University of Georgia

Charrettes are rapid, intensive, and creative multi-day work sessions in which a team of designers and local stakeholders focus on a particular planning problem and arrive at a collaborative solution.

The Center for Community Design & Preservation (CCDP) has conducted over 100 design charrettes since 1997. The format of individual charrettes remains flexible to satisfy the unique community needs and to respond to the local strengths and opportunities. Charrettes can be used to begin solving a variety of community concerns, such as downtown revitalization, building reuse, affordable housing, corridor planning, parks and recreation, wayfinding, and environmental management.

As part of the College of Environment and Design, our core team comes from the disciplines of Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation and Urban Planning, but we often draw on students from across UGA to create discipline-specific teams as needed. Our charrettes have attracted Geology students to help design a kaolin museum, Education students to re-envision an African American boarding school, and Law students to advocate for community development in underserved neighborhoods.

A team works together on the Douglas, GA design charrette project.

How do Charrettes Work?

Often described as “a tornado in reverse”, a facilitated charrette can take scattered issues, ideas and concerns and refine them into a comprehensive, illustrated vision. Charrettes occur in three phases:

  1. Research, Assessment, & Preparation: Identify stakeholders, user groups, and project goals
  2. Design Workshop: A 3-day, public workshop to determine viable solutions for the project. All workshops are open to the public.
  3. Refine the Concepts: generate final deliverables, reports, press releases, and presentations for implementing the project

How do Charrettes Work?

Often described as “a tornado in reverse”, a facilitated charrette can take scattered issues, ideas and concerns and refine them into a comprehensive, illustrated vision. Charrettes occur in three phases:

  1. Research, Assessment, & Preparation: Identify stakeholders, user groups, and project goals
  2. Design Workshop: A 3-day, public workshop to determine viable solutions for the project. All workshops are open to the public.
  3. Refine the Concepts: generate final deliverables, reports, press releases, and presentations for implementing the project
A team works together on the Douglas, GA design charrette project.
ArcGIS StoryMap - Map of Georgia with numerous red location markers indicating sites of CED community design charrettes across the state.

Charrette Experience

CED has charrette experience in a variety of areas, such as affordable housing and infill, brownfields and ecological remediation, building reuse and downtown revitalization, corridors and trails, historic schools and campuses, parks and recreation, as well as rural and underserved communities. View recent past charrette reports by clicking the archive link below. The left-hand column allows filtering by Subject to search our experience in various areas. 

View the Archive of Past Charrettes

Charrette Experience

CED has charrette experience in a variety of areas, such as affordable housing and infill, brownfields and ecological remediation, building reuse and downtown revitalization, corridors and trails, historic schools and campuses, parks and recreation, as well as rural and underserved communities. View recent past charrette reports by clicking the archive link below. The left-hand column allows filtering by Subject to search our experience in various areas. 

View the Archive of Past Charrettes

ArcGIS StoryMap - Map of Georgia with numerous red location markers indicating sites of CED community design charrettes across the state.
Jennifer Lewis
Jennifer Lewis

Director, Center for Community Design and Preservation

 

Phone Number

706-542-6760

 

Email

 

Address

Founders House, Office 201

325 Lumpkin Street

Athens, Georgia 30602

Recent Charrettes

Photo collage of UGA students participating in CCDP design charrettes.
Fort Valley Design Charrette | Spring 2023

At the beginning of the Spring 2025 semester, the CCDP took a team of 6 CED students to Fort Valley, GA. Fort Valley, with its rich agricultural heritage, status as home to Fort Valley State University (FVSU), and legacy as the birthplace of Blue Bird school buses, has strong foundations but has faced economic disinvestment and decline in recent years. 

After community listening sessions, students produced renderings of connectivity maps, historic façade enhancements, proposed parklets, and beautified streetscapes. These plans can be utilized by the City of Thomaston and private business owners to revitalize the downtown area, bolster economic growth, and improve quality of life for residents. 

View the Final Presentation 

Fort Valley Design Charrette | Spring 2023

At the beginning of the Spring 2025 semester, the CCDP took a team of 6 CED students to Fort Valley, GA. Fort Valley, with its rich agricultural heritage, status as home to Fort Valley State University (FVSU), and legacy as the birthplace of Blue Bird school buses, has strong foundations but has faced economic disinvestment and decline in recent years. 

After community listening sessions, students produced renderings of connectivity maps, historic façade enhancements, proposed parklets, and beautified streetscapes. These plans can be utilized by the City of Thomaston and private business owners to revitalize the downtown area, bolster economic growth, and improve quality of life for residents. 

View the Final Presentation 

Photo collage of UGA students participating in CCDP design charrettes.
Downtown Douglas Design Charrette | Spring 2023

On Friday, February 24th, 2023, the CCDP took a team of 17 CED students down to Douglas, GA, for our spring design charrette. Read more about the charrette experience here!

CCDP is excited to share the results of this collaborative effort, which led to a final presentationof innovative designs that aim to enhance the Downtown and assist in creating a unified vision that addresses a need for revitalization potential, corridor enhancements, and infill housing.

Check out the links below to watch a YouTube presentation of the charrette concepts, and, if you are a resident of or frequent visitor to Douglas, please participate in the survey to provide feedback on the final designs. Survey feedback will help local leaders prioritize revitalization efforts in Downtown Douglas.

View the Final Presentation YouTube Video

Downtown Douglas Design Charrette | Spring 2023

On Friday, February 24th, 2023, the CCDP took a team of 17 CED students down to Douglas, GA, for our spring design charrette. Read more about the charrette experience here!

CCDP is excited to share the results of this collaborative effort, which led to a final presentationof innovative designs that aim to enhance the Downtown and assist in creating a unified vision that addresses a need for revitalization potential, corridor enhancements, and infill housing.

Check out the links below to watch a YouTube presentation of the charrette concepts, and, if you are a resident of or frequent visitor to Douglas, please participate in the survey to provide feedback on the final designs. Survey feedback will help local leaders prioritize revitalization efforts in Downtown Douglas.

View the Final Presentation YouTube Video

Collage of images showing students and community members collaborating during a downtown design charrette in Thomaston, Georgia.
Thomaston Facades Charrette | Thomaston GA | Spring 2023

This design assistance helped fill a gap in Thomaston’s revitalization efforts by providing the drawings that owners must submit to be eligible for matching grants. The two-day mini charrette provided an opportunity for Historic Preservation students to learn about a small town’s revitalization successes and challenges, share their preservation knowledge with interested property owners, and learn illustration techniques that improve their professional communication skills.  In turn, property owners were provided with a series of hand-rendered illustrations showcasing façade improvements for their building.

View the Final Presentation

Thomaston Facades Charrette | Thomaston GA | Spring 2023

This design assistance helped fill a gap in Thomaston’s revitalization efforts by providing the drawings that owners must submit to be eligible for matching grants. The two-day mini charrette provided an opportunity for Historic Preservation students to learn about a small town’s revitalization successes and challenges, share their preservation knowledge with interested property owners, and learn illustration techniques that improve their professional communication skills.  In turn, property owners were provided with a series of hand-rendered illustrations showcasing façade improvements for their building.

View the Final Presentation

Collage of images showing students and community members collaborating during a downtown design charrette in Thomaston, Georgia.

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