Belle Haven/Willow Business Area Design Charrette

A planning exercise called "Belle Haven/Willow Business Area Design Charrette" was held on Saturday March 5, 2011. This was a cooperative effort between the American Institute of Architects San Mateo County Chapter and the City of Menlo Park. The event was held at the Facebook East Campus (formerly Sun Microsystems). The charrette involved 125 volunteer design professionals organized into four design teams. 25 architecture students from the University of California at Berkeley, University of Southern California, California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo, and San Mateo College were also included.

Starting at 8:00 am, the teams spent the day brainstorming, sketching, and drafting ideas, which coalesced into final designs proposed by each team. The teams presented their final designs to the general public, the other teams, and other guests at the end of the day. The event concluded at 9:00 pm. The interactive process included members of the public, the Menlo Park City Council and appointed boards and commissions which provided comments and suggestions throughout the day.