About the project
Abita Springs is a quaint, classic, Louisiana town with a rich architectural past. Timeless, and elegant, the town faces the challenge of maintaining its character while continuing to grow and adapt.
Abita Springs is a town in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census, up from 1,957 in 2000. At the turn of the last century, New Orleans families would take the train to Abita Springs to escape the heat Abita Springs became a major resort area.
Today, the town still appeals to those who seek a quieter life and the beauty of the Longleaf pine trees. Many artists, sculptors, jewelers, painters, writers, poets, and philosophers have chosen the old houses of Abita Springs as their homes. The unique character of the town is its historic ambiance, small-town values, and an incredible amount of local talent. This Master Plan seeks to add to the town’s vibrancy while retaining all those unique qualities that made Abita Springs a comfortable place to live.
What is a Master Plan?
A master plan is a dynamic long-term planning document that provides a conceptual layout to guide future growth and development. Master planning is about making the connection between buildings, social settings, and their surrounding environments. A master plan includes analysis, recommendations, and proposals for a site’s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities, and land use. It is based on public input, surveys, planning initiatives, existing development, physical characteristics, and social and economic conditions.
What is a Charrette?
Charrette is a French word that in English translates to “little cart.” Architectural history holds that at the famous architecture school in 19th century Paris, the École des Beaux-Arts, students would continue sketching as little carts carried their drawing boards away to be judged and graded. Today, charrette has come to describe the rapid, intensive, and creative work session in which a design team focuses on a particular design problem and arrives at a collaborative solution. The charrette is product-oriented. Public charrettes are fast becoming the preferred way to address the planning challenges that confront American cities.
What does a charrette accomplish?
We use the charrette to design conceptual master plans for neighborhoods, towns, and cities. We work with developers and communities to assemble a cross-section of neighbors, property owners, business owners, public interest groups, government staff, and elected officials. During a hands-on day for neighbors, an intense workshop is conducted. A workroom is then set up, preferably within walking distance of the study area, where the design team works rapidly over several days to design the plan and required exhibits. Design details of the master plan are typically documented in sketches, photos, hand drawn renderings, computer simulations, and highly accurate computer drawings.
While the hands-on day is the primary organized event for public, semi-public, or private participation, the entire charrette process is open for drop-in discussions. At the close of the charrette, key stakeholders and invited participants review the completed design.
Why is the charrette process preferred?
The advantage of the fast-paced charrette process is getting large quantities of work done in a short period of time, without usual office distractions. The power of including the public in the charrette is in getting busy people to focus long enough to establish lasting community support. This process works best when everyone with an interest in the project, from regulators to neighbors to business decision-makers, is available and participates. The charrette can generate media attention to increase publicity at no extra cost.
Meet the Team
