Charrette in Toronto

KEA students can apply join the Brookfield Sustainability Institute (BSI) Charrette in 2024 and experience how to work in an intense design workshop with international students from many different disciplines. Learn more about how to apply in the bottom of the page.

The Charrette and BSI

The Brookfield Sustainability Institute (BSI) at George Brown College is a global solutions studio and catalytic innovation hub. Its vision is to create smart, sustainable design solutions for a better future. The Institute’s mission is to foster partnerships with governments, businesses, and nonprofits worldwide, to develop applied solutions, and to create momentum in the fight against climate change.

This year’s Charrette will focus on Sustainable Places to Live and Grow in our cities.

The charrette challenges will revolve around the design of affordable and sustainable housing units ranging from studios to 1,2- and 3-bedroom micro-units that follow the simple living philosophy that embraces a low carbon footprint lifestyle.

In addition to this, there will be challenges focused on the design of the components of an automated and decentralized urban farm that would be operated in partnership between the community and an educational institution.

The challenge of the various scales of local growing for food security in the urban context will be explored ranging from personal growing to public growing of food in the city.

There are potentially over 12 teams working on projects. Students from Schools in Europe and North America will collaborate on developing proposals for the projects that are already in research and development stages.

More information George Brown Colleges, Brookfield Sustainability Institute can be found here:

https://www.brookfieldsustainabilityinstitute.com/

BSI Charrette projects 2024

The following projects are being considered for Charrette design briefs:

• Urban Farming Part II
• Mobile Health Clinic
• Sustainable Remote Cabin Design
• Wooler positive climate neighborhood project - Interior Health Spa project for Communicty Centre
• Wooler positive climate neighborhood project - community park design for the community
• Habitat for Humanity - new positive climate neighborhood 
• Armel Guelp site - new positive climate neighborhood

Over the course of the workshop, the participants will follow design thinking methodology - define, ideate, develop, prototype, and deliver. Teams will have access to faculty and industry leaders for guidance while they develop their deliverables.

Participants will benefit from networking with peers and thought leaders, learning design thinking tools and methodologies in a collaborative environment, rapid ideation and iteration, communication design, all while working on real-life projects. Concepts will be pitched in a final presentation on Monday, February 26th as the event comes to a close.