TEACHING URBAN DESIGN
STEP 3: THE DESIGN CHARETTE The physical design phase of the studio commenced with a two-day Urban Design Charette held in the form of a competition. Nine newly formed groups produced different urban design frameworks for the site. These frameworks aimed to be detailed enough to provide an image conveying spatial qualities but were to remain sufficiently abstract to allow exploring further design options. The Charette was structured in three sessions: during each session an external guest teacher was invited and each teacher worked intensely with three groups. After each session, the teachers switched groups so that each group received three distinct mentorships during the Charette. The outcome of this method was 9 very different designs ranging anywhere from experimental to conventional. After a final discussion involving guest teachers and external experts each member of the workshop – both students and teachers - cast votes on their favourite designs in order to choose the best 3 designs to be developed by all students during the remainder of the semester. The winning concepts included-
The workspace of the studio in full flow. Image credit: UD Studio, WS 2015/16
142 CITY OBSERVER | June 2016