Perdido Key Master Plan Charrette Begins October 5

The Perdido Key Master Plan Charrette will be an intensive planning session where the public, designers, consultants and local authorities work together on a vision for the development of the site. Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), a leader in the practice and direction of urban planning, will hold their evening meetings with the public on October 6 and October 8 at the UMC Perdido Bay Community Center (13660 Innerarity Point Road). Residents will have a chance to provide input and participate in the design process beginning October 5 at the Perdido Key Community Center/Fire Station (15500 Perdido Key Drive). The charrette event provides a forum for ideas and offers the advantage of giving immediate feedback to the designers. More importantly, the process allows everyone who participates to contribute to, or comment on, the emerging Master Plan.

The team of design experts and consultants will set up a full working office called a “Design Studio,” in the Perdido Key Community Center/Fire Station, complete with drafting equipment, copy machines and telephones. Formal and informal meetings and seminars will be held throughout the event. Presentations and updates to the emerging Master Plan will be presented at the Perdido Bay Community Center.

Through the brainstorming and design activity, many goals are accomplished. First, everyone who has a stake in the project develops an understanding of the challenges to deal with and the ultimate vision. Second, the design team works together to produce a set of finished documents that address all aspects of design. Third, since the input of all parties is gathered at the event, it is possible to avoid the prolonged discussions that typically delay conventional planning projects. Finally, the finished result is produced more efficiently and cost effectively because the process is collaborative. Charrette events are organized to encourage the participation of all; that includes everyone who is interested in the making of a development; the developers, business parties, local authorities, residents and members of associations and forums who may have an interest.

Specifically, the Charrette includes an opening lecture on the second night of the event. This lecture will provide details of the charrette, how it will work, the program and introduce the basic principles of good neighborhood design. This will present the principles of New Urbanism, and help focus on the options for growth in the area.

Charrette meetings and presentations:

• The design team starts work right away, producing Master Plan options and designs. The options will be informed by formal and informal meetings with local authorities, community groups, government agencies and businesses, among others. The design team’s proposals and strategies are “reality tested” on a daily basis, so it is impossible to take an unacceptable scheme too far.
• Pin-Up in the middle of the event: This is a crucial part of the Charrette, where the designers are given the opportunity to display to a wider audience their approach to development so far. This provides the public and related parties and participants of the Charrette the possibility to respond immediately to the designs and gain feedback on their response.
• A final presentation on the last evening of the Charrette: A presentation of the plans, where all of the work produced during the charrette is presented and explained. Completion and refinement of the drawings subsequent to the Charrette. After the Charrette, there are always minor refinements that need to be made to the documents. Often, new information becomes available that affects the work. A Final Report is produced and sent to the Client team, which in this case is Escambia County.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Public Input, Comment, Design & Discussion

Perdido Key Community Center/Fire Station

15500 Perdido Key Drive, (conference room)

Monday, October 5: 6 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, October 6: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday, October 7: 10 a.m. to noon; 1 to 6 p.m.

Thursday, October 8: 10 a.m. to noon; 1 to 4 p.m.

Consultant Presentation Times

Perdido Bay Community Center

13660 Innerarity Point Road

Tuesday, October 6: Opening Presentation, 5 to 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 8: Final Presentation, 5 to 7 p.m.

ABOUT THE CHARETTE PROCESS

Charrette refers to the French School of Beaux Arts practice, wherein architecture students put their work in a cart at deadline time. During the 19th century, proctors circulated the design studios with these small carts to collect final drawings, and students would jump on the “charrette” to put finishing touches on their presentations minutes before they were due to be handed in. The excitement of anticipation overcame the fatigue of the previous hours of continuous work, and that same excitement characterizes the modern charrette. The charrette is the method of planning which Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company has adopted and developed in their traditional planning practice. Today, designers still gather as an atelier, typically in a single space, often on or near the project site, to study and develop proposals in a concentrated period of time. What is new to the process is the participation of the full community of the project’s constituents.