with one another-about igno-
remain in the margins as its critic.)
rance, silence, violation, fear, awkwardness,
5. Commit "class suicide" or otherwise leave one's
pain, and so forth; it requires a willingness to
identity and privileged peer group to assume new
be impatient about these same things. Thus a
goals and a new identity and life-style (this might
community of resistance would seek to protect
include some members of Students for a Democratic
and correct its members.
Society or the Black Panthers).
Sutton, Crowfoot, Chester,

Where do you fit along this continuum? Where would Lewis, and Weingarten, 1995 (p. 38)

you feel most comfortable balancing your ideals for

Thus, the focus of the conversation within your commu-
social change with your goals for personal growth?
nity should not be solely on some problem "out there"
Coles (1993) offered a suggestion for finding your best
84 Reflections

that you wish to address but rather it should also be on Working principles for achieving democracy

your own complicity, however inadvertent, in perpetu-

The following are ideas drawn together from the social
ating that problem. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "The
change and feminist literature, my own experience, and
only devils in the world are those running around in
structured self-reflecting and group-processing with
our own hearts and that is where all our battles ought
other activists:
to be fought." Such a battle is incredibly difficult

because it means you have to understand your own

Understanding your role in the community
privileges and acknowledge the ways in which you ben-
• Position yourself along the continuum of social
efit from being a member of the overclass, which flies
activism, that is decide how far you are willing to
in the face of the mainstream thinking that so shapes
step outside the system. Given this position, (1) take
professional enculturation.
a stand on some issue(s) in working-class and poor

Paulo Freire put it this way: communities (racism, poverty, illiteracy, unemploy-

ment, poor housing, lack of public transportation,

Certain members of the oppressor class join
or inadequate day care) and (2) organize a multidis-
the oppressed in their struggle for liberation,
ciplinary "community of resistance" among your
thus moving from one pole of the contradic-
colleagues in the planning and design professions
tion to the other...It happens, however, that as
to debate this issue(s).
they cease to be exploiters or indifferent spec-
• Critique your role as an outsider in the community.
tators or simply the heirs of exploitation and
Are you a facilitator or technical assistant (someone
move to the side of the exploited, they almost
who provides the skills to bring the ideas of others
always bring with them the marks of their ori-
to fruition)? Are you a transformative leader (some-
gin: their prejudices and their deformations,
one who brings their constituencies to a heightened
which include a lack of confidence in the peo-
consciousness and gets them to undertake whatever
ple's ability to think, to want, and to know...
is needed to attain their ideals, thus creating other
Those who authentically commit themselves to
leaders (Burns, 1978)? How willing are you to truly
the people must re-examine themselves con-
share your power and professional authority with
stantly. .. Conversion to the people requires a
the community leaders who already exist?
profound rebirth. Those who undergo it must

take on a new form of existence; they can no • Walk your talk. Explore the "devils" within yourself
longer remain as they were. and your peer group. Confront the classist behavior

in yourself, others, and society. Be willing to share

Freire 1970 (pp. 46-47)
your privileges, like time or money. Be willing to

learn from the cultural wealth of working-class and

poor persons, keeping in mind that there are many

different types of intelligence, white middle-class,

 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 2210

professional intellectualism being only one. Finally, • Include youth, especially teenagers who have so

educate yourself, take responsibility, and take many unrecognized talents to contribute, but provide

action (see Langston as cited in Anderson and them a safe space in which to seek out their own

Hill-Collins, 1988). voice. This point is supported by scholarship on

minority integration into academia (for example, the

Working with the community success of graduates of Spelman, Morehouse, or the

Women's College of Texas) and my own personal

• Practice active listening by (1) staying engaged,
involvement with young people. Disempowered
(2) being supportive of the participants whether
groups benefit from formulating their own ideas
or not there is agreement, (3) searching for the
before interfacing with the dominant group's agenda.
meaning behind participants' comments, and

(4) being nonjudgmental (Lappe and DuBois, 1994, • Utilize brainstorming and creative visioning

p. 240). processes to re-image a current reality (e.g., see

Chad Floyd's use of community television in this

• Accept conflict as part of the creative process by
chapter).
(1) focusing on the present and issue-oriented

problem-solving, (2) allowing a limited amount of • Get early successes but also plan a long-term imple-

venting, and (3) agreeing to disagree when there mentation strategy that affects policy. However in

in no common ground (Lappe and DuBois, 1994, planning any intervention, understand the difference

p. 247). between change within the system and structural

change that results in the realignment of resources

• Utilize the folk arts and culture to (1) expand the
and institutionalized power.
power of the group and (2) provide individuals with

a sense of inner strength, or power-from-within, • Experience a sense of joy alongside your community

keeping in mind that your access to power differs partners, despite the lack of progress, bell hooks put
from that of disenfranchised groups. it this way:

The dominant culture can afford to cast You know that there is joy in struggle... When

power purely in terms of power-over, for it has we sang together "We comes when we strive to

at its disposal the backing of that power: the be self-determining." When Malcolm X spoke

guns, the prisons, the laws, the economic about his joumey to Mecca, the awareness he

wealth... But the dispossessed, to survive, to achieved, he gave expression to the joy that

have power at all, must seek another source. comes from stmggling to grow. When Martin

They know the power of the common bonds of Luther King talked about having been to the

culture, of song, or ritual, or drum and dance, mountain top, he was sharing with us that he

of healing to sustain hope and strength to arrived at a peak of critical awareness, and it

resist oppression. gave him great joy... The struggle to be critically

Starhawk, 1987 (p. 18) conscious can be that movement that takes
 2211 Reflections

you to another level, that lifts you up, that Starhawk Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority, and
Mystery San Francisco: H a r p e r and Row 1987
makes you feel better.
Sutton, S.E. Weaving a Tapestry of Resistance: The Places, Power,
bell hooks 1990 (pp. 211-212) and Poetry of a Sustainable Society Westport, CT: Bergin and
Garvey 1996

References Sutton, S.E. "Finding O u r Voice in a Dominant Key" African-

American Architects in Current Practice Travis (ed.). New York:
Andersen, M.L. and Hill-Collins, P. Race, Class, and Gender Princeton Architectural Press 1992
Anthology Belmont, MA: Wadsworth 1992
Sutton, S.E., Crowfoot, J.E., Chesler, M, Lewis, E, and
Bell, D. Faces At the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism Weingarten, H "The connectedness of ivory towers and inner
New York: Basic Books 1992 cities: Conversations about us and them" PCMA Working Paper

Burns, J.M. Leadership New York: H a r p e r & Row 1978 Series # 4 6 . Ann Arbor, MI: The Program on Conflict
Management Alternatives 1995
Carroll, B.A. " 'Women take action!' Women's direct action and
social change" in Women's Studies International Forum Vol.12, Van Nostrand, C.H. Gender-responsible Leadership: Detecting Bias,

No. 1 [pp. 3-24] 1989 Implementing Interventions London: Sage Publications 1994

Coles, R. The Call of Service: A Witness to Idealism New York:

Houghton Mifflin Company 1993

Duhl, L. The Social Entrepreneurship of Change New York: Pace

University Press 1989

Freire, P. Pedagogy of the Oppressed New York: Seabury Press 1970

Freire, P. The Politics of Education Westport, CT: Bergin and

Garvey 1985

Hill-Collins, P. Black Feminist Thought New York: Routledge 1990

hooks, b. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of

Freedom New York: Routledge 1994

hooks, b. Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics Boston:

South End Press 1990

hooks, b. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center Boston: South

End Press 1984

Horton, M. and Freire, P. in Bell, Gaventa, and Peters (eds.)

We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and
Social Change Philadelphia: Temple University Press 1990

Langston, D. "Tired of playing monopoly?" in J. Cochran, L.D.

Whitehorse, and C. Wordward (eds.) Changing our Power: An
Introduction to Women's Studies Dubuque: Kendall-Hunt 1988

Lappe, F.M. and Du Bois, P.M. The Quickening of America:

Rebuilding Our Nation, Remaking Our Lives San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass 1993

Lorde, A. Sister Outsider Freedom: Crossing Press 1984

Meyerson, D. and Scully, M. "Tempered radicalism and the politics

of ambivalence: Personal alignment and radical change within tra-
ditional organizations" unpublished manuscript 1993
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 87

A Memory of the Future Pittsburgh's industrial might was built. In their place lie

David Lewis, FAIA empty sites, abandoned railroads, decaying neighborhoods

Professor, Carnegie Mellon University and boarded-up streets-each site a scar left behind by one

of the worst economic collapses in United States history,

This is a place! in which 17,000 jobs were lost in a span of five years in the

early 1980s. And close to those toylike corporate towers in

After our Facilitators Workshop in Washington,
the city center is an inner city neighborhood of poverty
D. C., the plane I was on drifted towards
and segregation called The Hill. In the Hill, male unem-
Pittsburgh's airport. The setting sun touched
ployment is over 50 percent, drug-related shootings occur
the hilltops with the gold of Indian summer.
nightly, and 60 percent of children are bom to single
The valleys were pools of shadow and
mothers in poverty.
Pittsburgh's three rivers became silver snakes

writhing westward. At the rivers' confluence lay

T h e s e are not unusual n u m b e r s in big U.S. cities. Nor
the city's center, its civic towers clustered like
is it unusual to find neighborhoods like this next door
metallic toys. I looked down on neighborhoods
to the glass towers that are the billboards of America's
lying on the tops of the hills and nestling in the
c o r p o r a t e wealth. In each succeeding year, the decay
valley floors, their edges configured by the
and despair of these neighborhoods grows in ever
power of geography. I couldn't help thinking
sharper contrast with c o r p o r a t e affluence as well as
how within one generation we have taken
suburban security and affluence. Looking down f r o m
flying for granted, not giving second thought
the airplane, I could see with unambiguous clarity how
to the magic of being able to see our cities as
the suburbs and inner cities are parts of a single organ-
whole entities.
ism, whether we like it or not.

I thought that every o n e of the n e i g h b o r h o o d s below

As I drove from the airport, I passed between two new sub-
was in all likelihood filled with issues as intense and
urban office parks, one on each side of the highway, and
o b d u r a t e as those we had discussed all day long at our
then beneath an interchange under construction designed
Workshop. We all need to fly above our own city once
to serve a new strip mall. Since there are no residential
in awhile, if only to be r e m i n d e d that m e t r o regions
streets within walking distance, the office parks are clearly
are wholes, and that every issue is inescapably interre-
meant to be reached—like the towers of the city center—
lated to every o t h e r issue—not just in u r b a n f o r m , but
only by automobile. And the "town center" is also meant
in the ever active dynamics of social, e c o n o m i c and
for commuters since it occupies a location where there
political networks.
is no discernible town.

There below me lay a city confronting challenges as great

or greater than any other city in the United States.
are the steel mills along the river fronts on which
O u r concept of " u r b a n " has been transformed in this
Gone
century by the automobile, how we work in o n e place,
shop in another, go to a football g a m e in another and
2213 Reflections

sleep in yet another, and how all these places are far ums, libraries, parks, cathedrals, synagogues and univer-

apart. As I ruminated about the economy of my region sities. Instead of reinforcing our neighborhoods, we

and the holism that I had seen from the air, I asked have permitted precious agricultural land, woodlands

myself a question. Since highways and automobiles are and streams to be decimated to make way for low den-

the connectors-why are the two office parks and the sity suburban estates. We have built countless suburban

town center located where they are? Had they been roads and infrastructure, oblivious of the long-term cost

located in those inner city neighborhoods instead of in fossil fuel, maintenance and commuting time.

near the airport, they would have been important cata-

To reverse all of this is of course impossible. The high-
lysts of revitalization. But instead they are in non-urban
ways in my own metropolitan region are as powerful
locations, virtually out of reach for the people who need
and immutable as form-givers as the geography of our
them most. In the design of the new office parks there
rivers, hills and valleys. Add to this infrastructure the
is no urban heritage. Even nature has been bulldozed
communications revolution we are now witnessing,
away; glass and metal boxes stand in forlorn landscapes
which puts computers, modems and faxes in every
not graced by trees or lakes. And the middle of the town
home, a cellular phone in every car and a cordless in
center—where in traditional cities there would be a
every hand—the "information highway"—and you have
market house, houses over shops, a church with a tall
a new force propelling the fragmentation of our tradi-
spire, restaurants with tables spilling out into the public
tional image of the city undreamed of twenty years ago.
square—in this case, there is a huge parking lot.

One of Pittsburgh's larger corporations, Alcoa, recently

I realized, the moment such thoughts raced through
announced the creation of its own internal information
my mind, that I was guilty of nostalgia, and that I was
highway. This will link 15,000 personal computers at
thinking too simplistically about the complex forces that
11,000 work-settings in twenty-six countries, aided by
have already changed the form of our cities in ways so
over 400 "servers" or regional computer centers. It is
powerful and permanent that we cannot go back.
possible to foresee that skyscraper corporate headquar-
I reminded myself that our traditional cities have been
ters as we now know them may very well become obso-
fragmenting and dispersing for decades. My own city
lete. Indeed Alcoa recently announced that it would
is a no-growth metro region in terms of population,
vacate its current corporate tower and move to a small
yet the suburbs are continuing to expand while the tra-
building across the river from the city center. As com-
ditional city is emptying. We have allowed our surround-
puters and the information network assume more of
ing counties to wage a cutthroat war with our traditional
the subsidiary tasks of administration, downsizing has
cities for tax base. Our metropolitan county as a large
become a corporate necessity. In the 1980s, the blue
budget surplus, while the city within it is bankrupt to the
collar workers were laid off in the thousands. In the
point of cutting essential services and laying off munici-
1990s, it is the white collar workers.
pal workers. Yet our cities carry the burden of many of

the metropolitan area's most revered assets, its muse-

 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 89

Downsizing is not elimination. There will still be cor- munities with the purpose of breathing new life into

porate headquarters. But will they be clustered in urban environments. I was experiencing echoes of those

downtowns? Alcoa says no, and will move to smaller heroic years in the late '60s and early '70s when the civil

quarters across the river. The ripple effects of down- rights movement brought to the forefront of national

sizing could thus be felt in downtowns. City center attention the disenfranchisement of whole sectors of our

space could become more difficult to lease. Fewer urban and rural populations. I saw in environmental

people will be employed. Restaurants, shops and design charrettes a new spirit of localism, a new sense of

downtown service operations are likely to feel the identity with place. As speakers presented the issues in

pinch. A downward "straight line" projection of these their own communities, three factors began to emerge.

changes suggests that the real estate advantage of The first is that every situation-including people and

urban clustering will diminish. But will it? related issues—were different and particular. The sec-

ond is that the greatest resource for resolving the issues

I was nearing Pittsburgh's downtown, one of the most dra-
and improving the quality of life in that particular situa-
matic entrances to the heart of a city anywhere in the world.
tion was the commitment and energy of its citizens. The
You pass through a tunnel which bores through a cliff, and
third is that the environmental design charrettes offered
when you emerge... Wham!... there it is, the city's cluster of
a way to get started on a full planning process.
gleaming skyscrapers. You are then high on a suspension

bridge which carries you across the Monongahela River. One There is nothing revolutionary in the process of citizens

definition of urban design is the creation of places. Well, this identifying their own issues and pointing the ways to

is a place! their solutions. This attitude of public determination is

embedded in our democracy. It is when citizens are not

listened to and heard that people rise up in revolt. This

The memory of the future is what propelled the civil rights movement, and other

As I drove across that bridge, I could not help thinking movements that followed. These events were indeed

of the contrast between this downtown and the office parks revolts—but they were not revolutionary. Our right to

that I had passed ten minutes before. Here was a magnifi- protest and to demand an alternative future lies at the

cent park at the confluence of the rivers, a front lawn to root of our democracy.

the city. Here was a cultural district with theaters, galleries

Over the past thirty years, I have conducted open pub-
and a world renowned symphony hall, as well as several
lic meetings as part of my urban design practice. Often
of this nation's acknowledged architectural masterworks.
such meetings have involved diverse groups of people,

Throughout the Workshop, I listened to reports from including planners, developers, financiers, government

sixteen communities nationwide. Each indicated a surge officials and citizens. In most of these discussions, we

of "grassroots" commitment by citizens to the future of have attempted to get the Mayor or a comparable pub-

the places where they live and work. I heard examples lic official to lead the public process. T h e first question

of citizens enfranchising their neighborhoods and com- we ask the community is "What kind of community do
90 Reflections

you want for your children?...not for yourselves, but sage for urban designers about the values of density,

for your children?" We ask our meeting attendees to richness, variety and human scale, about identity with

outline what they like best about communities...it's particular places, about interwoven and interpersonal

important to start with what's best...Then we ask what responsibilities for one another and about our shared

they liked least. Then ask the meeting to prioritize environments, the public realm.

from least to best...with the mayor and public officials

In a recent New York Review of Books, Nadine Gordimer
listening. Once the list is prioritized, the Mayor then
describes the writer's creation of a fictional place, saying
asks, "What are we going to do about it?" and that will
that you can only create a fictional character out of your
set in motion a series of key discussions and workshops
own experience of people. In the same way, you can
which develop plans that preserve the good while
only create a city out of the accumulated memories of
attacking the worst conditions.
the past, in terms of your own experiential values. The

What people like best is often expressed in the notion interpersonal connectivity of the community process is

of what can be called "a memory of the future." People vitally important. To make democracy work, we have to

have no way to project the future except in terms of val- enfranchise every citizen who wishes to express a point

ues learned from the past. When the Mayor asked about of view and we have to let the community evaluate it.

the value of downtown, an elderly woman came for-

ward, someone who was very shy and in normal circum-

Why planning goals are not always achieved
stances would never have spoken in public. Given the

chance, she spoke quietly: "When I was a little girl, we To establish a clear mechanism of implementation

were never allowed to go downtown unless we had on is the most important product of a charrette process.

our downtown clothes. Every merchant knew our name. It is not enough to end up with plans and goals. As

The merchants swept the sidewalks. I can still remem- Picasso said..."in the matters of love, intentions are

ber the drugstore where we would go for ice cream not enough." So too in urban design. Implementation

sodas on a summer afternoon. I can feel how cool the is critical.

marble was, I can still smell the fragrance of that

This discussion has a history, beginning at least in the
shop..." She went on, describing a vivid memory of a
1960s with the formation of the AIA R/UDAT
city, a neighborhood, a street, an urban interior, its
(Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team) Program.
color, light and sensibility. She received a standing ova-
Jules Gregory was an important instigator and promoter
tion, followed by statements from the floor that "this is
of this idea. Jules had a genius for friendship and a
exactly what we want." From that one vivid memory,
drive. He believed that the primary goal of architecture
you could design the entire Main Street and all the
is the social good, to create the physical environment in
urban qualities down to materials, light and color!
which people would be happy and would relate to one

Although these observations may appear trite and even another...in short, the felicitous environment. The idea

sentimental, they convey an essential and serious mes- of opening up decision-making to citizens, especially
 Environmental Design Charrette W o r k b o o k 91

to the people most affected by those decision, began can combine through a partnership of government,

with pioneers such as Lawrence Halprin and Jim Burns citizens and business.

who developed a process aptly named "Take Part."

Parallel with these efforts, a growing number of archi-
Very soon, these pioneers recognized that by tapping
tectural and urban design firms have incorporated par-
into the rich resources of local wisdom, they were also
ticipatory processes into their work. Developers today
generating powerful ground swells of volunteerism,
are recognizing the benefits of involving citizens. More
motivation, commitment and political power.
and more neighborhoods and other citizen organiza-

Making democracy work became the mainspring of tions are forming Community Development Corpor-

R/UDATs. R/UDATs provide assistance teams drawn ations with the idea of becoming responsible partners in

from a pool of nationally recognized experts in various their own projects. Further, most schools of architecture

disciplines, such as economics, public policy, planning, include urban design in their curricula. These all repre-

urban design, traffic engineering, and landscape archi- sent a foundation on which the Environmental Design

tecture, to help citizens arrive at public/private strate- Charrettes can build.

gies to realize their goals. In the twenty-eight years since

the program began, over 150 assistance teams have

worked with urban and rural communities in every part

The competitive advantage of the inner city

of the nation. As I drove beyond the skyscraper core of Pittsburgh,

I could see the beleaguered Hill neighborhood, with more

The Achilles heel of both the charrette and the
than its shared of decaying residential streets, rundown
R/UDAT processes is follow-up. Without an implemen-
commercial buildings, boarded-up theater and public
tation plan, things revert to the way they were. You
housing projects.
should plan very carefully where you want to be in three

months, a year, two years, etc. Community and local Entitlement programs of the last thirty years have done

official have to buy-in. Accountability is essential...all little more than imprison whole sections of our urban

should agree on an implementation plan with outcomes populations within welfare instead of generating a new

and deadlines. There are three ingredients to a success- inner city economic base. I then recalled a recent arti-

ful implementation plan: cle in the Harvard Business Review with the provoca-

tive title "The Competitive Advantage of the Inner

1. You must bring together the elected officials
City.'" In it, Michael Porter deplores the social pro-
2. Citizens consensus is critically important
grams of the past and warns that "we must stop trying

3. The private sector, that is, the banks and the to cure the inner city's problems by perpetually increas-

business community, must buy in. ing social investment and hoping for economic activity

to follow." Instead, he continues, we have to generate

A credible implementation plan should demonstrate
economic vitality and growth: "An economic model
how investments in jobs, buildings and infrastructure
must begin with the premise that inner city businesses
92 Reflections

should be profitable and positioned to compete on What then is preventing this from happening? One

a regional, national and even international scale." factor is that the leadership within the community per-

The way to do this, he recommends, is to learn how to ceives itself as weak in the face of overwhelming odds.

capitalize on the resources that the urban communities How can such a perception be changed? The key, it

have and suburbs don't. What is required is to develop seems to me, lies in mechanisms for implementation.

training programs in management and employment As soon as there are strategies for catalyzing investment

skills and to encourage investment in local communities and implementing change, the goals of communities

and neighborhoods. Porter's article cites successful gain new meaning and urgency. How then can we

examples in Atlanta and Boston. develop such strategies?

What does this have to do with Environmental Design It is clear that communities such as The Hill and

Charrettes and R/UDATs? The answer is everything. Homestead do not have the capacity to develop mean-

If we are talking about sustainability, the basis must be ingful strategies "in house" and have to look elsewhere.

economic. "A sustainable economic base can be created One major resource is the universities. These are

in the inner city," writes Michael Porter, "but only as it sleeping giants that exist in every major city. Each has

has been created elsewhere, through private, for-profit some or all of the expertise needed—planning, econom-

initiative and investment [that is] based on economic ics, law, public policy, engineering, ecology, and urban

self-interest and genuine competitive advantage—not design, to mention only a few.

through artificial inducements, charity or governmental

At my University, Carnegie Mellon, we have begun an
mandates." Oddly enough, there is little new in this
"urban laboratory" program, not unlike those at other
message, but it is very important that we hear it again.
universities. 2 At Carnegie Mellon, it is an outreach

By now I am heading towards Homestead and my own interdisciplinary program set up jointly by the Depart-

house on a teiraced street above the sites where the great ment of Architecture and Heinz School of Public Policy,

steel works stood just fifteen years ago. It was already dark offering interdisciplinary courses culminating in a

as I crossed the river, yet I could see the gaunt outlines of Masters in Sustainable Development. The Universities

familiar churches, some with towers and some with domes, can play an essential role in researching and building up

built by the immigrants who had poured into the valley case studies and demonstrating alternatives. Besides the

in the 1880s and '90s to work the mills. As you might obvious urban "flash points of social and economic cri-

imagine, the community in which I live is deeply depressed. sis," such as The Hill or Homestead in Pittsburgh, our

During the ten years since the steel industry collapsed, metropolitan areas desperately need design studies

hundreds of young people have migrated elsewhere to seek showing the costs and benefits of humanizing office and

work, leaving plummeting real estate values and a climbing industrial parks and of converting regional shopping

median age. Yet the resources of the community could be centers and strips into true town centers.

recognized and brought together into a comprehensive plan

of action.
As I parked my car at my house, I asked myself the ques-

tion: Is a national movement of environmental design

charrettes the beginning of a new way of looking at our

cities, of influencing with the tide of metropolitan change

into new definitions of urban forms and places? I did not

have an answer, but perhaps you do. All I can say is that

1 came away from the Washington meeting filled with

admiration for the range of challenges that the charrettes

were addressing, but also with the sense that while EDCs

(Environmental Design Charrettes) and CDCs

(Community Design Centers) cannot themselves produce

the solutions, they can least lay out the agendas—or better

yet—demonstrate to communities that it is possible to do

so and that is a very important start.

Urban design is the only language that we have in which

we can demonstrate every aspect of a communities goals

and values, all together in one document and visual

image—a memory of the future—that includes econom-

ics, social and governmental support and environmental

qualities of home, work and civic life.

References

' Porter, Michael E. "The Competitive Advantage of the Inner

City" Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Review May-June 1995

2
For a summary of university-based initiatives, see Vitalizing
University-Based Community Design Clinics by Organizing Them
as A National Resource Robert Koester, ed. Washington, DC:
American Institute of Architectural Research 1994
This appendix reproduces a Briefing Book prepared for

the A I A C O T E October 1995 Environmental Design

Charrette in Newton & Waltham, Mass., and serves as

a model of pre-charrette preparation of information and

documentation.

• f l c ^ v e H m M d o w

An Environmental Design Charrette

;
Newton & Waltham, Massachusetts

Briefing Booklet
October 6-8; 1^95

B A r C - Boston Architectural research Center

320 Newbuiy Street, Boston, M A 02115
"(617)'536-3170 ext. 214

•In conjunction'with
T h e American Institute of Architects
Committee on the Environment
 Appendix A A1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ,A2
• E n v i r o n m e n t a l Sustainability and Design
• Sustainable E c o n o m i c and Social D e v e l o p m e n t
• T h e Flowed M e a d o w C h a r r e t t e and Sustainability

2 CONTEXT A7
• T h e Social E n v i r o n m e n t : History at Flowed M e a d o w
• The Natural Environment

3 THE CHARRETTE PROCESS .A16

• Scope
• Teams
• Program
• Alternative Uses
• Products

4 CASE STUDIES A20

• Mayor Charles D a n e h y Park, Cambridge, M A
• Fresh Kills Landfill, Staten Island, N Y
• 27th A v e n u e Solid Waste M a n a g e m e n t Facility, Phoenix, A R
• Revival Field, St. Paul, M N
• Sky M o u n d , Kearny, N J

5 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES A23

• Greenways
• Land A d j a c e n t to a River or Wetland
• Landfills
• Buildings
• A b a n d o n e d Incinerator Buildings and Sites
• Economics

6 APPENDIX A28
• Concepts in Sustainability
• Glossary
A p p e n d i x A A1

1 INTRODUCTION

"What sustainability refers to is a very old and very simple concept—the ability to keep going over the long

haul. As a value, it refers to giving equal weight in your decisions to the future as well as the present. You might

think of it as extending the Golden Rule through time, so that you do unto future generations (as well as your

present fellow beings) as you would have them do unto you."

Robert Gillman—from Sustainability: The State of the Movement

The Flowed Meadow Charrette is one of nineteen our neighbors by revealing connections between the

environmental design charrettes sponsored by the poetics of place, sound ecological development, and

Committee on the Environment (COTE) of the individual actions.

American Institute of Architects, all of which will take

place around the country on October 6-8, 1995. The

E N V I R O N M E N T A L SUSTAINABILITY
purpose of these charrettes, in the words of C O T E AND DESIGN

coordinator Donald Watson, is to provide "a publicly In the broadest sense, an environmentally sustainable

visible way by which architects and environmental society provides dignified lives for all its members, does

design professionals can address the sustainable envi- not extinguish other forms of life, and does not use up

ronmental design issues of economic opportunity, social physical and biological resources needed by future

equity, and environmental responsibility in the planning generations of all forms of life. It requires an attitude

and design of buildings, communities, and regions." of responsibility and stewardship, "the land ethic"

described by Aldo Leopold:

This environmental design charrette will gather indi-
The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of
viduals from diverse practices to begin the process of
the community to include soils, waters, plants, and
developing strategic ideas for this site—working at the
animals, or collectively: the land....In short, a land
scale of the region, of a community, of a site, of an
ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from con-
architecture, and of an individual. To dwell and partici-
queror of the land-community to plain member
pate in a community, one must have a relationship
and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-
with an authentic place. Architecture, planning, and
members, and also respect for the community as
landscape design can help create the conditions to
such. [A Sand County Almanac with Essays on
make material and cultural environments into mean-
Conservation from Round River (New York, 1966),
ingful, authentic places that foster sustainable commu-
pp. 239-240]
nities by restoring and building the physical, biological,

and historical layers of a site. These design arts can

This model has become increasingly necessary and
help reshape our relationship to our surroundings and
increasingly rare over the course of the twentieth
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A13

century. The immense demographic and technological • It encompasses the time dimension, showing sensi-

scale of twenty-first century global society will strain the tivity to historic character and to the unfolding of

natural world, not only in the anthropocentric sense that the future, including issues of management and

we need natural resources for our support and social maintenance.

reproduction, but also in the wider sense that our

• It considers impacts at varying scales, from the local
survival and quality of life depend on the survival and
site to the larger region and beyond.
reproduction of other species. The environmental
• It is socially and economically viable.
scientist Daniel B. Botkin, winner of the 1991 Mitchell

International Prize for Sustainable Development, • It is a process of placemaking, investing spaces with

emphasizes our responsibility to the natural world: meaning and identity, and enhancing community.

The answers to the old questions—What is the • It reveals rather than disguises ecological processes

character of nature undisturbed? What is the influ- and human relationships to them.

ence of nature on human beings? What is the

• It respects all users of a site, not just human beings.
influence of human beings on nature? —can no

longer be viewed as distinct from one another. Life Sustainable design also operates with economy of
and the environment are one thing, not two, and means. Landscape architect Michael Hough calls this
people, as all life, are immersed in the one system.
the principle of "doing as little as possible". This
When we influence nature, we influence ourselves;
implies:
when we change nature, we change ourselves...
First, an understanding of the processes that make
Nature in the twenty-first century will be a nature
things work; second, providing the structure that
that we make; the question is the degree to which
will encourage the development of diverse and rel-
this molding will be intentional or unintentional,
evant natural or social environments; third, know-
desirable or undesirable. [Discordant Harmonies:
ing where to intervene to create the conditions for
A New Ecology for the Twenty-first Century (New
them to occur; and fourth, having the humility to
York, 1990), 188, 193.]
let natural diversity evolve on its own where it will.

How can design promote environmental sustainability? [Out of Place: Restoring Identity to the Regional

Sustainable design focuses attention on relationships Landscape (New Haven, 1990), 193.]

and processes rather than on objects:

Finally, sustainable design must be practical and
• It works with natural flows of matter, energy, and pragmatic, in the words of Hough, "starting where
information rather than against them. it is easiest":

• It conserves rather than wastes resources such as Beginning where it's easiest...has to do with
energy, water, and materials. where most people are and where one can be
A p p e n d i x A A1

reasonably certain of a measure of success from costs and benefits to individuals and institutions. An

efforts made, no matter how small. Successes in economic actor has an incentive to make society bear as

small things can be used to make connections to many of the costs of production as possible, while cap-

other larger and more significant ones. (Out of turing for himself the majority of the benefits (profits).

Place, p. 194) This is what is meant by externalizing costs.

Pollution is a prime example of an external cost

SUSTAINABLE E C O N O M I C A N D SOCIAL imposed on society: national output may only be

DEVELOPMENT
maintained by allowing a certain degree of pollu-

"Sustainable development" is a contentious concept tion that detracts from the quality of life. A com-

undergoing a constant process of refinement. For our pany will include the private costs of materials,

purposes, it is less important to find the best definition labor, and capital used in producing goods and

than to focus on the realities which have made defining services, but will not count the social costs of

it a central concern of our time: population growth, 96pollution involved. [C. Pass, et al., The Harper

urbanization and suburbanization, high energy con- Collins Dictionary of Economics (New York,

sumption, reduction in natural habitat, pollution, possi- 1991), 184-185.]

ble climate change, and growing economic inequality.

Sustainable economic development implies the internal-
Population densities brought by urbanization are
ization of costs which traditionally have been spread to
orders of magnitude above those of pre-industrial
society as a whole or, even worse, to future generations.
societies, and they have led to unprecedented den-
The first steps are already being taken towards trans-
sities of energy flows and raw material consump-
forming industrial processes to eliminate the need to
tion. This intensive metabolism generates huge
dump and bury waste. Engineers are beginning to talk
volumes of concentrated wastes, and poses
about "design for disassembly [and] recycling":
unprecedented problems in removing and control-
Manufacturers of the next century.. .will need to
ling a growing number of pollutants...Nothing sets
pay attention to the entire product life cycle, wor-
modern industrial civilization so much apart from
rying not only about the materials used and cre-
its traditional agricultural predecessors as the huge
ated in the course of manufacturing but also about
flows of energies supporting the well-being of an
what happens to a product at the end of its life.
average person. [Vaclav Smil, Global Ecology:
Will it become a disposal problem, or can it
Environmental Change and Social Flexibility
become a source of refined materials and energy?
(New York, 1993), 41, 49.]
[Robert A. Frosch, "The Industrial Ecology of the

We depend on distant suppliers for the food, energy, 21st Century", Scientific American (September

and material goods that we consume, and we have tradi- 1995), 178.]

tionally sent our wastes to marginal and peripheral

places. Classical market economics only counts private

 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A13

Accounting for and reducing all costs is only o n e part Environmental Justice," The Urban Ecologist,

of sustainable development. T h e r e is also a social (Fall 1993), 25, 30.]

dimension to sustainable development, " t h e difference

By itself, design cannot change economic systems
between those who travel first-class as opposed to
or political power, as the failure of so many design
steerage on spaceship earth". [David Pepper, T h e
Utopias of the past, f r o m garden cities to LeCorbusier's
Roots of M o d e r n Environmentalism, (New York, 1989),
"machine for living", attests. But designers can con-
175.] T h e externalized costs of economic life are typi-
tribute by using their particular expertise to draw atten-
cally not b o r n e equally by all m e m b e r s of any particular
tion to the environmental impact of our social and
society or by all m e m b e r s of the global society. Wastes
economic practices and to design meaningful places that
often disappear f r o m affluent communities to r e a p p e a r
p r o m o t e greater economic and social equity.
in "sinks".

Sinks are places of last resort into which powerful

THE FLOWED MEADOW CHARRETTE AND
groups in society shunt, shove, dump, and pour
SUSTAINABILITY
whatever or whomever they do not like or cannot
T h e F l o w e d M e a d o w c h a r r e t t e is a b o u t waste,
use: auto carcasses, garbage, trash, and minority
abandonment, and reclamation. T h e charrette area
groups...Sinks have one timeless aspect—a topo-
e n c o m p a s s e s several landfill sites a n d o n e a b a n d o n e d
graphical awkwardness which makes t h e m unin-
i n c i n e r a t o r site a l o n g t h e b o r d e r b e t w e e n t h e cities of
habitable or undesirable by current middle-class
W a l t h a m a n d N e w t o n , M A . A l t h o u g h b o t h cities a r e
standards. Sinks are apt to be swampy, low-lying,
densely p o p u l a t e d r e s i d e n t i a l s u b u r b s of B o s t o n ,
or otherwise difficult to develop...Many sinks have
r e s i d e n t s of N e w t o n a r e very a f f l u e n t a n d t h o s e of
a bad n a m e going back to nineteenth-century
W a l t h a m a r e m o r e solidly middle-class, with signifi-
typhoid or malaria epidemics. [Grady Clay, Close-
c a n t i n d u s t r i a l as well as r e s i d e n t i a l areas. T h e char-
Up: How to Read the American City (Chicago, 1973,
r e t t e site also includes f o r m e r a n d p r e s e n t w e t l a n d s
1980), 143.]
a n d b o r d e r s t h e C h a r l e s R i v e r w h e r e t h e river w a s

p e r m a n e n t l y f l o o d e d nearly a c e n t u r y ago. T h e s e
Sustainability therefore also means the pursuit of a com-
sites a r e m o n u m e n t s t o t h e p e r c e p t i o n of w e t l a n d s
munity life which is more economically and socially just:
as w a s t e d s p a c e o r lost space. T h e y d e m o n s t r a t e
It is very important for us to come to an under-
a failed r e s p o n s e t o t h e r a p i d w a s t e p r o d u c t i o n
standing that the psychological relationship that
of a f f l u e n t c o n s u m e r society, a n d to t h e f o r m a t i o n
we have to ourselves, to fellow h u m a n beings,
of a b a n d o n e d w a s t e lands.
to nature, and to technology is at the heart of the

struggle to create sustainable, socially just T h e charrette teams will be asked to give answers to

cities...There are a lot of parallels between our several questions.

alienation f r o m nature and our alienation f r o m

• W h a t should h a p p e n to, or on, these sites?
each other. [Carl Anthony, "Foundations of
A p p e n d i x A A1

• What does it mean to do "sustainable design" for

an environment which is already profoundly altered

and dependent on human management?

• How should communities understand and take

responsibility for their role as producers of waste?

The solutions proposed by the charrette teams may also

have broader application. There are approximately 140

active landfills and 460 inactive and closed landfills in

Massachusetts alone, and the active landfills will reach

their capacity on average in five years. These numbers

can be multiplied throughout the country and the world.

The charrette process is an opportunity to explore new

ways of reclaiming these waste lands, reintegrating them

into the human and natural communities and heighten-

ing understanding of the relationship between human

production of wastes and the natural world.

 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A13

2 THE CONTEXT

"Wastes are traditionally dumped at the edges of settlement... in areas where the powerless live, where land

claims are weak, and where controls are soft... When searching for the public dump or for nuisance industry in

any New England town, look first along its boundaries with adjacen t towns."

Kevin Lynch—from Wasting Away

THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT: HISTORY AT Archeological evidence indicates a human presence in

FLOWED MEADOW
Eastern Massachusetts from about 10,000 years ago.

By the time of English colonization, Native Americans

The name "Flowed Meadow" is a sign of the long his-
had been living in the region for millennia and modify-
tory of human uses of the land and water along the
ing their environment to enhance hunting and agricul-
Newton-Waltham border. Understanding that history
ture. Fire was the Indians' most powerful environmental
will help charrette participants create a sustainable
tool. They used fire to clear land for villages and fields;
vision today. "Flowed" lands were created when English
to burn underbrush in upland forest, creating park-like
settlers and their American descendants built dams on
edge environments to attract deer and other game; and
the Charles River to use the power of the water. The
to clear forest, making meadows for hunting. Indians
charrette sites are adjacent to the largest mill pond cre-
also built fish weirs of stakes, stones, and clay to catch
ated on the Charles, the Lakes District. Over the last
the alewives, shad, and salmon which came up the river
two centuries, the widened river and its shallow coves
in the spring.
bordered by wetlands have been used by industry, for

recreation, and as waste sinks—dumps and landfills—

while Newton and Waltham have become densely- The Creation of the Lakes District and
populated suburbs in metropolitan Boston. Flowed Meadow

Soon after English settlers arrived, they began modifying

the river for their own purposes. By 1640, settlers in

Before European Settlement
Dedham had diverted water from the Charles to the
The history of human uses of the river basin begins long
Neponset in order to increase the flow for mills. This
before the nineteenth century. The Charles River
diversion of water also drained some of the wet meadows
emerged about 11,000 years ago as the last glaciers of the
downstream along the Charles. By the eighteenth century
Ice Age retreated. It took a meandering course around
many small private dams had been built on the river.
deposits of glacial till, bedrock, and slowly melting ice,

becoming, at 80 miles, the longest river in Massachusetts. The advent of industry transformed the river when the
Extensive wetlands developed along the river in many Boston Manufacturing Company raised an existing dam
locations and mixed forest emerged on the uplands. at Moody Street in 1814 to power the first integrated
A p p e n d i x A A1
textile factory in the country. The river powered the
looms and the factory included both spinning of thread
and weaving of cloth. Before raising the dam, the com-
pany had to acquire "flowage rights" from the upstream
property-owners. About 200 acres in all were flowed,
some submerged to create the coves of the Lakes
District and another 40 to 50 acres of pasture partially
inundated to create the flowed meadows of our
charrette sites.
The Nineteenth Century: The Oldest Suburbs and
the Canoeing Craze
In the early nineteenth century Newton and Waltham
were sparsely settled with small villages, outlying farms,
and a few mills along the river. The arrival of the
"Newton Special" in 1843-—passenger service to down-
town Boston—began the transformation of Newton into
a residential suburb. An 1848 map of Newton shows
houses clustered in villages, of which West Newton and
Auburndale are closest to the charrette sites. Both
Cram's Cove and Purgatory Cove were larger than
today, separated by "Morse's Island," the present
Riverview Avenue peninsula. The coves flow without a
defined boundary into a large area of wetland meadows.
No houses are shown near these coves or meadows, and
only one house is shown anywhere near the river in this
area, about 300 feet from the end of Ware's Cove.
Newton's population was 3,351 in 1846, when the train
service was still new, but the attractions of suburban liv-
ing appealed both to prosperous businessmen and the
less affluent, so that by the late 1860s nearly 12,000
people lived in the town. Soon the Lakes District
became a favorite recreation spot. Auburndale residents
started a tradition of Fourth of July celebrations on the
river. Boat clubs sprang up and an annual autumn
parade of decorated boats passed by illuminated houses,
fireworks, and band music along the shore. By the
1890s, when Newton had a population of over 24,000,
a champion canoe racing club was established in
Auburndale and some five thousand canoes were
moored in the Lakes District.
Waltham was a smaller city, with an 1890 population of
some 19,000, and it had a more industrial character than
Newton. However, substantial homes were built on
Crescent Street, along the Charles, and northern
Riverview Avenue. The present Riverview Avenue
peninsula was still an island then, and there were plans
to build cottages on the entire island. There was a band-
stand at Forest Grove and a bridge to small Fox Island
in the middle of the river. The Waltham Boat and
Canoe Company had a large boathouse on the east side
of Cram's Cove (also called Nightcap Cove). At the end
of Cram's Cove was Packard's Cove, where the incinera-
tor and part of the present Woerd Avenue landfill site
now exist. In winter, the coves were used for skating and
ice was harvested from the shallow frozen coves and
stored in straw in ice houses.
City-dwellers' craving for outdoor recreation in the
maturing industrial cities of the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries resulted in the public parks
movement. Olmsted designed the Emerald Necklace.
The Metropolitan Parks Commission (soon to be the
MDC) was founded and a study of the Charles River
recommended public control of the river banks for pub-
lic health and recreational purposes. At the turn of the
century, the Lakes District was one of the most impor-
tant recreational areas in the Boston area. Norumbega
Park opened in 1897 at the present site of the Marriott
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A13

Hotel. It was an amusement park offering canoeing, the reason why wetlands, which we now recognize as

picnicking, an outdoor theater, a restaurant, a zoo, essential to environmental survival, were for long seen

a carousel, a penny arcade, and other attractions. as wastelands best filled in. The first wetlands in the

Patrons came by trolley from Boston and suburban charrette area to be filled in were Packard's Cove, the

stations, and by canoe from up and down the river. lower end of Cram's Cove, and the Pine Street wetland.

The boathouse on Cram's Cove burned down in 1912

Twentieth Century Transformations
and soon after, a small dump for coal ashes (from home

Norumbega Park was successful through the 1930s and heating furnaces) was started in Packard's Cove. As

40s by converting its theater into the Totem Pole early as the 1920s, the City of Waltham promised that

Ballroom, where swing bands and popular vocalists, such the dump would be transformed into a playground and

as Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra, entertained the park, but only the Moody Street playground, abutting

crowds. But cars, new suburbs, and rock and roll brought the dump, was built in 1933. In 1935, some 35,000 tons

another transformation of habits and attitudes. The pub- of ashes were being dumped there annually, along with

lic park movement receded in the 1920s, and private cars old cars. By 1937 Packard's Cove was filled all the way

offered people more choices for recreation. Norumbega to Rumford Avenue. The Pine Street wetland in

and the Totem Pole closed in the early 1960s. Newton, part or all of which had been a gravel pit, was

also filled in gradually during the first half of this cen-

At the turn of the century there was much more water
tury, though wetlands remained on the Burr School site.
in the charrette area than there is today. The Riverview

Avenue peninsula was an island connected to the main- By the 1920s and 1930s, the residential areas surround-

land by Rumford Avenue and Woerd Avenue. The ing the coves and wetlands were middle- and working-

peninsula is still called "The Island" in Waltham. The class communities. Immigrant families moved into the

waters of Packard's Cove reached almost to Lexington area, which was still semi-rural, with barns behind the

Street, and Purgatory Cove flowed into a large wetland older houses. Multi-family and small single-family

encompassing the present Rumford Avenue landfill, houses were built. The lower part of the Waltham island

which was connected by Brunnen Brook (now in a cul- was occupied by a variety of industries: factories making

vert) to another wetland on the present site of the Bun- bicycles, fireworks, asphalt.

School and the old Pine Street dump.

Woerd Avenue and Rumford Avenue became major

As the shallow man-made coves and wetlands suffered dumps only in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The popu-

the effects of sedimentation, the main current of the lation grew and other city dumps were closed down with

river increasingly passed them by and their waters postwar suburban expansion. A fenced playground was

became more stagnant. Some 4000 cases of malaria tenuously established at the top of the Woerd Avenue

were reported in Newton between 1890 and 1894, and dump in 1952 while dumping still continued around it,

over 400 in Waltham in the same period. This is part of but in 1958 rubbish was pushed over the fence and the
A10 Appendix A

playground obliterated. Between 1958 and 1975 the and adolescents are drawn to the abandoned sites,

Woerd Avenue dump grew by 40 feet. A lifelong resi- which are urban wilds in an otherwise very controlled

dent believes that no organic, industrial, or incinerator environment. One resident who grew up and still lives
/
near the Woerd Avenue site says that as a child in the
waste was ever dumped there, but other sources men-
40s, he and his friends spent hours playing at the dump.
tion incinerator ash. Car tires continually rise to the sur-
The abandoned incinerator, though much more danger-
face and there is evidence of roofing and telephone
ous, exercises the same fascination today.
poles. The landfill was capped in 1975.

The Rumford Avenue site was a wetland until 1961. In general, however, resident concern about the sites

By 1970, the Burr School wetland had been filled for has waxed and waned. The relatively high proportion of

the creation of the school playing fields and the renters, generally a more transient population, in the

Rumford Avenue dump had filled in half of the large area immediately surrounding the sites has made it

wetland from the avenue to the west and it was 10 to more difficult for neighborhood activists to organize the

20 feet higher in elevation. Ten years later, portions of community around this issue. With the rise of the envi-

the landfill had risen 40 feet above its original level. In ronmental movement in the 1970s, however, residents

the early 1970s the Rumford fill was still operated as a were active in the effort to improve water quality in the

traditional dump rather than a sanitary landfill. Because coves and close the incinerator. They also complained

the surface was not regularly covered, vermin from the about roaches and rats from the Rumford Avenue

dump were infesting the neighborhood. Leachate into dump, forcing the city to seal 15 acres of the dump with

Purgatory Cove from both Rumford and Pine Street was two feet of sandy loam. The landfill stopped receiving

also a concern and the underground pipes were sealed. new rubbish in the 1970s and is now operated as a

municipal compost facility, recycling depot, and D P W

The City of Newton hoped to solve its solid waste dis-
staging area.
posal problems with the construction of an incinerator

in 1966 that was supposed to last for twenty years. The The economic and demographic transformation of the

incinerator was in operation between 1967 and 1975. It 1980s and early 1990s also affected the neighborhoods.

never functioned effectively, with one burner out of the The cost of modest single family homes in Newton sky-

two often out of service. The incinerator failed to meet rocketed, while the South Waltham neighborhood near

air quality standards and water from precipitator tanks Moody and Crescent Streets has become the home of

contaminated a small stream on the site, which was the many new low- and moderate-income immigrant fami-

last remnant of Packard's Cove and is now culverted, lies. Densely populated South Waltham is underserved

sending pollutants into Cram's Cove. The incinerator in terms of open space, recreation facilities, and access

residue was dumped in the Rumford Avenue landfill. to the river.

The relationship of the surrounding community to the Newton now sends its waste to a huge incinerator in

landfills and incinerator has its complexities. Children Millbury, MA, a former mill town in the Blackstone
River Valley which is much less affluent than Newton.

It could be argued that Newton has therefore success-

fully externalized disposal of its non-recyclable waste.

It is the people of Millbury who contend with the

garbage trucks from Newton and elsewhere lumbering

down Route 20, and who see the incinerator chimney

rising high over their town.

Sources:

Bickford, Walter E. and Dymon, Ute Janik. An Atlas of

Massachusetts River Systems. Amherst, 1990.

Binford, Henry C. The First Suburbs: Residential

Communities on the Boston Periphery, 1815-1860.
Chicago, 1985.

Hall, Max. The Charles: The People's River. Boston,

1986.

Interview with Gloria Champion, Waltham, MA,

October 4, 1995.

Interview with Sam Picariello, Newton, MA,

August 29, 1995.

Rowe, Henry K. Tercentary History of Newton,

1630-1930. Newton, MA, 1930.
A12 Appendix A

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT w e s t a n d s o u t h w e s t , a n d o c c a s i o n a l s t o r m s of tropical

origin, traveling u p t h e A t l a n t i c C o a s t , c a u s e d s e v e r e
Several significant n a t u r a l f a c t o r s s h o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d
f l o o d i n g of t h e C h a r l e s in t h e past, l e a d i n g to t h e c o n -
in exploring s u s t a i n a b l e t r e a t m e n t of this highly dis-
s t r u c t i o n of t h e c u r r e n t p u m p i n g s t a t i o n at t h e m o u t h
t u r b e d a r e a . T h i s is a brief s u m m a r y of very c o m p l e x
of t h e i n n e r h a r b o r t o c o n t r o l f l o o d levels. F l o o d i n g
c o n d i t i o n s c a u s e d by d e c a d e s of h u m a n m a n i p u l a t i o n of
d a n g e r u p s t r e a m i n c r e a s e s as u r b a n i z a t i o n covers f l o o d
t h e land a n d w a t e r . M o r e d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n in avail-
p l a i n s with i m p e r v i o u s s u r f a c i n g .
a b l e technical r e p o r t s s h o u l d b e c o n s u l t e d in d e v e l o p i n g

action plans.

Geology

Regional Context T h e a r e a h a s e x p e r i e n c e d heavy glacial activity.

A layer of glacial till overlies t h e c o n g l o m e r a t e a n d slate

T h e a r e a of i n t e r e s t in this study covers a c r e s c e n t of
b e d r o c k s of t h e B o s t o n Basin. S u p e r f i c i a l till d e p o s i t s
t h e C h a r l e s R i v e r basin at t h e b o r d e r of t h e cities of
h a v e i n f l u e n c e d t h e c o u r s e of t h e river, with r e s i s t a n t till
Waltham and Newton, including wetlands which were
a n d rock o u t c r o p s c r e a t i n g p o i n t s of d e f l e c t i o n f o r
c r e a t e d by t h e d a m m i n g of t h e R i v e r . T h e C h a r l e s R i v e r
m e a n d e r s . T h e m e c h a n i c a l p r o c e s s e s of soil a n d t o p o g -
m e a n d e r s 80 miles, t h r o u g h 21 towns, d r a i n i n g a 300-
r a p h y f o r m a t i o n by glaciation r e s u l t in v a r i a b l e c o n d i -
s q u a r e - m i l e w a t e r s h e d which i n c l u d e s 3 3 lakes a n d
tions of soil s l o p e , p e r m e a b i l i t y , a n d d e p t h to b e d r o c k
p o n d s a n d seven m a j o r t r i b u t a r i e s . T h e s l o p e of t h e
a n d to w a t e r table.
river a n d f l o o d plain is very g r a d u a l , r e s u l t i n g in w i d e

f l o o d plains, w e t l a n d s , a n d m e a n d e r belts. T h e r i v e r

has b e e n heavily used for industry a n d waste disposal, Soils

and has suffered severe pollution; recent clean-up
T h i s is an a r e a of s t r a t i f i e d s a n d s a n d gravels, w i t h
efforts have m a d e recreational uses m o r e feasible,
m i n o r a m o u n t s of silts a n d clay d e p o s i t e d by glacial
a n d t h e F r i e n d s of t h e C h a r l e s R i v e r h a s p e r f o r m e d
m e l t w a t e r s . A l l u v i u m d e p o s i t s of f i n e r m a t e r i a l s lie
important advocacy functions to p r o m o t e restoration.
d e e p a l o n g t h e river as well. T h e a r e a of F l o w e d

M e a d o w w a s m a p p e d as a s w a m p of m u c k ( b l a c k

Climate o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l w i t h p l a n t f i b e r s a n d silt) a n d p e a t ,

w h o s e stability q u a l i t i e s a r e e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m
C l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s a r e variable, with f r e q u e n t f l o o d i n g ,
t h o s e of s a n d s a n d gravels. A r o u n d t h e W a l t h a m
d r o u g h t , t e m p e r a t u r e swings a n d high winds. R a i n f a l l is
W o e r d L a n d f i l l , glacial till i n c l u d e s a c o m p a c t a n d g e n -
b e t w e e n 4 0 " a n d 5 0 " annually, with r e c o r d highs in t h e
erally i m p e r v i o u s m i x t u r e of clay, silt, gravel, c o b b l e s ,
60"s a n d lows in t h e 30"s. T e m p e r a t u r e e x t r e m e s c a n
a n d b o u l d e r s . B e c a u s e of t h e variability, t h e Soils
r a n g e f r o m 100 d e g r e e s in s u m m e r to 20 d e g r e e s b e l o w
C o n s e r v a t i o n S e r v i c e m a p p i n g of s p e c i f i c soils a n d
z e r o in w i n t e r ; m e a n m o n t h l y r a n g e is 67-72 in s u m m e r
s u c h c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as d e p t h , d r a i n a g e a n d e r o s i o n
a n d 25-29 in w i n t e r . F r e q u e n t s t o r m s arise f r o m t h e
hazard should be consulted for specific areas w h e n
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A13

considering siting of construction, land uses, plantings, hydrology is affected by the elevation of the Flowed

and circulation and access. M e a d o w flood plain, which is outlet-controlled by a

p u m p station used for flood and mosquito control.

A 60 inch diameter drain pipe drains B r u n n e n Brook

Slopes
under the Pine Street fill, the Burr School fill billfolds,
Slopes vary greatly along the river edge as well as at the
and the R u m f o r d fill; the pipe is now broken within the
numerous landfill sites in the area. T h e slope m a p
latter fill, and may be rerouted around the mound's
should be consulted to consider building feasibility and
west side into Purgatory Cove.
erosion hazard for specific areas of interest, as well as to

site water use facilities and access and circulation routes. Domestic water is municipally supplied; wells are n o

longer in use to avoid any contamination danger.

However, according to a 1990 study, "the quality of the

Topography
surface water f r o m Purgatory Cove indicates that land-
Because of discontinuity in land-making processes,
fill leachate has had minimal impact on the water in the
both by natural and h u m a n forces, current elevations
Cove. ...It is possible that the surface water in Flowed
vary dramatically along the wetland crescent. T h e topo-
M e a d o w may be impacted by leachate discharging
graphic m a p should be consulted to consider such ele-
directly into the wetlands f r o m the western slope of the
ments as circulation, views, shadow patterns, landmarks.
landfill rather than the discharge of contaminated

ground water," indicating that capping would amelio-

Hydrology rate this impact. Reports indicate that contamination

in ground water has been coming from a drain pipe

(This a summary of hydrology affecting landfills in
discharging f r o m the Landfill, and f r o m the broken
Newton and Waltham. Inspection reports are available
B r u n n e n Brook drain line that carries surface water
and the reports should be consulted for each landfill
f r o m a catch basin between the landfill and the indus-
when making action plans.)
trial area on Riverview Avenue. M o r e detailed informa-

Water is the key natural f e a t u r e of this area; protection tion is available in technical reports.

and use of water and wetland resources will be m a j o r

Wetlands in flood plains serve crucial functions; they
considerations in any strategy p r o m o t i n g sustainability
protect the uplands f r o m flooding by absorbing water,
in the Flowed M e a d o w neighborhood.
and protect water quality in the river by filtering sedi-

G r o u n d water in the area around the landfills generally ments and contaminants. Wetlands have been mistreated

discharges towards the Charles, much of it flowing into for many years; misunderstood as an untidy miasma of

Purgatory Cove. Surface water drainage f r o m the land- disease vectors, marshes and swamps (the latter contain

fills, based on existing ground surface topography, flows trees) have been drained and filled, either for develop-

into Purgatory Cove or Flowed M e a d o w and eventually ment or waste disposal, destroying both their protective

into the Charles River and its flood plains. Local capacities and their very rich plant and animal habitat.
A12 Appendix A

L i t e r a t u r e is available describing n a t u r a l w e t l a n d s as well Landfill Contents

as e f f o r t s to r e s t o r e or c r e a t e w e t l a n d s as mitigation f o r
Since t h e early 1960's, t h e s e lowlandAvetland landfills
d e s t r u c t i o n , as c u r r e n t laws r e q u i r e .
h a v e received v a r i o u s types of r e f u s e , w h i c h a r e n o t

precisely d o c u m e n t e d . I n c l u d e d a r e m u n i c i p a l solid

Vegetation w a s t e , i n c i n e r a t o r ash, i n d u s t r i a l w a s t e s a n d inert D P W

m a t e r i a l s , f r o m d i f f e r e n t times. T h e r e is p r o b a b l y n o
N a t u r a l v e g e t a t i o n is primarily d e c i d u o u s t r e e c o v e r of
liner o r b a r r i e r t o g r o u n d w a t e r in any of t h e fills. P l a n s
v a r i o u s oaks, hickories, r e d m a p l e a n d birch, w i t h h e m -
f o r m a t e r i a l s r e c o v e r y will r e q u i r e specific r e s e a r c h ,
lock a n d w h i t e p i n e s o f t w o o d s . P l a n t i n g m u s t especially
f r o m available r e p o r t s a n d interviews with City officials,
r e s p e c t d r a i n a g e c o n d i t i o n s a n d slope. M u c h of t h e
o n landfill c o n t e n t s a n d d e p t h of v a r i o u s layers.
a r e a ' s v e g e t a t i o n is d i s t u r b e d by fill w a s h o u t a n d indus-

trial uses. P u r g a t o r y C o v e , itself a w e t l a n d until its

e x c h a n g e with t h e river w a s o b s t r u c t e d by t h e r e p l a c e - Land Ownership

m e n t of a n o p e n b r i d g e by a c u l v e r t e d e m b a n k m e n t , is
L a n d o w n e r s of p a r c e l s in t h e vicinity i n c l u d e t h e S t a t e ,
o v e r g r o w n with a q u a t i c p l a n t s , such as w a t e r c h e s t n u t s ,
t h e Cities, a n d p r i v a t e c o r p o r a t i o n s a n d individuals.
s u p p o r t e d by excessive o r g a n i c c o n t a m i n a n t s (this is
Ownership, Zoning, and Conservation mapping should
called e u t r o p h i c a t i o n ) .
b e c o n s u l t e d w h e n f o r m u l a t i n g a c t i o n plans, t o p l a n

l a n d assembly a n d t o r e c o g n i z e v a r i o u s a p p l i c a b l e

Wildlife protective and zoning regulations.

T h e N a t u r a l H e r i t a g e P r o g r a m lists n o rare, t h r e a t e n e d

or e n d a n g e r e d species of fish or wildlife. H o w e v e r , w e t -

land, grassland a n d f o r e s t h a b i t a t s can sustain rich biodi-

versity, a n d r e s t o r a t i o n of t h e n a t u r a l ecology of t h e a r e a

will result in a m o r e v a r i e d a n d h e a l t h y wildlife b a l a n c e .

Scenic Resources

T h e Charles River Lakes A r e a (Forest Grove, M o u n t

Feake Cemetery, M a p l e Cove, Sandy H o o k , and

P u r g a t o r y C o v e ) is c o n s i d e r e d o n e of t h e m o s t scenic

a r e a s in t h e e n t i r e river c o r r i d o r . R e s t o r a t i o n of its envi-

r o n m e n t a l h e a l t h w o u l d m a k e this a n i m p o r t a n t scenic

a n d r e c r e a t i o n a l asset to t h e t o w n s .
Sources:

City of Waltham Planning D e p a r t m e n t . Open Space and

Recreation Plan. 1994 U p d a t e .

Waltham Conservation Commission. The Charles River,

Waltham. Wacker & Associates, 1974.

City of Newton, by Camp, Dresser & McKee, Inc. Initial

Site Assessment of Rumford Avenue Landfill. April 1994.

City of Newton, by Camp, Dresser & McKee, Inc.

Revised Operations and Post-Closure Use Plan, Rumford

Avenue Landfill. March 1994.

City of Newton, by Camp, Dresser & McKee, Inc.

Preliminary Investigations at Pine Street Landfill Site

and Bun School. D e c e m b e r 1994, Vols. I & II.

A12 Appendix A

3 THE CHARRETTE PROCESS

"... When you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must also repair the world

about i... and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature."

Christopher Alexander—from A Pattern Language

T h e Flowed M e a d o w charrette is an exercise in design- "Lakes District" of the river. Generally speaking, the

ing for stewardship, or, more technically, human habitat northern boundary is Crescent Street in Waltham. To the

management. An entire constellation of environmental east, the limit is Pine Street in Newton. T h e southerly

and sustainability issues will emerge f r o m the practical extent is the Auburndale Playground. T h e western bor-

consideration of these sites: der is the railroad track that runs along the edge of the

Brandeis University Campus.

• T h e functioning of both the built and "natural"

environment in this area is very much d e p e n d e n t

T h e site includes the following five focal areas that
on h u m a n intentions, actions, and vigilance.
are of special interest, because they have b e e n or are

• Waste disposal areas have traditionally been sited currently being used for waste disposal.

near town borders and in wetlands, as here.

A. R u m f o r d A v e n u e Incinerator, Newton

• Waste disposal areas have traditionally been sited in

B. R u m f o r d A v e n u e Landfill, Newton
the poorer parts of town, which, relatively speaking,
C. Pine Street Landfill, Newton
was the case with these sites.

D. Woerd Street Landfill, Waltham

• If the waste produced in these communities is no

longer stored there, it must be sent somewhere else, E. Sawyer Road Landfill, Waltham

to other communities willing to accept it (or unable

This charrette provides an opportunity to consider how
to refuse it) for financial reasons.
the reuse of these sites might be part of a unified plan

to contribute to the fabric of the Flowed M e a d o w

SCOPE Neighborhood.

T h e physical limits of the area to be considered by char-

rette teams are somewhat amorphous and wide ranging. TEAMS

North to south the area measures roughly three quarters

Each charrette participant will be part of a multi-disci-
of a mile and it is over a mile east to west. T h e site strad-
plinary design team of 8 to 10 members. T h e intention
dles the Newton/Waltham town line, as well as the
is for each t e a m to have a complementary mix of skills
Charles River. It is the heart of what is referred to as the
and knowledge. O n e m e m b e r will be a designated facili-
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A17

t a t o r f o r t h e t e a m a n d will h a v e r e c e i v e d special t r a i n i n g t h e f u t u r e , a n d w h o will h a v e responsibility f o r t h e s e

p r i o r to t h e c h a r r e t t e w e e k e n d . To m a i n t a i n t h e f o c u s tasks a n d t h e i r costs?

a n d m o m e n t u m of t h e t e a m , it is i m p o r t a n t t h a t e a c h
C. H o w d o e s t h e design a f f e c t t h e flow and quality of
m e m b e r m a k e t h e c o m m i t m e n t t o a t t e n d a n d partici-
w a t e r — o n t h e sites, off t h e sites, i n t o s t r e a m s a n d
p a t e in t h e full c h a r r e t t e s c h e d u l e .
coves, i n t o t h e C h a r l e s R i v e r w a t e r s h e d ?

Though the teams are expected to work independently D. H o w d o e s t h e design p r o m o t e natural plant diver-

and develop their own, unique proposals, collaboration sity and s u c c e s s i o n — a q u a t i c , w e t l a n d , a n d u p l a n d ?

will b e e n c o u r a g e d . R o v i n g e x p e r t s will b e available d u r -

E . H o w d o e s t h e design a f f e c t wildlife of all k i n d s ?
ing t h e c o u r s e of t h e w e e k e n d t o p r o v i d e advice a n d
E H o w d o e s t h e design reuse or recycle existing waste
f e e d b a c k t o e a c h of t h e t e a m s . T h e r e will also b e a n
o r w a s t e p r o d u c e d by i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of t h e design
e l e c t r o n i c link with e x p e r t s at o t h e r c h a r r e t t e sites
itself?
a r o u n d t h e c o u n t r y . A t t h e e n d of e a c h day, t i m e will

b e a l l o t t e d f o r t e a m p r o g r e s s r e p o r t s a n d s h a r i n g of G. A r e renewable sources of energy b e i n g u s e d ?

inspirations and frustrations. A r e they b e i n g u s e d efficiently?

H. H a s c h a n g e over time b e e n c o n s i d e r e d ? Will it

PROGRAM adapt and age gracefully?

T h e r e is n o p r e s c r i b e d p r o g r a m r e q u i r i n g specific uses I. H o w d o e s t h e d e s i g n serve the needs of the neigh-

of t h e l a n d o r p r o v i s i o n s f o r p a r t i c u l a r f u n c t i o n s . borhood a n d e n h a n c e local c o m m u n i t y ?

I n s t e a d , p a r t i c i p a n t s will b e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c o n c e p t u a l -
J. H o w is t h e design usable in all s e a s o n s —
izing an a p p r o p r i a t e p r o g r a m a n d s o l u t i o n s t h a t m a y
to h u m a n s and non-humans?
include physical r e - d e s i g n . T h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s can
K. H o w d o e s t h e design serve t h e needs of the larger
b e u s e d by t h e c h a r r e t t e t e a m s t o h e l p g u i d e t h e design
community?
p r o c e s s . T h e c h a r r e t t e a r e a is very c o m p l e x , a n d d i f f e r -

e n t design p r o p o s a l s will e m p h a s i z e d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t s of L. H o w d o e s t h e design incorporate history?

sustainability. H o w e v e r , a r e g u l a r a t t e m p t to a n s w e r
M. H o w d o e s t h e design d e m o n s t r a t e stewardship?
t h e s e q u e s t i o n s d u r i n g t h e design p r o c e s s will h e l p f o c u s

a t t e n t i o n o n t h e g o a l of e n v i r o n m e n t a l sustainability.

ALTERNATIVE USES
A. H o w d o e s t h e design c o n s i d e r t h e c o n t e x t at

d i f f e r e n t levels of scale? W a t e r s h e d ? M u n i c i p a l i t y ? B a s e d o n c a s e s t u d i e s f r o m o t h e r cities a n d discussions

N e i g h b o r h o o d ? D i f f e r e n t ecological n i c h e s t h a t w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m t h e c o m m u n i t y , a list of

c o m p r i s e t h e site? o p t i o n a l u s e s f o r p o r t i o n s of t h e site h a s b e e n g e n e r -

ated. T h e alternatives are mentioned here to stimulate

B. Is t h e design economically self-sustaining? H o w will
ideas. C h a r r e t t e t e a m s a r e n o t r e q u i r e d t o i n c o r p o r a t e
t h e design h a v e t o b e m a i n t a i n e d a n d m a n a g e d in
any of t h e s e f u n c t i o n s in t h e i r p r o p o s a l s .
A12 Appendix A

A. Charles River Greenway: C u r r e n t l y t h e r e a r e dis- E. Solar Heated Greenhouse: A c o m m e r c i a l g r e e n -

c r e t e access p o i n t s t o t h e river in W a l t h a m a n d h o u s e h a s a l r e a d y b e e n p r o p o s e d f o r t h e s o u t h wall

N e w t o n . T h e s e individual access p o i n t s m i g h t b e of t h e i n c i n e r a t o r b u i l d i n g by a local a r c h i t e c t .

linked by a l i n e a r c o n s e r v a t i o n a r e a a l o n g t h e river P e r h a p s t h e c o n c e p t can b e c o m e a n i n t e g r a l p a r t

t o p r o v i d e scenic hiking p a t h s a n d c r e a t e a symbolic of a l a r g e r p l a n f o r t h e a r e a .

connection between Waltham and Newton. A pro-

F. Recreational Center: D u r i n g t h e early p a r t of t h e
posal of this n a t u r e m i g h t s u p p o r t M D C ' s i n t e n t i o n
c e n t u r y , this a r e a w a s a r e g i o n a l r e c r e a t i o n a l c e n t e r .
to p r o v i d e b e t t e r access t o t h e C h a r l e s , as m a n i -
P e r h a p s it c a n b e c o m e t h a t again in t h e 21st c e n t u r y .
f e s t e d in t h e m a s t e r p l a n b e i n g d e v e l o p e d by C a r o l
B u t w h a t w o u l d it b e like if d e s i g n e d using s u s t a i n -
J o h n s o n Associates.
able principles?

B. Ecological Park: P o r t i o n s of a landfill a n d / o r w e t -

G. Land Form as Sculpture: Historically, s o m e civiliza-
l a n d s might b e d e s i g n e d to serve as a w o r k i n g l a b o -
tions s h a p e d t h e e a r t h t o c r e a t e s a c r e d m o n u m e n t s .
r a t o r y to d e m o n s t r a t e h o w w a s t e disposal a r e a s c a n
In p o r t i o n s of this site, t h e e a r t h is r e s h a p e d a l m o s t
b e r e c l a i m e d a n d h o w ecological t h i n k i n g can b e
daily. T h e c h a n g e s in t h e t o p o g r a p h y of this a r e a
a p p l i e d to t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e built e n v i r o n m e n t
o v e r t h e p a s t 200 y e a r s tells a n i n t e r e s t i n g story. C a n
to f o s t e r t h e c o e x i s t e n c e of h u m a n s a n d n a t u r e .
t h e s h a p i n g of t h e l a n d b e raised to t h e level of a r t ?

C . H o u s i n g : M a n y p e o p l e w h o g r e w u p in t h e N e w t o n
H. Continued D P W Use: B o t h N e w t o n ' s a n d
o r w o r k in t h e city c a n n o t a f f o r d t o b u y a h o u s e
W a l t h a m ' s D e p a r t m e n t s of P u b l i c W o r k s h a v e
t h e r e . O p e n l a n d f o r n e w a f f o r d a b l e h o u s i n g is
e x p r e s s e d a s t r o n g d e s i r e t o c o n t i n u e using p o r t i o n s
s c a r c e . P e r h a p s t h e r e is a n o p p o r t u n i t y f o r t h e
of t h e R u m f o r d A v e n u e a n d W o e r d A v e n u e
d e v e l o p m e n t of r e a s o n a b l y p r i c e d h o u s i n g in t h e
L a n d f i l l s f o r such uses as c o m p o s t i n g of r e s i d e n t i a l
a r e a . I n t e r e s t in d e v e l o p i n g t h e five a c r e i n c i n e r a -
y a r d wastes, recycling c e n t e r s , a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n
t o r site h a s a l r e a d y b e e n e x p r e s s e d by a local
m a t e r i a l stockpiling a n d p r o c e s s i n g .
co-housing group.

D. Material Recovery Facility (MRF): A s p a t t e r n s in

PRODUCTS
resource consumption change and materials are

recycled r a t h e r t h a n d u m p e d , t h e r e is a n i n c r e a s e d E a c h c h a r r e t t e t e a m will b e r e q u i r e d to p r o d u c e a

n e e d f o r M R F ' s . C u r r e n t l y m a t e r i a l s t h a t a r e col- M a s t e r P l a n f o r a sizable p o r t i o n of t h e e n t i r e site t h a t

lected c u r b s i d e a r e s h i p p e d as f a r away as C a l i f o r n i a c o n s i d e r s d e v e l o p m e n t at intervals of 5 years, 25 y e a r s

f o r r e p r o c e s s i n g . P e r h a p s t h e m a t e r i a l s l o o p can b e a n d 100 years. A f t e r t h a t h a s b e e n a c c o m p l i s h e d , t h e

closed within t h e c o m m u n i t y a n d j o b s c a n b e cre- t e a m m a y c o n c e n t r a t e on a m o r e d e t a i l e d p r o p o s a l f o r

a t e d in t h e p r o c e s s . t h e c o n c e p t t h a t t h e y believe will h a v e t h e m o s t f a v o r -

able l o n g t e r m e f f e c t o n t h e n e i g h b o r h o o d .
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A19

Each team must produce three Master Plan drawing

at a scale of 1 " = 2 0 0 ' , o n e f o r e a c h of t h e t i m e intervals

m e n t i o n e d above. Beyond that, the teams are encour-

aged t o u s e w h a t e v e r g r a p h i c a n d w r i t t e n m e a n s they

believe will b e s t c o m m u n i c a t e t h e i r ideas. It s h o u l d b e

k e p t in m i n d t h a t t h e p r o p o s a l s m a y b e p r e s e n t e d in

f u t u r e p u b l i c f o r u m s , i n c o r p o r a t e d in a traveling exhibit,

a n d p u b l i s h e d in b o o k l e t f o r m .
A12 Appendix A

4 CASE STUDIES

DANEHY PARK
Cambridge, Massachusetts

M a y o r C h a r l e s D a n e h y P a r k is b u i l t o n a n o l d clay p i t G r a n i t e m o n u m e n t s m e a s u r e s e t t l e m e n t of t h e site,

w h i c h w a s u s e d as C a m b r i d g e ' s l a n d f i l l f r o m t h e e a r l y m o s t of w h i c h o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e first 5 years. A f t e r

1950's t o 1972. D u r i n g t h e e x t e n s i o n of t h e R e d L i n e initial p r o b l e m s with f l o o d i n g i n t o s u r r o u n d i n g low

in t h e l a t e 1970s a n d e a r l y 1980s, t h e M B T A u s e d t h e a r e a s a n d o v e r b u r d e n i n g of local s t o r m d r a i n s a n d sew-

5 5 - a c r e c l o s e d l a n d f i l l as a s t a g i n g a r e a a n d a d i s p o s a l ers, t h e site w a s r e g r a d e d t o direct w a t e r to a d e t e n t i o n

site f o r o n e m i l l i o n c u b i c y a r d s of c l e a n fill f r o m t h e a r e a w h e r e a 2 - a c r e artificial w e t l a n d w a s c r e a t e d .

e x c a v a t i o n of t h e n e w s u b w a y t u n n e l . P l a n s f o r t h e
T h e p a r k was p l a n t e d with s o d f o r playing fields, t w e n t y
r e c l a m a t i o n of t h e c a p p e d l a n d f i l l as a r e c r e a t i o n a l
species of w i l d f l o w e r s f o r e r o s i o n c o n t r o l o n slopes, a n d
facility b e g a n w h i l e t h e M B T A w a s still u s i n g t h e site.
s o m e 800 t r e e s . T h e p a r k i n c r e a s e d t h e city's o p e n s p a c e

T h e p a r k design i n c l u d e s a n u m b e r of e l e m e n t s t o m o n - by n e a r l y 20 p e r c e n t , a n d o n o p e n i n g , w a s o n e of t h e

itor a n d p r e s e r v e e n v i r o n m e n t a l h e a l t h , s o m e of w h i c h largest n e w p a r k s in N e w E n g l a n d serving a d e n s e u r b a n

w e r e i n t r o d u c e d while t h e M B T A c o n t r o l l e d t h e site. population.

A m e t h a n e vent trench surrounds the park. G r o u n d -

[Waste D y n a m i c s of t h e N o r t h e a s t , (April 1994),
w a t e r wells w e r e installed t o m o n i t o r w a t e r flow a n d
p p 14-15, a n d ( N o v e m b e r , 1994 ) p p 34-35]
quality b e c a u s e t h e landfill w a s u n l i n e d a n d m u c h of t h e

old r e f u s e is l o c a t e d b e l o w t h e g r o u n d w a t e r s u r f a c e .

FRESH KILLS LANDFILL-VEGETATIVE DRAINAGE SWALE

Staten Island, New York City

A n d r o p o g o n A s s o c i a t e s w a s r e t a i n e d by t h e N e w York c r e a t i n g a n e w w e t l a n d a r e a using t h e r u n - o f f f r o m

D e p a r t m e n t of S a n i t a t i o n t o review t h e existing " h a r d t h e landfill. All p l a n t s in a r e a s t h a t w o u l d b e o b l i t e r a t e d

e n g i n e e r i n g " p r o p o s a l f o r a swale o n p a r t of t h e largest by t h e landfill w e r e m a p p e d f o r h a r v e s t i n g a n d

s a n i t a r y landfill site in t h e w o r l d a n d m a k e r e c o m m e n - p l a n t i n g in t h e n e w w e t l a n d . In resolving t h e s e issues,

d a t i o n s to simplify t h e design. A n d r o p o g o n ' s s o l u t i o n A n d r o p o g o n ' s design i m p r o v e d t h e l i k e l i h o o d of o b t a i n -

e l i m i n a t e d large q u a n t i t i e s of r i p - r a p a n d c o n c r e t e by ing all n e c e s s a r y p e r m i t s f r o m r e g u l a t o r y a g e n c i e s .

utilizing b i o e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i q u e s to p r o v i d e v e g e t a t i v e
[ G a r b a g e M a g a z i n e , ( S u m m e r 1994), p 60]
stabilization of t h e swale b a n k s . W e t l a n d losses w e r e

m i t i g a t e d by design of a f l o o d plain f o r t h e swale, t h u s

 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A21

27TH AVENUE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY

Phoenix, Arizona

"People will go there to learn about recycling and to see what happens to their trash, which no longer will be out

of sight, out of mind. The primary purpose of public art is to challenge people's perceptions."

Deborah Whitehurst—Director of Phoenix Art Commission

Ron Jensen, Phoenix's director of public works, envi- grand one-way loop around the site, rising from the

sioned a waste m a n a g e m e n t facility that would pull in desert landscape to the height of the building. T h e facility

the public, sell t h e m on the importance of recycling, includes an amphitheater with a view of a huge trash-

teach t h e m what h a p p e n s to their garbage, and confront sorting area, walls punctuated by glass blocks, terraced

them with the enormity of the trash problem. T h e first gardens, a library, and a pedestrian bridge over the road

design proposal for the $18 million complex perpetu- bringing garbage trucks to the building. Garbage is sorted

ated the "out of sight, out of m i n d " attitude toward at this facility, recyclables are salvaged and the remaining

trash. It called for huge tractor-trailer trucks and private waste is transferred to a new landfill 40 miles to the

cars carrying recyclables to share the same approach north. T h e old landfill at the site will be planted with

road. Visitors and administrators were located down- native vegetation and a new wetland will be constructed.

wind of a two-acre building filled with garbage. T h e

T h e new design not only improved the functional, aes-
scheme was rejected and a pair of artists, Linnea Glatt
thetic, and educational benefits of the facility—it cost
of Texas and Michael Singer of Vermont, were hired to
$2 million less than the original construction estimate.
rework the plan.

[Kim Sorvig, "Solid Waste to Civic M o n u m e n t , "

The artists completely redesigned the project, relocating
Landscape Architecture (June 1995), and Christine
the building to take advantage of prevailing winds to dis-
Temin, "Rising In Phoenix: A M o d e l For Public Art"]
sipate odors, and to provide dramatic views—of the

building f r o m the land and of the landscape f r o m the

Christine Temin, Boston G l o b e Sunday Magazine
building. Separate roads for trucks and cars progress in a
(July 24, 1994)]
A12 Appendix A

REVIVAL F I E L D
St. Paul, Minnesota

Artist M e l C h i n ' s "Revival F i e l d " u s e s p l a n t s to c l e a n link. A circle w a s p l o t t e d within t h e s q u a r e a n d t h e n

toxic soils in t h e Pig's E y e landfill in St. Paul. T h e 300- s u b d i v i d e d by t w o p a t h s f o r m i n g a n X . B e y o n d t h e

acre landfill is a state d e s i g n a t e d s u p e r f u n d site b e c a u s e a e s t h e t i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n , t h e division s e p a r a t e s d i f f e r e n t

of c o n t a m i n a t i o n by heavy m e t a l s s u c h as c a d m i u m v a r i e t i e s of p l a n t s f o r study. In e a c h q u a d r a n t , six types

leaching f r o m d i s c a r d e d b a t t e r i e s . C h i n w o r k e d with of p l a n t s , two p H ' s a n d two fertilizers a r e b e i n g t e s t e d .

D r . R u f u s L. C h a n e y , a U S D e p a r t m e n t of A g r i c u l t u r e T h e r e g i o n b e t w e e n t h e s q u a r e a n d t h e circle f u n c t i o n s

scientist w h o has b e e n r e s e a r c h i n g " h y p e r a c c u m u l a - as a c o n t r o l plot a n d will b e s e e d e d with local grasses.

t o r s , " p l a n t s t h a t extract toxic m e t a l s t h r o u g h their r o o t s

H a r v e s t i n g t h e p l a n t s allows C h i n a n d C h a n e y t o assess
a n d s t o r e t h e m in their tissues. C h i n a n d C h a n e y c h o s e
t h e success of t h e d e t o x i f i c a t i o n p r o c e s s . By cutting,
p l a n t s t h a t a b s o r b c a d m i u m a n d zinc t o test b i o r e m e d i a -
drying , a n d t h e n a s h i n g t h e p l a n t s u n d e r c o n t r o l l e d
tion o n a p o r t i o n of t h e Pig's E y e landfill, t h e first large-
conditions their heavy metal absorption can be ana-
scale e x p e r i m e n t in using t h e s e p l a n t s t o r e m e d i a t e
lyzed. T h e i n c r e a s e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n of m e t a l t h a t results
c o n t a m i n a t e d soils.
f r o m the ashing process produces commercial grade ore

A 60 f o o t s q u a r e section of t h e landfill, which w a s c o n t - w h i c h m a y p a y f o r t h e cost of t h e r e m e d i a t i o n p r o c e s s .

a m i n a t e d by heavy m e t a l s , was f e n c e d off with c h a i n

[Matilsky, F r a g i l e E c o l o g i e s ]

SKY M O U N D
Kearny, New Jersey

Sky M o u n d is a c o m b i n e d art w o r k a n d landfill r e c l a m a - H o l t ' s design i n c o r p o r a t e s m e t a l r o d s a n d a r c h e s , w h i c h

tion p r o j e c t d e s i g n e d by N a n c y H o l t f o r t h e H a c k e n s a c k a r e p a r t of t h e m e t h a n e - r e c o v e r y system, a n d p a t h s ,

M e a d o w l a n d s D e v e l o p m e n t C o m m i s s i o n . O n e of a n u m - which will serve to d r a i n s u r f a c e w a t e r i n t o a n a r t w o r k

b e r of landfills in t h e M e a d o w l a n d s , this 57-acre, 110- o r i e n t e d t o solar, l u n a r , a n d o t h e r a s t r o n o m i c a l events.

f o o t m o u n t a i n of r e f u s e weighing 10 million t o n s is O t h e r e l e m e n t s of t h e p r o j e c t , such as a l a r g e p o n d a n d

located a m i d n o r t h e r n N e w Jersey's t r a n s p o r t a t i o n nexus w i l d f l o w e r p l a n t i n g s , p r o v i d e wildlife h a b i t a t w i t h i n t h e

of highways, railroads, a n d N e w a r k a i r p o r t . T h e p r o j e c t 32 s q u a r e miles of h i g h l y - u r b a n i z e d l a n d t h a t c a n b e

uses a m e t h a n e recovery system to collect m e t h a n e s e e n f r o m t h e s u m m i t of t h e landfill.

which will b e sold to t h e local gas utility c o m p a n y .

[ J o h n B e a r d s l e y , E a r t h w o r k s a n d B e y o n d (1989) a n d

B a r b a r a Matilsky, F r a g i l e E c o l o g i e s (1992)]
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A23

5 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

O u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e p r a c t i c e of s u s t a i n a b l e design • D e s i g n n e t w o r k s of g r e e n w a y s s o t h a t t h e r e

and d e v e l o p m e n t is c o n s t a n t l y evolving. T h e c o m p l e x i t y are opportunities for both short and extended

and s u b t l e t y of t h e p r o c e s s a r e w h a t m a k e it such a chal- r e c r e a t i o n a l visits.

lenging, yet rich a n d f a s c i n a t i n g e n d e a v o r . T h e p r o c e s s

• Set b o u n d a r i e s so t h a t g r e e n w a y s a r e w i d e e n o u g h to
c a n n o t b e r e d u c e d t o a series of p r e s c r i b e d steps, n o r
p r o v i d e b o t h h i g h - i m p a c t c o r r i d o r s of c o n c e n t r a t e d
can t h e c u r r e n t t h i n k i n g o n t h e s u b j e c t b e s u m m a r i z e d
r e c r e a t i o n a l u s e . . . a n d z o n e s t h a t a r e virtually undis-
in a list of rules of t h u m b .
t u r b e d . T h i s action will p r o v i d e a b a l a n c e b e t w e e n

recreational opportunities and nature preservation

F o r t h e p u r p o s e of a c h a r r e t t e , h o w e v e r , p a r t i c i p a n t s
by s e p a r a t i n g t h e potentially conflicting uses.
m u s t h a v e s o m e s h a r e d a s s u m p t i o n s t h a t s e r v e as a

f o u n d a t i o n f o r t h e g r o u p p r o c e s s . T h e following design • L o c a t e a n d design facilities (trails, access p o i n t s ,

a n d d e v e l o p m e n t g u i d e l i n e s a r e o f f e r e d as p a r a m e t e r s picnic a r e a s , visitor c e n t e r s , etc.) t o e n h a n c e r e c r e -

that m a y h e l p to p r o v i d e g r o u n d i n g a n d f o c u s f o r this a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s as well as m i n i m i z e e n v i r o n m e n -

design e x p l o r a t i o n . tal i m p a c t .

• E s t a b l i s h a s y s t e m of z o n e s — b a s e d o n t h e c a p a b i l -

GREENWAYS ity of t h e l a n d s c a p e — t h a t allows c e r t a i n activities

only in d e s i g n a t e d z o n e s . T h e z o n e s will p r o v i d e a
A g r e e n w a y is a l i n e a r o p e n s p a c e e s t a b l i s h e d a l o n g a
diversity of r e c r e a t i o n a l activities w h i l e s e p a r a t i n g
n a t u r a l c o r r i d o r , s u c h as a river o r r i d g e l i n e , o r a m a n -
p a r t i c u l a r l y d e s t r u c t i v e t y p e s of r e c r e a t i o n f r o m
m a d e right-of-way, s u c h as a n o l d r a i l r o a d b e d . A t y p e
sensitive a r e a s .
of g r e e n w a y t h a t m a y b e a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e c h a r r e t t e

site is o n e t h a t serves as a n o p e n s p a c e c o n n e c t o r link- • D e s i g n s p u r trails off of p r i m a r y trails to p r o v i d e

ing n a t u r e r e s e r v e s , r e c r e a t i o n a l a r e a s , o r c u l t u r a l f e a - access t o ecologically sensitive a r e a s , r a t h e r t h a n

t u r e s . T h e following d e s i g n g u i d e l i n e s f o r g r e e n w a y s , t h r o u g h o r a l o n g a sensitive a r e a .

t h a t h a v e t h e twin goals of p r o v i d i n g r e c r e a t i o n a l o p p o r -
• L o c a t e c e n t e r s of activity, such as p a r k i n g lots,
tunities a n d p r e s e r v i n g n a t u r e , w e r e s u g g e s t e d by D a n i e l
picnic a r e a s , a n d visitor c e n t e r s , at t h e e d g e o r o u t -
S. S m i t h a n d P a u l C a w o o d H e l l m u n d in t h e i r b o o k
side of a g r e e n w a y . L o c a t e t h e m in e n v i r o n m e n t s
Ecology of Greenways. (1993, p p . 120-121)
t h a t a r e c o m m o n in t h e a r e a a n d d u r a b l e .

• Select places for recreation that offer settings and

r e c r e a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t a r e s c a r c e in t h e sur-

r o u n d i n g r e g i o n so t h a t u n i q u e r e c r e a t i o n a l a r e a s

are protected.
A12 Appendix A

LAND ADJACENT TO A RTVER OR WETLAND • P r o p o s e d w o r k t h a t w o u l d result in t h e loss of u p

to 5000 s q u a r e f e e t of w e t l a n d m a y b e p e r m i t t e d as
Rivers a n d w e t l a n d s a r e p r o t e c t e d by t h e M a s s a c h u s e t t s
long as it is r e p l a c e d with a w e t l a n d a r e a t h a t will
W e t l a n d s P r o t e c t i o n Act, which is a d m i n i s t e r e d o n t h e
f u n c t i o n in a m a n n e r similar to t h e a r e a t h a t is lost.
state level by t h e D e p a r t m e n t of E n v i r o n m e n t a l

P r o t e c t i o n a n d o n t h e local level by m u n i c i p a l C o n s e r - • W o r k t h a t w o u l d result in t h e loss of u p to 500

v a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n s . T h e a r e a s of i n t e r e s t p r o t e c t e d in s q u a r e f e e t of w e t l a n d m a y b e p e r m i t t e d if t h e

t h e Act a r e f l o o d c o n t r o l , s t o r m d a m a g e , p r e v e n t i o n of p r o p o n e n t d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t it is n o t r e a s o n a b l e

p o l l u t i o n , m a r i n e fisheries, g r o u n d w a t e r , p u b l i c or pri- to scale d o w n o r o t h e r w i s e r e d e s i g n t h e p r o j e c t so

vate w a t e r supply, a n d wildlife h a b i t a t . T h e legislation t h a t n o w e t l a n d a r e a is lost.

r e g u l a t e s activities t h a t involve filling, d r e d g i n g , excavat-

ing or altering in o r n e a r a w e t l a n d or w a t e r body. T h u s ,

Land Under Water Bodies and Waterways
virtually any c o n s t r u c t i o n activity involving site p r e p a r a - (under any creek, river, stream, pond, or lake)
tion (such as t h e paving of s u r f a c e s o r t h e e r e c t i o n of a
P r o p o s e d w o r k within this c a t e g o r y of w e t l a n d a r e a
small s t r u c t u r e ) t h a t is within 100 f e e t of a w e t l a n d o r
must not impair the wetland functions. T h e functions
river m u s t b e r e v i e w e d a n d a p p r o v e d . E v e n a l t e r a t i o n s
include:
to t h e l a n d s c a p e such as t h e r e m o v a l of t r e e s or b u s h e s ,
• W a t e r carrying capacity within a d e f i n e d c h a n n e l
vista p r u n i n g , o r t h e c h a n g i n g of land c o n t o u r s t h a t

c o u l d a f f e c t n e a r b y w e t l a n d s o r w a t e r b o d i e s a r e of c o n - • M a i n t e n a n c e of g r o u n d a n d s u r f a c e w a t e r quality

cern. P r o j e c t s involving filling o r d r e d g i n g within w e t -

• C a p a c i t y of t h e w e t l a n d t o p r o v i d e i m p o r t a n t
land a r e a s a r e also r e g u l a t e d o n t h e f e d e r a l level by t h e
fisheries a n d wildlife h a b i t a t .
A_rmy C o r p s of E n g i n e e r s

Activities a r e n o t specifically p r o h i b i t e d within w e t l a n d s , Land Subject to Flooding

(bordering and isolated areas)
rivers, a n d their b u f f e r z o n e s . If a d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t

c o n f o r m s to p r e s c r i b e d e n v i r o n m e n t a l criteria, it m a y b e • P r o p o s e d w o r k w i t h i n b o r d e r i n g land s u b j e c t t o

p e r m i t t e d . T h e s e criteria a r e e s t a b l i s h e d as p e r f o r - f l o o d i n g shall p r o v i d e c o m p e n s a t o r y f l o o d s t o r a g e .

m a n c e s t a n d a r d s in t h e w e t l a n d r e g u l a t i o n s in o r d e r to T h e r e f o r e , filling within this c a t e g o r y of r e s o u r c e

d e f i n e specific r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d r e s t r i c t i o n s f o r p r o j e c t s a r e a m u s t b e b a l a n c e d by excavating a n o t h e r a r e a

p r o p o s e d within w e t l a n d r e s o u r c e a r e a s . T h e p a r t i c u l a r t h a t w o u l d m a i n t a i n t h e existing f l o o d s t o r a g e

r e s o u r c e a r e a s t h a t exist within t h e F l o w e d M e a d o w capacity.

p r o j e c t a r e a a r e i d e n t i f i e d below, a l o n g with a s u m m a r y
• P r o p o s e d w o r k within i s o l a t e d l a n d subject to f l o o d -
of t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g p e r f o r m a n c e s t a n d a r d s .
ing shall n o t c a u s e a d i s p l a c e m e n t of f l o o d w a t e r

• V e g e t a t e d W e t l a n d s (wet m e a d o w s , m a r s h e s , a n d shall n o t adversely a f f e c t p u b l i c o r p r i v a t e w a t e r

s w a m p s a n d bogs). supply o r g r o u n d w a t e r supply.

 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A25

• T h e capacity of t h e a b o v e r e s o u r c e a r e a s to p r o v i d e • F o r any building, a gas m o n i t o r i n g / c o r r e c t i o n system

wildlife h a b i t a t shall n o t b e i m p a i r e d by t h e s h o u l d b e installed.

proposed work.

Leachates

Banks (natural banks and beaches)

W a t e r p a s s i n g t h r o u g h a landfill c a n l e a c h o u t c h e m i c a l

• P r o p o s e d w o r k a l o n g a b a n k shall n o t i m p a i r its a n d biological d e c o m p o s i t i o n p r o d u c t s . T h e s e l e a c h a t e s

physical stability, t h e w a t e r carrying capacity of t h e c a n c o n t a m i n a t e g r o u n d w a t e r , as well as a d j a c e n t w e t -

existing c h a n n e l , o r t h e c a p a c i t y of t h e r e s o u r c e l a n d s o r w a t e r w a y s . T h e following p r e c a u t i o n s s h o u l d

a r e a to p r o v i d e f i s h e r i e s a n d wildlife h a b i t a t . b e t a k e n to m i n i m i z e t h e p r o d u c t i o n of l e a c h a t e s .

• A n i m p e r v i o u s s u r f a c e c a n b e p l a c e d over landfills

LANDFILLS to c o n t r o l s u r f a c e w a t e r i n f i l t r a t i o n

T h e r e are four m a j o r technical p r o b l e m s to be consid- • T h e a r e a s h o u l d b e g r a d e d f o r d r a i n a g e of s u r f a c e

e r e d w h e n p l a n n i n g t o r e u s e a landfill site. A l t h o u g h water while controlling erosion

t h e i m p o r t a n c e of t h e s e d e p e n d s o n t h e p a r t i c u l a r site,
• P l a n t i n g of v e g e t a t i o n i n c r e a s e s e v a p o t r a n s p i r a t i o n
a d e v e l o p e r m u s t assess m e t h a n e gas g e n e r a t i o n ,
a n d stabilizes s l o p e s f o r e r o s i o n c o n t r o l .
leachates, hazardous wastes, and differential settlement.

A s a rule, it is n o t r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t b u i l d i n g s b e c o n -
Differential Settlement
s t r u c t e d o n f o r m e r landfills. O n l y in e x t e n u a t i n g c i r c u m -

stances and with p r o p e r precautions should such a reuse D u e t o w a s t e d e c o m p o s i t i o n a n d s u p e r i m p o s e d loads,

be considered. d i f f e r e n t i a l s e t t l e m e n t of t h e landfill s u r f a c e can occur.

S e t t l e m e n t of this n a t u r e c a n w r e a k h a v o c with build-

ings a n d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . T h e r e s u l t c a n b e b u c k l i n g of
Methane Gas Generation
p a v e m e n t , c r a c k i n g of f o u n d a t i o n s , collapse of build-
M e t h a n e gas is g e n e r a t e d as a p r o d u c t of a n a e r o b i c
ings, a n d b r e a k i n g of utility lines. W h e n d i f f e r e n t i a l set-
o r g a n i c d e c o m p o s i t i o n in landfills. T h e gas h a s a f o u l
t l e m e n t m a y j e o p a r d i z e a p r o j e c t , t h e following
o d o r a n d c a n s t u n t o r kill v e g e t a t i o n . If it a c c u m u l a t e s ,
measures should be considered.
it can a s p h y x i a t e a n i m a l s o r e v e n c a u s e explosions. F o r
• T h e landfill c a n b e c o m p a c t e d
t h e s e r e a s o n s , m e t h a n e gas m u s t b e c o n t r o l l e d in t h e

following ways. • W a s t e s that a r e likely to settle c a n b e s e g r e g a t e d or

removed
• A n i m p e r v i o u s s u r f a c e c a n b e p l a c e d over landfills

to c o n t r o l w h e r e t h e gas is e m i t t e d • A thick c o v e r m a t e r i a l can b e a p p l i e d t o t h e t o p

of t h e landfill
• Passive o r active gas v e n t i n g m e c h a n i s m s m u s t b e

installed • A n appropriate reuse can be selected

A12 Appendix A

• Buildings c a n b e e n g i n e e r e d to p r e v e n t d a m a g e . • Minimize impermeable ground and building

surfaces

Hazardous Wastes • R e t a i n r a i n w a t e r a n d r u n - o f f in cisterns and

c a t c h m e n t s to u s e f o r irrigation.
H a z a r d o u s w a s t e s t h a t a r e toxic to p l a n t s a n d a n i m a l s

a n d c o r r o s i v e to building m a t e r i a l s m a y b e b u r i e d in a

landfill. If t h e r e is e v i d e n c e that h a r m f u l m a t e r i a l s a r e Heating and Cooling

p r e s e n t , t h e r e a r e several alternatives.
• E l o n g a t e building g r o u p s in t h e east-west d i r e c t i o n

• A n i m p e r v i o u s liner can b e p l a c e d over landfills a n d s p a c e t h e m a p a r t in t h e n o r t h - s o u t h d i r e c t i o n to

i n s u r e solar gain to e a c h b u i l d i n g
• A n a p p r o p r i a t e r e u s e of t h e site can b e s e l e c t e d

• U s e p l a n t i n g s a n d e a r t h b e r m s t o s h e l t e r buildings
• T h e h a z a r d o u s m a t e r i a l s can b e r e m o v e d f r o m
f r o m e x t r e m e s of h e a t a n d cold
t h e site.

• A s u n s p a c e c a n b e u s e d to collect t h e s u n ' s h e a t a n d

d i s t r i b u t e it to o t h e r r o o m s
BUILDINGS
• S o l a r - h e a t e d s p a c e s a n d s o l a r collectors s h o u l d f a c e
Site Selection
within 15 to 20 d e g r e e s of t r u e s o u t h

• O n l y build o n l a n d t h a t is s u i t a b l e f o r
• H e a t loss can b e r e d u c e d by limiting t h e a r e a
development
of n o n - s o u t h w i n d o w s a n d k e e p i n g t h e b u i l d i n g

• B e c a r e f u l to p r e s e r v e t h e site's n a t u r a l v a l u e s form compact

• B e c o n s c i o u s of h o w f u t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t o n • C o n s i d e r possibilities f o r o n site e n e r g y p r o d u c t i o n

a d j a c e n t land m a y r e l a t e t o t h e p r o j e c t a n d , if possible, m a k e b u i l d i n g s e n e r g y e x p o r t e r s

rather than importers.

• Site s t r u c t u r e s so t h a t t h e s p a c e a r o u n d t h e m is p o s -

itive, u s e f u l space, r a t h e r t h a n l e f t o v e r s p a c e

of little v a l u e Daylighting

• Take a d v a n t a g e of f a v o r a b l e m i c r o - c l i m a t e s • O r g a n i z e r o o m s into b u i l d i n g f o r m s t h a t will m a k e

c r e a t e d by t o p o g r a p h y , b o d i e s of w a t e r , a n d daylight available to e a c h s p a c e . T h i s is especially

vegetation. i m p o r t a n t with o f f i c e buildings.

• T h e m a x i m u m r o o m d e p t h s h o u l d b e 2 t o 2 1/2

Landscaping t i m e s t h e h e i g h t of t h e w i n d o w wall to m a i n t a i n

a m i n i m u m level of i l l u m i n a t i o n a n d a n e v e n
• Avoid m o n o c u l t u r e s a n d m a i n t e n a n c e - i n t e n s i v e ,
d i s t r i b u t i o n of light.
m a n i c u r e d l a n d s c a p e s . I n s t e a d p l a n t f o r diversity

a n d n a t u r a l succession using native p l a n t m a t e r i a l s

 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A27

Construction Materials nation may have included storage of waste materials

and the combustion process itself. This process gener-

• Select materials that are non-toxic in their
ates a residue due to incomplete combustion that may
production and use
contain toxic compounds. If the incinerator burner was
• Select materials that are low in embodied energy
fueled by oil, then there may be an a b a n d o n e d under-

• Select materials that are renewable and/or ground storage tank that is a potential source of subsur-

recyclable face contamination.

• Select materials that are durable and low

T h e above issues must be addressed at s o m e point
maintenance
regardless of w h e t h e r the building is used in the future.

• Select materials that are indigenous to New England T h e level of contamination and the extent of remedia-

and/or m a n u f a c t u r e d h e r e tion that may be required will impact the feasibility

of reusing the building.

• Design buildings to be easily altered to accommo-

date changing uses, thereby allowing the materials

to remain in place Sources:

• Whenever possible, take advantage of existing Greenways

buildings and infrastructure. Daniel S. Smith and Paul Cawood Hellmund. Ecology of

Greenways. Minneapolis, 1993.

Water
Landfills

• Select water-efficient plumbing fixtures and

T h e Council. Refuse to Reuse. 1982.
fittings

Rivers and Wetlands

• Whenever possible, return graywater to the earth
Town of D a r t m o u t h Conservation Commission.
• Consider on-site, organic wastewater and sewage
A Guide to the Wetland Protection Act.
treatment systems.
D e p a r t m e n t of Environmental Quality Engineering. 310

C M R 10.00 Wetlands Protection. 1989.

ABANDONED INCINERATOR BUILDINGS
AND SITES Buildings

Barnett, D i a n n a Lopez and Browning, William D.

Determining an appropriate f u t u r e use of an a b a n d o n e d
A Primer on Sustainable Design., Snowmass, C O , 1995.
incinerator building must consider the physical charac-

teristics and condition of the building, as well as Brown, G. Z. Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design

applicable building codes and zoning regulations. T h e Strategies,. New York, 1985.

proposed use of the building must also consider the

M c D o n o u g h Architects, William. The Hannover
potential for residual contamination resulting f r o m
Principles: Design for Sustainability, 1992.
the previous incineration operation. Sources of contami-
A12 Appendix A

6 APPENDIX

CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABILITY tions a n d i n t e r a c t i o n s of it m e m b e r s . A s u s t a i n a b l e

c o m m u n i t y c a n n o t simply b e i d e n t i f i e d by h o w it
In o r d e r t o d e f i n e sustainability w e m u s t begin t o build
looks or by t h e p r o d u c t s t h a t m a r k its l a n d s c a p e ,
c o m m u n i t y ( h u m a n a n d n a t u r a l ) , t o c o n s i d e r regional
b u t r a t h e r it m u s t b e d e m o n s t r a t e d by t h e c o n t i n u -
l a n d s c a p e s a n d individual edifices, a n d t o d e v e l o p
o u s p r o c e s s e s of c o m m u n i t y building t h a t flow
e c o n o m i e s linked t o p l a c e . W e m u s t f o r m socially a n d
a m o n g a n d b e t w e e n its m e m b e r s , c o n n e c t i n g p e o -
ecologically s u s t a i n a b l e p a r a d i g m s . W h a t follows a r e
p l e a n d institutions to p r o m o t e t h e fullest p o t e n t i a l
notes towards a more sustainable architecture garnered
of t h e h u m a n e c o s y s t e m .
f r o m a r a n g e of s o u r c e s a n d discussions.

P l a n n i n g is holistic. C o m m u n i t i e s viewed as sus-

A c o m m u n i t y is d e f i n e d in W e b s t e r ' s N e w C o l l e g i a t e
tainable ecosystems means considering natural
D i c t i o n a r y as " a b o d y of u n i f i e d individuals." A n y suc-
a n d h u m a n r e s o u r c e s as p a r t of a w h o l e inte-
cessful c o m m u n i t y m u s t a c c o m m o d a t e t h e diverse inter-
g r a t e d system [e.g., c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n is r e l a t e d
ests of t h e a g g r e g a t e individuals by o r g a n i z i n g t h o s e
t o t h e d u t i e s of c i t i z e n s h i p , j o b s a r e r e l a t e d t o
interests into a c o m m o n good. We must define the com-
w a t e r quality; c u l t u r a l activities a r e r e l a t e d t o
m o n i n t e r e s t s a n d diverse v a l u e s t h a t w e h o l d a n d find
public health]. Planning for community develop-
t h e m e a n s to e x p r e s s t h e m in t h e physical a n d c u l t u r a l
m e n t must p r o m o t e networks to facilitate and
world. S u s t a i n a b l e a r c h i t e c t u r e m u s t b e u n d e r s t o o d as
engage the diverse values and c o m m o n interests
a c o m p l e x o p e n system c o n s t r u c t e d in t h e p r e s e n t a n d
of t h e c o m m u n i t y .
that maintains future potential.
D e v e l o p m e n t is a p r o c e s s t h a t c a n e n h a n c e t h e

T h e following e x c e r p t s a r e a d a p t e d f r o m t h e F o r t quality of c o m m u n i t y life. C r e a t e e c o n o m i c

Devens Charrette Briefing Book: opportunities that do m o r e than increase the

n u m b e r of jobs. M e a s u r e success in c o m m u n i t y
"Individuals can u n d e r s t a n d a n d i n f l u e n c e basic
d e v e l o p m e n t by w h e t h e r t h e d e v e l o p m e n t
h u m a n a n d ecological c o n n e c t i o n s . In a sustain-
e n h a n c e s t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s of t h o s e living in t h e
able c o m m u n i t y , p e o p l e strive to d e v e l o p t h e m -
c o m m u n i t y by c o m p l e m e n t i n g existing b u s i n e s s
selves a n d h e l p e a c h o t h e r b e c a u s e e a c h activity
a n d industry, by p r o v i d i n g security a n d quality
e n h a n c e s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of o t h e r s . W h e n e a c h
w o r k c o n d i t i o n s , by o f f e r i n g r e a s o n a b l e w a g e s a n d
m e m b e r of t h e c o m m u n i t y is fully e n g a g e d a n d
o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r p e r s o n a l g r o w t h , a n d by a d d r e s s -
participating, t h e n t h e w h o l e is g r e a t e r t h a n t h e
ing c o n c e r n s , n e e d s , a n d d e s i r e s as i d e n t i f i e d by
s u m of its parts. A c o m m u n i t y d e v e l o p s b e c a u s e
the communities affected.
t h e t a l e n t s interests, skills, a n d p o t e n t i a l s of its

m e m b e r s a r e b e i n g realized t h r o u g h t h e t r a n s a c -

Human needs are the foundation of development.
Meet c o m m o n needs—food, clothing, and shelter
and simultaneously develop and improve educa-
tion and social well-being."
The issue is the quality of growth and how the
benefits are distributed, not mere expansion.
James MacNeill
Development is the unfolding of people's
vidual and social imaginations in defining
goals and inventing ways to approach
Development is the continuing process of the
liberation of people in society. There is devel-
opment when they are able to assert their
autonomy, and in self-reliance carry out
activities of interest to them.
K.K.S
The locus of interest in an ecosystem and not
a politically determined site... Ecosystems
have economic values which need to be suffi-
ciently quantified and calculated as costs and
benefits in making economic decisions...
calculating environmental costs and benefits
in economic terms, time periods need to be
fixed by ecological and not political realities...
Economic theory has to be revised to incorpo-
rate well-being in determining progress and
wealth and to replace scarcity as a premium
for determining greater worth.
New England Governors and
Canadian Premiers,
Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A29
E c o n o m i c s : C o n c e p t s of C o m m e r c i a l E c o l o g y
Paul Hawken recently proposed a model for a com-
merce structured to resemble ecological flows. Material
and energy flows in nature are cyclical. Business is
currently structured in a linear approach that wages
an all-out assault on resources. We need a restorative
economy to reinvigorate American business and to
begin to repair the d a m a g e we have inflicted on our
world. T h e difficulty in creating a restorative economy
is based on a contradiction e m b e d d e d in the definition
indi-
of a successful, responsible business. Basic to the mar-
ketplace is the requirement to sell goods and services
them.
at a low price, thereby increasing volume. To do this
requires procuring materials and labor at the lowest
possible cost, "externalizing" costs to the greatest extent
possible. For instance, if I p r o d u c e silicon chips, wash
them, and d u m p the chemical effluent into the adjacent
river, I have passed the cost of cleanup o n t o s o m e o n e
Dadzie else. Sooner or later, however, s o m e o n e will have to
absorb the real cost of my manufacturing process—
perhaps s o m e o n e in a n o t h e r country or a n o t h e r
generation, but the cost has merely been avoided,
not removed.
A business that responsibly seeks to value all its
In resources fully and bring all its costs into the market-
place will, initially, be at a competitive disadvantage
with o n e working in the old way. This is the point at
which a regulatory lever can best be inserted. W h a t is
n e e d e d are marketplace incentives to reduce pollution
and waste.
Hawken suggests establishing three basic commercial
product typologies. T h e first is consumables, those
Eastern things lying on the ground that b e c o m e food for
1989 a n o t h e r organism. T h e second is products of service,
A12 Appendix A

t h e so-called " h a r d g o o d s " that w e n o w buy, use, a n d c o u n t r i e s . T h e e c o n o m y m u s t b e c o n t r o l l e d by t h o s e

discard. H a w k e n suggests t h a t w e d o n ' t really w a n t or it a f f e c t s a n d p r o v i d e security f o r all.

n e e d to o w n t h e s e things a n d could m e r e l y buy a license

• S u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t m e a n s m o r e t h a n simply
t o u s e t h e m . W h e n w e a r e d o n e with t h e m , they c o u l d
c o n t i n u e d g r o w t h . It m u s t allow f o r a b e t t e r quality
r e t u r n to t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r w h o will h a v e a n excellent
of life, i m p r o v i n g h e a l t h c a r e , e d u c a t i o n , a n d social
i n c e n t i v e t o r e w o r k t h e m i n t o a n e w m o d e l . T h e third
well b e i n g f o r e v e r y o n e .
p r o d u c t typology is unsaleables, t h o s e b e i n g toxins a n d

things t h a t n o o n e else w a n t s a r o u n d . T h e s e s h o u l d F o r i n h a b i t a n t s of i n d u s t r i a l c o u n t r i e s , s u s t a i n a b l e

b e l o n g f o r e v e r to w h o e v e r m a k e s t h e m . T h e m a n u f a c - d e v e l o p m e n t m e a n s s t e a d y r e d u c t i o n s in w a s t e f u l levels

t u r e r can license t h e i r use, just like any p r o d u c t . E a c h of c o n s u m p t i o n of e n e r g y a n d o t h e r n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s

will h a v e a m o l e c u l a r coding. If y o u r P C B ' s wind u p in t h r o u g h i m p r o v e m e n t s in efficiency a n d t h r o u g h

my well, t h e n y o u c o m e a n d g e t t h e m a n d p a y c l e a n u p c h a n g e s in lifestyle. I n d u s t r i a l c o u n t r i e s also h a v e

costs. Existing u n s a l e a b l e s can b e s t o r e d by a utility i n c r e a s e d responsibility b e c a u s e of p a s t c o n s u m p t i o n

[in c e r a m i c - l i n e d d r u m s or o t h e r a p p r o p r i a t e m e d i u m ] p a t t e r n s . We h a v e t h e financial, t e c h n i c a l , a n d h u m a n

which will c h a r g e t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r - o w n e r r e n t r e s o u r c e s to lead t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of c l e a n e r , less

[covering all costs] until such t i m e as h e f i g u r e s o u t r e s o u r c e - i n t e n s i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s , in t r a n s f o r m i n g o u r

h o w to detoxify t h e m . e c o n o m i e s to p r o t e c t a n d w o r k with n a t u r a l systems,

a n d in p r o v i d i n g m o r e e q u i t a b l e access to e c o n o m i c
A n ecological m o d e l of c o m m e r c e w o u l d c r e a t e busi-
o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d social services with o u r societies.
ness t h a t gives at least as m u c h as it takes. All costs a r e

i n t e r n a l i z e d , a n d t h e c o n c e p t of " d o w n s t r e a m w a s t e "
Social Equity
d i s a p p e a r s . S u c h a m o d e l , in flourishing, will r e s t o r e

the environment. S u s t a i n a b l e design m u s t b e s u p p o r t e d by s u s t a i n a b l e

p u b l i c policy a n d political p r o c e s s e s w h i c h strive t o w a r d

Increased consumption now for needier people con-
e q u i t a b l e d i s t r i b u t i o n of costs a n d b e n e f i t s of decisions.
flicts w i t h i n c r e a s e d i n v e s t m e n t f o r f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s .
Social equity r e q u i r e s t h a t t h e costs of d i f f e r e n t u s e s of
O n e a n s w e r is t o r e d i s t r i b u t e a n d d e c r e a s e c u r r e n t
the earth's resources not be externalized—the parties
consumption.
e n j o y i n g t h e b e n e f i t s m u s t b e t h e o n e s to s u p p o r t t h e

• E c o n o m i c policy h a s to h a v e e n v i r o n m e n t a l consid- costs. T h e i n t e n t r e q u i r e s t h a t d e v e l o p e r s m i t i g a t e envi-

e r a t i o n s e m b e d d e d in it; w e h a v e to l e a r n t o live on r o n m e n t a l a n d social i m p a c t s of t h e i r p r o j e c t s , t h a t sit-

t h e i n t e r e s t of t h e E a r t h ' s r e s o u r c e s , n o t t h e capital. ing of u n p o p u l a r l a n d uses b e publicly d e b a t e d , a n d t h a t

m a n u f a c t u r e r s " o w n " t h e i n g r e d i e n t s of t h e i r p r o d u c t s
• S u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t r e q u i r e s a real c o m m i t m e n t
in p e r p e t u i t y . W e m u s t c o n s i d e r social as well as e c o l o g -
to social equity. M o r e t h a n r e s o u r c e c o n s e r v a t i o n
ical sustainability in o r d e r t o p r e s e r v e t h e b a l a n c e s of
and c r e a t i o n of wealth, s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t
h u m a n f a c t o r s o n w h i c h civilization d e p e n d s . T h e r e will
r e q u i r e s its fair distribution b e t w e e n a n d within
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A31

always b e t r a d e - o f f s in i m p o r t a n t r e s o u r c e decisions. M i c h a e l H o u g h ' s p r i n c i p l e s f o r r e g i o n a l design:

T h i s p r o c e s s is t h e e s s e n c e of politics.
• K n o w t h e place: r e g i o n a l i d e n t i t y is t h e collective

r e a c t i o n of p e o p l e t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t o v e r t i m e

Energy identity f o r m e d t h r o u g h t h e l a n d s c a p e with d i f f e r e n t

places for different people.

Since 1979 t h e U S h a s g o t t e n n e a r l y seven t i m e s t h e

e n e r g y supply c a p a c i t y f r o m c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d e n e r g y • M a i n t a i n a s e n s e of history.

savings as f r o m t h e n e t i n c r e a s e in all e n e r g y supply

• E n v i r o n m e n t a l l e a r n i n g a n d direct e x p e r i e n c e :
s o u r c e s . A n e f f e c t of this a p p r o a c h is t h a t it d o e s n ' t p r o -
e n c o u r a g e a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d e n j o y m e n t of t h e
vide big p r o f i t s f o r big business, b u t f r e e s r e s o u r c e s at
l a n d s c a p e t h a t c o m e s f r o m b o t h e m o t i o n a l experi-
t h e scale of a n individual a n d c o m m u n i t y f o r o t h e r uses.
e n c e a n d scientific k n o w l e d g e so t h a t n o r m a l l y over-
It is a slow a n d i n c r e m e n t a l p r o c e s s t h a t d o e s n o t m a k e
looked landscapes can become memorable.
news. I m p l e m e n t i n g existing, tried, a n d relatively low-
• A s a design p r i n c i p l e , d o i n g as little as possible
level t e c h n o l o g i e s o n a n a t i o n a l scale will save b e t w e e n
implies t h a t y o u : u n d e r s t a n d t h e p r o c e s s e s t h a t
4 0 % a n d 8 0 % of t h e e n e r g y r e q u i r e d f o r c o n v e n t i o n a l
m a k e things w o r k ; p r o v i d e s t r u c t u r e to e n c o u r a g e
o p e r a t i n g systems. A n y n e w d e v e l o p m e n t in N e w
t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of diverse a n d r e l e v a n t n a t u r a l a n d
England should include heating with sunspaces and
social e n v i r o n m e n t ; k n o w w h e r e to i n t e r v e n e to cre-
t h e r m a l mass, daylighting, p r o p e r s h a d i n g , high levels
a t e t h e c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e m to o c c u r ; a n d h a v e t h e
of i n s u l a t i o n a n d high p e r f o r m a n c e glazing, o p e r a b l e
humility t o let n a t u r a l diversity evolve o n its o w n
w i n d o w s p o s i t i o n e d f o r cross v e n t i l a t i o n , l o w - e n e r g y
w h e r e it will.
lighting fixtures, e x h a u s t air h e a t r e c o v e r y a n d high-

efficiency m e c h a n i c a l e q u i p m e n t . • Sustainability: T h e p r i n c i p l e of i n v e s t m e n t in n a t u r e

w h e r e change and technological development are

s e e n as positive f o r c e s to sustain a n d e n h a n c e t h e
Construction Materials
e n v i r o n m e n t , m u s t b e t h e basis f o r a n e n v i r o n m e n -
In o r d e r to m a k e significant steps in r e s o u r c e c o n s e r v a -
tally s o u n d design p h i l o s o p h y . Its p r i n c i p l e s of
tion, w e n e e d to t u r n o u r a t t e n t i o n to t h e e n e r g y e m b o d -
e n e r g y a n d n u t r i e n t flows, c o m m o n to all e c o s y s t e m s
ied in o u r buildings. T h e s u s t a i n a b l e use of m a t e r i a l s h a s
w h e n a p p l i e d to t h e design of t h e h u m a n e n v i r o n -
t h r e e c o r n e r s t o n e s : lack of toxicity, low e m b o d i e d
m e n t , p r o v i d e t h e only ethical a n d p r a g m a t i c a l t e r -
energy, a n d local sourcing. U s i n g locally o b t a i n e d m a t e -
n a t i v e t o t h e f u t u r e h e a l t h of t h e e m e r g i n g r e g i o n a l
rials h a s t h e symbiotic e f f e c t of s u p p o r t i n g t h e e c o n o m y
landscape.
of t h e r e g i o n a n d r e d u c i n g t r a n s p o r t a t i o n costs. In m a n y
• B e g i n w h e r e it's easiest: w h e r e t h e m o s t p e o p l e a r e
a r e a s it h a s t h e a d d e d e f f e c t of e n h a n c i n g r e g i o n a l i d e n -
a n d w h e r e o n e can b e r e a s o n a b l y c e r t a i n of a m e a -
tity, o n e of t h e p r i m a r y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of building a n d
s u r e of success f r o m e f f o r t s m a d e , n o m a t t e r h o w
e n v i r o n m e n t s t h a t a r e loved by t h o s e w h o u s e t h e m .
small. S u c c e s s e s in small things c a n b e u s e d t o m a k e
A12 Appendix A

connections to other larger and more significant derive their creative forces f r o m perpetual solar

ones. [From Out of Place: Restoring Identity to the income. Incorporate this energy efficiently for

Regional Landscape, (New Haven, 1990)] responsible use.

8. Understand the limitations of design. Design does

T h e Hannover Principles are committed to the transfor-
not solve all problems. Practice humility in the face
mation of understanding of our interdependence with
of n a t u r e — t r e a t nature as a m o d e l and mentor, not
nature and may be adapted as our knowledge evolves:
an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.
1. Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist
9. Seek constant improvement by sharing knowledge.
in a healthy, supportive, diverse, and sustainable
Encourage direct and open communication a m o n g
condition.
colleagues, patrons, manufacturers, and users to link
2. Recognize interdependence. T h e elements of h u m a n
long term sustainable considerations with ethical
design interact with and depend upon the natural
responsibility, and re-establish the integral relation-
world, with broad and diverse implications at every
ship between natural processes and human activity.
scale. Expand design considerations to recognize
[William M c D o n o u g h Architects, The Hannover
distant effects.
Principles: Design for Sustainability, (New York,

3. Respect relationships between spirit and matter. 1992), p. 5]

Consider all aspects of h u m a n settlement. Include

Ecological Integrity is characterized by:
community, dwelling, industry, and trade in terms of

existing and evolving connections between spiritual • natural levels of plant (primary) activity,

and material consciousness.

• a high level of native biological diversity,

4. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design

• natural (usually very low) rates of soil erosion and
decisions upon human well-being, the viability of
nutrient loss, and
natural systems, and their right to co-exist.
• clean water and healthy aquatic communities.
5. Create safe objects of long-term value. D o not
Richard Forman
burden f u t u r e generations with requirements for

maintenance or vigilant administration of potential

Consider landscapes as an ecological unit similar to
danger due to the careless creation of products,
watersheds. Landscapes exist within a regional context
processes, or standards.
with local vegetation. Landscapes consist of groupings

6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and opti- of landscape elements that are different f r o m one

mize the full life-cycle of products and processes to another and that collectively have a strong visual, struc-

approach the state of natural systems, in which there tural, functional, and regional identity. Landscape

is no waste. ecology works with the inherent complexity and hetero-

geneity of real-world environments and focuses on areas

7. Rely on natural energy flows. H u m a n deigns should
of land ranging f r o m individual landscape elements to
 Example: Pre-charrette Briefing Book A33

collections of landscapes, or regions. In addition to by consumers in the city. As the food economy

these diverse spatial scales, landscape ecology considers became more local, local farming would

landscape change at time scales ranging f r o m minutes become more diverse; the farms would

to h u n d r e d s of years. [James T h o r n e , "Landscape become smaller, more complex in structure,

Ecology," Ecology of Greenways,, pp. 24-6] more productive; and some city people would

be needed to work on the farms. Sooner or

later, as a means of reducing expenses both

• Harvest renewable resources only at the speed at which
ways, organic wastes from the city would go
they regenerate.
out to fertilize the f,arms of the supporting
• Limit wastes to the assimilative capacity of local
region; thus city people would have to assume
ecosystems.
agricultural responsibility, and would be prop-

• Require that part of the profit be put aside for invest- erly motivated to do so both by the wish to

ment in a renewable substitute resource. have a supply of excellent food and by the fear

of contaminating that supply. The increase of

Herman Daly—World Bank Economist
economic intimacy between city and its sources

would change minds (assuming, of course, that

the minds in question would stay put long

To make a sustainable city, one must begin enough to be changed). It would improve

somehow, and I think the beginning must be minds. The locality, by becoming partly sus-

small and economic. A beginning could be tainable, would produce the thought it would

made... by increasing the amount of food need to become more sustainable.

bought from farmers in the local countryside

Wendell Berry

CREDITS

Project Steering Committee Project Coordinator

Bill Boehm Jay Lee John Rood

Larissa Brown Karen Nelson

David Del Porto Chris Royer Principal Briefing Booklet Authors

Daniel Glenn Peter Smith Larissa Brown
Shirley Kressel Shirley Kressel

Chris Royer

Research Team

Larissa Brown Jay Lee Sponsors

Gina Calventi Karen Nelson Turner Construction Company
Carolyn Hall Chris Royer Boston Architectural Center
Shirley Kressel Jim Stolecki Charrette Corporation
A12 Appendix A

GLOSSARY

BIODEGRADABLE: O r g a n i c m a t e r i a l c a p a b l e of N O N R E N E W A B L E R E S O U R C E S : Valuable, n a t u -

b e i n g c o n v e r t e d i n t o basic c o m p o u n d s o r e l e m e n t s of rally c o n c u r r i n g i t e m s which, b e c a u s e of t h e i r scarcity,

bacteria. t h e l e n g t h of t i m e r e q u i r e d to f o r m t h e m or t h e i r r a p i d

d e p l e t i o n , a r e c o n s i d e r e d f i n i t e in a m o u n t . C o a l , c o p p e r
BIOREGION: T h e b r a n c h of biology t h a t s t u d i e s t h e
a n d n a t u r a l gas a r e e x a m p l e s .
r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g living o r g a n i s m s a n d b e t w e e n

organisms and their environments. R E G E N E R A T I V E T E C H N O L O G I E S : Those that

t u r n b o t h s e l f - r e n e w i n g r e s o u r c e s (such as sunlight,
E C O L O G Y : T h e b r a n c h of biology t h a t s t u d i e s t h e
wind a n d r a i n ) a n d w a s t e s into u s a b l e f o o d , w a t e r ,
r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g living o r g a n i s m s a n d b e t w e e n
and energy.
organisms and their environments.

R E N E W A B L E R E S O U R C E : A nature resource
E C O S Y S T E M : A f u n c t i o n i n g unit of n a t u r e t h a t c o m -
d e r i v e d f r o m a n e n d l e s s cycle w h i c h with p r o p e r m a n -
b i n e s biotic c o m m u n i t i e s a n d t h e abiotic e n v i r o n m e n t s
a g e m e n t a n d wise u s e a r e r e p l a c e d . T r e e s a r e r e n e w a b l e
with which they interact.
resources.

E M B O D I E D E N E R G Y : T h e e n e r g y n e e d e d to grow,
S O L I D W A S T E : W a s t e m a t e r i a l s p r o d u c e d by h o u s e -
h a r v e s t , extract, m a n u f a c t u r e , o r o t h e r w i s e p r o d u c e a
holds, b u s i n e s s e s , i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d i n d u s t r y n o t i n c l u d i n g
building p r o d u c t .
liquid and h a z a r d o u s m a t e r i a l s .

H Y D R O L O G Y : T h e scientific study of t h e p r o p e r t i e s ,
W A S T E S T R E A M : T h e w a s t e m a t e r i a l o u t p u t of a
d i s t r i b u t i o n , a n d e f f e c t s of w a t e r on t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e ,
c o m m u n i t y , r e g i o n or facility.
in t h e soil and u n d e r l y i n g rocks, a n d in t h e a t m o s p h e r e .

W A T E R S H E D : T h e r e g i o n d r a i n i n g into a river,
L A N D F I L L M I N I N G : A series of activities d o n e with
river system, o r b o d y of w a t e r .
t h e objective of r e c o v e r i n g m a t e r i a l s a n d s p a c e f r o m a

landfill. It is a f e a s i b l e a l t e r n a t i v e t o revitalize landfills W E T L A N D S : A r e a s of land t h a t a r e c o v e r e d with

a n d e x t e n d t h e i r o p e r a t i o n a l life. w a t e r f o r at least p a r t of t h e y e a r , h a v e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

hydric soils, a n d h a v e o n e of a n u m b e r of distinct vege-

L E A C H M A T E : W a t e r c o n t a m i n a t e d by c o n t a c t with
t a t i o n types: s w a m p s , m a r s h e s , etc. T h e y h a v e i m p o r t a n t
decomposition products containing potentially polluting
functions: purifying the water that recharges aquifers,
o r g a n i c a n d i n o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l s . T h e liquid t h a t h a s
p r o v i d i n g f o o d a n d h a b i t a t f o r m a n y recyclable m a t e r i a l .
p e r c o l a t e d t h r o u g h soil o r o t h e r m e d i u m .
A single c e r a m i c c o f f e e m u g c a n " c o n t a m i n a t e " a t o n

of glass cullet.
 131

T h e following individuals p a r t i c i p a t e d as c o n s u l t a n t s in t h e 1995 A I A C O T E E n v i r o n m e n t a l Design C h a r r e t t e s :

Greg D. Ander, AIA Elizabeth Ericson, AIA David Lewis, FAIA

Southern California Edison Shepley Bulfinch Richardson 566 Doyle Avenue
300 N. Lone Hill Avenue Abbott West Homestead, PA 15120
San Dimas, C A 91773-1741 40 Broad Street, 6th Floor
Boston, M A 02109-4306 Gail A. Lindsey, AIA
Kirstine Anstead, AIA Design Harmony
E N S A R Group, Inc. Pliny Fisk 16 N. Boylan Avenue
P O Box 267 Center for Maximum Potential Raleigh, N C 27603-1421
Boulder, C O 80306-0267 Building Systems
8604 F M 969 Andrew W. Maurer
Robert J. Berkebile, FAIA Austin, T X 78724 216 S. Mercer, Apt. 9
Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh Boiling Green, O H 43402
McDowell Architects James Franklin, FAIA
1200 Main Street, Suite 1515 California Polytechnic University John Peers
Kansas City, M O 64105-2100 School of Architecture and 3685 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite 301
Environmental Design Lafayette, C A 94549
Jestena Boughton, ASLA San Luis Osbispo, CA 93407
T h e Colony Hotel David Sellers
525 East Atlantic Avenue Gregory Franta, FAIA PO Box 288
P O Box 970 E N S A R Group, Inc. Warren, V T 05674
Delray, FL 33483 P O Box 267 (802) 496-2787
Boulder, C O 80306-0267
Robert Cevero Lynn N. Simon, Assoc. AIA
228 Wurster Hall Kirk Gastinger, FAIA Simon & Associates
Department of City & Regional Gastinger & Walker Architects 99 Jersey Street, # 4
Planning 810 Baltimore Avenue San Francisco, CA 94114
University of California Kansas City, M O 64105-1706
Berkeley, C A 94720 Elaine Stover
Harry T. Gordon, FAIA Institue of Cultural Affairs
Anne Sprunt Crawley Burt Hill Kosar Rittelman 5811 Western Trail
Office of Federal Energy Associates Greensboro, N C 27410
Management Programs 1056 Thomas Jefferson St., NW
U.S. Department of Energy, EE-44 Washington, D C 20007-3813 Donald Watson, FAIA
1000 Independence Avenue, SW 54 Larkspur Drive
Washington, D C 20585 Margaret Howard, Assoc. AIA Trumbull, CT 06611
Global Environmental Options
(GEO)
900 Park Avenue, Suite 18-E
New York, N Y 10021

appendices
Other References
AIA Environmental Resource Guide
New York: John Wiley & Sons 1996
Three-ring guidebook to environ-
mental criteria for building materials
selection, including selected case
studies.
Ander, Gregg
Daylighting Performance and Design
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold
1995
Case studies and concise overview
of daylighting principles. 225 pp.
Environmental Building News
West River Communications,
Brattleboro, VT 1-802-257-7300
Bi-monthly newsletter on environ-
mental design and construction.
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Air and Radiation
Building Air Quality: A Guide for
Building Owners and Facility
Managers
Washington, DC: U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency 1991
Practical guide to indoor air quality
(IAQ), including IAQ management
checklists and inventory lists.
Hayes, Steve M. Ronald V. Gobbell,
and Nicholas R. Ganick
Indoor Air Quality, Solutions and
Strategies
New York: McGraw-Hill 1995
Interdisciplinary approach to indoor
air quality (IAQ) including architec-
tural, mechanical engineering and
industrial hygiene considerations.
Guidance to assess and control
indoor contaminants in buildings.
LeClair, Kim and David Rousseau
Environmental by Design professional
edition
Vancouver, BC: PO Box 95016,
South Vancover, C.S.C.
Vancouver V6J 4W4
Three-ring guidebook for design pro-
fessions, offering general information
on the environmental impacts of
products and materials.
Lyle, John Tillman
Regenerative Design for Sustainable
Development
New York: John Wiley & Sons 1993
Comprehensive overview of planning
and design principles, with emphasis
upon environmental approaches to
landscaping, water, waste, habitat
and natural energy flows in the nat-
ural and built environment. 320 pp.
133
McHarg, Ian
Design With Nature
New York: John Wiley & Sons
1969 and 1992
Classic reference on land quality
analysis and mapping to establish
design parameters.
Public Technology, Inc.
Sustainable Building Technical
Manual
Washington, DC: Public
Technology, Inc.
Three-ring practice-oriented manual
with reference chapters on all aspects
of sustainable building design and
construction.
Romm, Joseph J.
Lean and Clean Management:
How to Boost Profits and
Productivity by Reducing Pollution
New York: Kodansha International
1994
An overview of case studies that
demonstrate productivity improve-
ments through healthy interiors,
energy-efficient and environmental
approaches to design, construction
and use. 207 pp.
134 Appendix C

Roodman, David Malin and
Nicholas Lenssen
A Building Revolution: How Ecology
and Health Concerns are
Transforming Construction
Washington, DC: Worldwatch
Institute Paper #124 March 1995
Introductory overview of ecological
approach to building design, con-
struction and operation, written for
general reader. 67 pp.
Rocky Mountain Institute
A Primer on Sustainable Design
Snowmass, CO: Rocky Mountain
Institute
An introductory overview of
sustainable design, written for
Van der Ryn, Sim and
Peter Calthorpe
Sustainable Communities:
A New Design Synthesis for Cities,
Suburbs and Towns
San Francisco: Sierra Club Books
1986
Case studies of sustainable design
applied to urban, suburban and new
suburban contexts; design as if
people mattered; architecture and
biology; food systems; transportation
systems. 238 pp.
Vale, Brenda and Robert Vale
Green Architecture: Desigri for an
Energy-Conscious Future
Boston : Bulfinch Press Book
Little, Brown and Company 1991
Watson, Donald Editor
Energy Design Handbook
Washington, DC: AIA Press 1993
Professional handbook summarizing
design principles and practices
including climate and site; building
envelope; passive heating and
cooling; shading; daylighting; HVAC
systems; solar systems; technical
appendices: energy analysis;
economic analysis. 516 pp.

general reader. 135 pp. Design approaches that include

United States Department of the
Interior National Park Service
Guiding Principles of Sustainable
Desigri
Washington, DC: Superintendent
environmental approaches to earth
resources; waste as resource; food
production; conserving energy;
working with climate. 188 pp.
Watson, Donald and Kenneth Labs

of Documents Building Climatic Design:

Government Printing Office Energy-Efficient Building Principles

publication # N P S and Practices

D-902 September 1993 New York: McGraw-Hill Book

A comprehensive summary of Company 1983 [reissued 1993]

sustainable design principles, with Design based on climate, including

emphasis upon park land planning bioclimatic design; site planning,

and design. building envelope, massing and open-

ings; catalogue of climate-responsive
design elements; climatic data; guide
to computer-based climate analysis
program "Climate Consultant."
279 pp.
 ISBN #1-879304-86-4

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