Motley Crews: Learning from Interdisciplinary Design Charrettes

Academic environments can provide opportunities for students to learn collaboration, reveal its benefits and establish a culture of collective problem-solving. The 21st-century charrette model involves disciplines outside the fields of design and promotes the sharing of knowledge. This paper will consider the characteristics of successful collaborations by analyzing the development of interdisciplinary student charrettes at Drexel University over the past decade. Students at Drexel are engaged in collaboration and civic engagement in professional settings prior to graduation. As a shared university value, civic engagement experiences educate students in problem-solving, understanding diversity, good citizenship, and leadership. We see the charrette as a unique academic model to span the needs of professional collaboration and civic engagement. Since 2008, Drexel University’s Department of Architecture, Design & Urbanism has conducted six student design charrettes that we believe provide a model for encouraging both civic engagement and participation from a wide variety of disciplines. Envisioned as an intense collaborative activity spanning three days, our charrettes are non-competitive and not given academic credit, but regularly attract the participation of 60-80 students including law, nursing, graphic design, engineering, and interior design majors. The charrettes have sometimes featured renowned guests from outside of the institution, intended to inspire and expose the students to other design perspectives and processes. In addition to a brief history of design charrettes at Drexel University, this paper discusses logistical issues and student experiences that characterize these events. We will then discuss charrette leadership and learning outcomes, and ways this charrette model may be successfully applied in other settings.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.108.96

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ISBN
978-1-944214-26-5