“During the nineteenth century, proctors circulated with little carts to collect final drawings and students would jump on the “charrette” to put finishing touches on their presentations minutes before the deadline.”
This is quoted from Moule & Polysoides, Architects & Urbanists’ website
The title of the book, La Charrette–a Book of Prayer on Wheels, hearkens back 19th Century France, referring to the final intense work effort expended by architects to meet a project deadline at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. “During the nineteenth century, proctors circulated with little carts to collect final drawings and students would jump on the “charrette” to put finishing touches on their presentations minutes before the deadline.” This is quoted from Moule & Polysoides, Architects & Urbanists’ website. It seems that the term is still in use in architectural firms referring to brain-storming sessions, and the forming of ideas . . .
I liken it to the Chariot–the Maasah Merkabah. The Ma’aseh Merkabah is a Jewish mystical text containing a series of mystical prayers one says in order to ascend to the Holy Realm.
This refers to the vision of Ezekiel. “Ezekiel saw a wheel way in the middle of the air, a wheel within a wheel a-whirling, way in the middle of the air. And the little wheel run by faith and the big wheel run by the grace of G-d, a wheel within a wheel, way in the middle of the air. . . .” One source says it was written by William L. Dawson, another refers to it simply as a Negro spiritual, a folk song.