Designing from Potential: A Regenerative Approach to the Built Environment

AIM OF SESSION 

The invitation is to shift from a position of seeking a solution to fix a problem, to working from potential. These are very different starting points: with the former, the implicit question is: "How do we get back to acceptable?", whilst the latter is asking "what becomes possible if we amplify what's already alive here?" This invites a different way of thinking about designing for change, moving away from a purely ‘mechanical’ mindset and embracing a more 'possibilities’ oriented-approach.  

Through this invitation to adopt a different perspective in seeking to find ways forward, participants cultivate transformative capacities, in particular living systems thinking1, and deep attunement to both the local social fabric and the natural world - capabilities essential for navigating the complexities of societal transformation. 

BACKGROUND 

This educational material suggestion was facilitated with second-year students from the Energy Transitions course (Academy for Built Environment & Logistics) at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas).   

The intention behind this learning activity was to focus on a topic directly linked to the students’ study programme and to apply their content expertise to a place-based sustainability challenge whilst inviting them to think deeply about designing with potential in mind, rather than designing to fix a specific problem (so that attention is focused away from ‘deficit’ towards assets and possibilities).  

Participants are introduced to key principles of regenerative design through different media (a podcast and two film clips) and then invited to discuss their reflections and learnings. A link is made between the examples of the built environment used in these sources, and the participants’ own immediate ‘place’ – in this case the BUas campus. As a final exercise, participants are invited to identify the potential for designing creative sustainability interventions in their own immediate built environment through a regenerative lens.  

FACILITATION 

It is suggested that the facilitator may wish to watch the video clips and listen to the podcast by way of advance preparation (as well as setting this as advance homework for the students). It may also prove helpful to investigate the Living Building Challenge, as a relevant and related initiative (also referenced in the podcast): https://living-future.org/lbc/. This website also provides some case studies which could be introduced to the students as additional preparatory material.  

In the second half of the workshop, the facilitator may consider inviting a member of the sustainability/facilities team to give a short presentation about the organisation’s operations sustainability strategy, which the participants can then build on in their small group exercise.