Neighborhood Urban Design Charrette: Architecture at Laney College (2016)

This is a short documentary film, or Docu-Short as one studios calls them, that covers a portion of the Sustainable Design Applications course taught in the Architecture Department at Laney College in Oakland, CA, by instructor Courtney Miller, RA, LEED AP. Over the course of four weeks filmmaker and one studios founder Bryan Bachar documented the process of an architecture charrette, which is a community based gathering meant to allow community members to bring their ideas together and discuss what they think is best to be built for their living environment. The plans determined are then passed onto architects and other industry professionals in order to make the ideas come to fruition. Charrettes are a very powerful tool in finding new ways to address community problems and unique attributes of communities. They allow for better overall community enrichment and inclusion, helping to get rid of gentrification and corporate influence, as well as solidifying a more sustainable future for the community. This short film project highlights the students involved in this charrette portion of the Sustainable Design Applications course at Laney, while detailing a charrette; its purpose, its process and its goals.