Endless Meetings or Efficiency

in Design Decision-Making

© Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc. 2006

Developed by Laura Fitch, Kraus Fitch Architects (lfitch@krausfitch.com)

Permission to edit granted to Samenhuizen (Belgium Housing Association) by Kraus Fitch Architects, 8/2013

The Workshop Approach

Building cohousing communities starts with the

people who will live there but it involves many

professionals along the way.

Workshops can be a win-win process For both the design professionals and group members

We each have a job to do

Professional’s jobs: • To work within the groups decision making process. • To educate members in advance of decisions• To reduce group member work load – they don’t need to reinvent the wheel• To be a cohousing expert – visit sites, attend conferences, do research

Group’s job: • To come to consensus in a reasonable amount of time•To understand the difference between what is essential, what is nice to have, and that compromises are part of the process

Programming & Design Workshops: 9 total

Flow chart by Chris ScottHansen

Programming & Design Workshops: 9 total

I) Visioning – one day

2) Programming and Schematic Design• Site programming + Design – two days• Eco programming – one days• Common House – two days• Units – two days + one day

3) Design Development• Site – evening• Common House – one day, subgroups• Units – one day• Design Development acceptance - evening

Typical Programming and Schematic Design

Workshop:Homework in advance

Friday evening slide show

Saturday: Programming

Sunday: Programming continued and Hands-on Schematic Design

Professional Design Charrette

Presentation, feedback, design development

Homework

Assigning homework to the group ahead of time brings more focus to the workshop.

Homework can:

Educate the resident group about issues in advance of the meeting

Help the architect:• understand the core values of their client group• determine where there is already consensus• determine where a recommendation is all that is needed• determine workshop agenda and focus meeting discussions on the areas where homework has shown that there is no clear direction yet.

HW - On-line survey

Overarching goals

Use a draft program: with cohousing standards

Questions interlaced

Answers should be designed to be easy to collate

Use a simple rating system to evaluate green goals:1. essential2. important3. nice to have4. not important to me5. don’t want

HW – Site Visit

HW – Gather Images

HW – Visit cohousing communities and read the

cohousing books

Preparing for Workshop:

Group:• Provide main contact person for architect• Determine location for and advertise slide show• Determine location for workshop • Choose a process facilitator• Do all homework assignments by deadline

Architects:• Collate homework•Cull out discussion and items and recommendation items •Create draft program and send to group•Create agenda•Pack materials

Know what your meeting facility and atmosphere will be like before you get there:

Tables

Break-out spaces

Childcare

Number of participants

Lunch and snacks

Wheel chair or other access requirements?

Set up the room in a way that will allow everyone to participate fully.

Set up the room in a way that will allow everyone to participate fully.

Team facilitation:

Team facilitation is fun, we recommend THREE people:

-Architect deals with content, -Aide (usually from architect’s staff) keeps notes and helps architect, -Group provided facilitator keeps stack and watches for emotional needs.

The Workshop

Six parts to a typical eco-design workshop:

Part I – Educational

Part II – Introduction and Group Building

Part III – Programming (the hard work)

Part IV – Prioritization (the even harder work)

Part V – Testing Decisions (if applicable (e.g. site design)

Part V1 – Summary, Evaluation

Workshop – Part 1Educational

Two part:• What is Cohousing? • Workshop Specific: site, eco, common house, units

Group: • Advertise and provide directions• Make newcomers feel welcome• Provide food• Introduce presenter• Field questions specific to group vision and site

Presenter• Content•Tell cohousing stories not just technical information• Field Questions: Be prepared to answer questions about living in cohousing, not just about design.

Slide Show

Two part:• What is Cohousing? • Workshop Specific: site, eco, common house, units

Group: • Advertise and provide directions• Make newcomers feel welcome• Provide food• Introduce presenter• Field questions specific to group vision and site

Presenter• Content•Tell cohousing stories not just technical information• Field Questions: Be prepared to answer questions about living in cohousing, not just about design.

Slide Show

Workshop – Part IIIntroduction and Group Building:

Present agenda and goals – it is easier to face a long agenda if you know where it is going

Present ground rules

Be organized AND fun – set the tone early

Try simple get-to-know-you exercises(eg., QUICK go-around to answer a question such as: “What do you look forward to eating in your common house?”)

Use visualization exercise to get members to share their dreams

Sunday:

8:30 Gather

9:00/10 Opening

9:10/10 Introduction and Review

9:20/100 Site Layout – Block Exercises

11:00/30 Break – Architect’s work

11:30/60 Site Layout - Continued

12:30/60 Lunch

1:30/90 Secondary Discussion Items OR continuation of Site Layout

Exercise

3:00/15 Break

3:15/60 Qualities of Spaces and Elements

4:14/30 Extra Time

4:45/15 Summary, Evaluation and Closing

Saturday

8:30 Gather

9:00/10 Opening

9:10/10 Introduction, Ground Rules, Big Picture: What are goals of weekend, How do architects use this

information

9:20/10 Site Feedback

9:30/60 Imaging Exercise

10:30/15 Break

10:45/15 Review OverarchingGoals

11:00/90 Program Discussion Items

12:30/45 Lunch

1:15/105 Discussion Items (Continued)

3:00/15 Break

3:15/90 Discussion Items (Continued)

4:45/15 Summary, Evaluation and Closing

Typical Site Design Workshop Agenda:

Ground Rules – my list

Emotions are okay, Aggression is not

Hands to speak (stacks of four) and/or willingness to work with group’s “card system”

Listen for understanding

When in doubt about process, the facilitators decides

Silence = Assent

If confused, ask

Stay on topic / Storage bin for off topic items

Let others speak

No side conversations (distracting for facilitators and others)

Imperfect process, facilitator is always making adjustments to match the group process

Relies on Group coming to consensus in a reasonable timeframe

Develop your own – teach by example.

It will be a long weekend - humor helps

Explore overarching values

But don’t get bogged down here. Values are only words until put into the context of tough decisions.

Visualization:

Workshop – Part IIIProgramming:

This is the hard work (tedious, and unfamiliar)

Homework can make all the difference.

Prioritize the decisions that really need to be made, and let the others slide if necessary.

Break the work into logical chunks.

Put specific issues aside if you are getting bogged down.

Use a “parking lot” for off-topic items.

Stretch and take breaks

Ask folks to take a deep breath while facilitators gather their thoughts

Don’t start from scratch, use the homework to generate a DRAFT program.

Time and frustration saving techniques:

Survey and educate in advance

One-on-one quick discussions

Small groups

Spectrum exercise

Love it, Like it, Live with it, Don’t like it, Can’t live with it

Prioritization index cards

Block exercises for design

Information about costs

Simple choices

Clear recommendations from professionals

Workshop – Part IVPrioritizing the program:

Workshop – Part VTesting the program (hands-on):

This is fun but not natural to non-designers

Display other community plans, for common house plans for reference.

Break into small groups (4-8 people).

Architect’s help out: give hints.

Generate several schematic designs (e.g., try a “linear” and a “courtyard” scheme).

Small groups report back: present each scheme and list pros and cons.

Group takes lunch break, while professionals have a working lunch: group “types” of ideas and synthesize them.

Come back together, review, discuss, and look for consensus on 1-3 directions

Develop two or three different schemes and suggest different approaches (eg., Try the common house in three different locations)

It’s a good idea to build a site model if the topography is a challenge. This is something that a group member can do to save money on architectural fees.

“Blocks” for the common house hands-on exercise are just scraps of colored paper.

Fold or cut and paste them to change them from simple rectangles to more complex shapes

Present and evaluate ideas. Quickly list pros and cons of every scheme.

Be sure to say something positive about every design – even rejected designs teach us a lot

Synthesize this information. Look for a direction.

Diagram the discoveries that were made.

For example: Common house location, views, open space…

Facilitate refinements of the preferred schemes.

Workshop – Part VSummary and Evaluation

Celebrate your progress at the end of each day! The design professional should ask for constructive feedback .

Post - Workshop Design Development and Presentations

Remind the group how they got to this point.

Make revisions on your feet, bring the right tools, and leave their egos behind.

Remember:• Cohousing design professionals help build community, not just buildings.• It’s an imperfect process, be gentle and flexible.

Kraus Fitch Architects provides slide shows (for cohousing groups and professionals) on cohousing design and work systems. They include:

Part 1 – What is Cohousing?Part 2 – Cohousing Site DesignPart 3 – Common House DesignPart 4 – Cohousing Unit DesignPart 5 – Cohousing & SustainabilityPart 6 – Getting the Work Done

Contact for copies: Laura Fitch: lfitch@krausfitch.com

This slide show was developed by Kraus Fitch Architects to educate cohousing groups about our workshop approach to making decisions during the design phase.

Permission to edit was granted to Samenhuizen (Belgium Housing Association) by KFA in August 2013. Credits for photographers, communities, etc. should remain intact.

If fees for presentations of this material are requested and accepted, please consider giving a donation to the Cohousing Association of the US (www. cohousing.org).

KRAUS FITCH ARCHITECTS, INC.

HOME COMMUNITY PLANET

Resources

Cohousing Association of the US (CohoUS)www.cohousing.org

Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc., (413) 549-5799www.krausfitch.com

Laura Fitch: lfitch@krausfitch.com

Photo Credits:Mike AprilJanice Doyama Rebecca Reid Laura Fitch Mary Kraus John FabelJim Hanson

With special thanks to the many individuals and communities featured in this show.