Green Building > Ecology Assistance > Eco-Charrettes

Eco-Charrette Facilitation

An eco-charrette is an interactive brainstorming and team-building exercise that generates and targets sustainability goals for a green building. The eco-charrette brings members of the design team - the owner, architect, civil engineer, mechanical engineer, and landscape designer - together with the general contractor, maintenance staff, tenants, neighbors and concerned officials, to collaboratively contribute ideas to the building's design and functions. Through a process of education, discussion and small-group activities, sustainable ideas are balanced with their benefits, costs, payback period, and constructability to determine their feasibility.

The eco-charrette is usually a full-day facilitated workshop. Its format is designed to provide a broad overview of environmental and high-performance issues that may affect the project and to create a shared vision on pertinent issues and project approaches.

The goals of an eco-charrette are:

• Educate the team, owner, building users, and community about environmental and high performance issues.
• Gain a long-term or life-cycle perspective of impacts from development.
• Create a common language to explore such issues.
• Begin the collaborative approach necessary for successful integrated design.
• Form an expanded network of expertise on which to draw.
• Instill all parties with a sense of mission and ownership of the process and outcome.

The Green Building Group is available to conduct eco-charrettes for projects affected by Washington's green building law, on a first-come-first-served base. After contacting a member of the Green Building Group and submitting an Eco-Charrette Request Form, your primary staff contact will meet with you to determine your specific needs. After your goals for the charrette are identified, we will work with you to:

• Set a date to conduct the charrette
• Invite the right combination of people to participate in the process
• Set the agenda

You will be responsible for providing the venue and sending invitations. We recommend you offer light refreshments and/or lunch for the participants (Ecology does not provide catering). During the event, our green building staff will work to make sure your goals for the day are met.

After the eco-charrette, you will receive an illustrated report summarizing the presentations and discussions from the workshop, a list of the issues that influence the design and the green building process, and recommendations on next steps.

Eco-charrette report examples:

1. Airway Heights Correctional Center
2. Artspace Everett Lofts
3. Northeast Community Center Expansion
4. Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County's Harris Court

So, if you are working on a project that is receiving state funds (per Chapter 39.35D RCW High-performance public buildings), you may contact your regional Green Building Group representative to schedule an eco-charrette for your project.

Please note that Ecology reserves the right to charge for the charrette facilitation services at a future date. Currently, this service is free-of-charge.