• What is a Charrette?

Loosely translated, "charrette" means "cart" in French. The word is commonly used in the architecture and planning worlds in reference to an intensive and collaborative design process. This process often integrates local stakeholder opinions with professional advice to create a visual design product. This unique application of the word "cart" is believed to have originated during the 1800s, when a cart, or "charrette" was pushed around from table to table to collect final design sketches.

Below are brief profiles of the three sites selected by the city of Milwaukee for the conference charrette exercises. These sites offer differing scales and former uses, and they present challenges and opportunities common to urban areas. Green MakeOver conference participants collaborated in small groups to brainstorm ideas and prepare preliminary plans and designs for redevelopment of the sites. The results are presented here in a series of interactive slideshows.

• 701 E. Vienna - Former Industrial Site






Overview Presentation [PDF 7.3MB]

Representative Charrette Drawings

Download All Drawings [ZIP, 2.45MB]

• 20th & Walnut - Former Shopping Center






Overview Presentation [PDF 10.1MB]

Representative Charrette Drawings

Download All Drawings [ZIP, 9.49MB]

• Grand Trunk (1910-80 Marina Drive)






Overview Presentation [PDF 7.2MB]

Representative Charrette Drawings

Download All Drawings [ZIP, 5.89MB]

• How Were the Charrette Products Used?

The Green Makeover conference is part of a broader quantification effort to better understand the environmental, economic, and social benefits of implementing green retrofit techniques – especially in the context of contaminated properties. The charrette sites were selected in close consultation with the City of Milwaukee. The pre-conference site characterization and post-conference designs and final report are a product of a partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Michigan. Our goal is to work with the city to expand these partnerships in the coming months to implement some of these charrette designs - with the ultimate goal of quantifying the benefits of green retrofit.