RIBA NORTHERN SOUL CHARRETTE

charrette

/ʃaˈrɛt/

noun NORTH AMERICAN

 

1. a public meeting or workshop devoted to a concerted effort to solve a problem or plan the design of something.

 

2. a period of intense work, typically undertaken in order to meet a deadline.

 

 

The History of the Northern Soul Charrette

 

 

The Northern Soul agenda began as an idea to create a project which could connect the ten Schools of Architecture in the North. 
 

Through a period on consultation, a number of formats were considered including ideas for competitions, live builds and cross reviews between the Schools but it was thought that all of these formats were either unfeasible across ten cities or tended to create competition between the schools rather than being conducive to students working together. 

The model of a “charrette”, an intensive design workshop undertaken in small groups over the course of a single day, was decided upon to successfully bring the schools together.  Through the common exploration of a key question and site, the charrette is a method of producing a large amount of creative design thinking in a short space of time. 

 

Projects are reviewed at the end of the day with the potential for information to be progressed further by key stakeholders, leaving a legacy in the hosting city

The first Northern Soul Charrette took place in Manchester in 2017, organised by MSA, with subsequent Charrettes hosted by in Northumbria School of Architecture, UCLAN and University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores. Here we are again, 5 years later in a bigger and better Manchester!