Handbook for Planning and Conducting Charrettes for High-Performance Projects

The purpose of this handbook is to furnish guidance for planning and conducting a 'high-performance building' charrette, sometimes called a 'greening charrette.' The handbook answers typical questions that will arise, such as 'What is a charrette?' 'Why conduct a charrette?' 'What topics should we cover during the charrette?' and 'Whom should we invite?' It also contains samples of agendas,invitation letters, and other commonly used charrette materials. This handbook also outlines the characteristics of a good charrette facilitator. It gives suggestions for the types of experts to invite to the event to motivate participants and answer their questions. The handbook includes sample presentations that can be used by these experts to ensure they address the required technical content. It suggests the types of participants, including technical, political, and community representatives, to invite to the charrette. It offers advice for forming effective breakout groups to ensure that a broad range of complementary expertise is represented in each group. We have also included guidance on how best to include key decision makers and stakeholders who are able to attend onlyportions of the event.