Charrette transcript

Architects from across the country draw up plans for a new building in Cooper County. These plans change by the hour as people from the community offer their input. The building will house an improved MU Extension Center.

Todd Lorenz, MU Extension Regional Horticulture/Agronomy Specialist says, "Public input is the first step in making this project a reality. The mission of the University of Missouri Extension is to serve the citizens at the local level, serve the needs of the citizens at the local level, and this whole program has kind of fit right into that."

The architects led the public workshops over several days. This process is called a planning and design charrette.

Michael Goldschmitt, MU Extension Housing and Design Specialist says "Charrette by definition requires public input throughout the whole process, and so we expect people to tell us what’s on their mind, what they like and don’t like."

Daryl Rantis, one of the architects coordinating the charrette says, "Public discussion is important. Usually the public will really buy into it once they see that their idea was either incorporated or at least tested and then dismissed versus not even being heard."

Ideas for the MU Extension building include making it an educational facility that explores alternative energy sources.

"We don’t have a good place that we can go to to teach those technologies and use it as a hands-on experimental classroom and then look at research opportunities in energy and in sustainable agriculture," says Goldschmitt.

Other features include conference settings and an outdoor theater to promote community activities for both youth and adults.

"This was an opportunity where the timing was right, the technology’s advancing, the need from an environmentally conscious and a sustainability standpoint is there, and what better way to showcase that than through the University of Missouri and the Extension Center out here at the grassroots level," says Lorenz.