Category: Regenerative Design

Where we make but also where we take

When it comes to regenerative design, it’s not just where we make but also where we take that matters. For the last two decades, engineers (and other humans)…

The Systems Bookcase at the Houses of Parliament

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the launch at Parliament of Building Blocks to Transform the Built Environment – a manifesto to turn the climate emergency into…

How much does your website weigh?

It’s a funny question. How much does my website weigh? Is it heavy? It is light? I have no way of knowing.  But I like the question, because…

What if every time we built something the world got better?

It is a simple question. What if every time we built something the world got better? Not just in the places we construct but in all the places…

Construction as an act of healing

What if, every time we designed a building, the world got better? This post explores the transformative potential of regenerative design, a paradigm shift from construction that contributes…

Seeking abundance in the Cambridge Fens

An abundance mindset is a key tool for the regenerative engineer. It gives three things. The first is the ability to see the richness of the situations we…

The Song of the System

Every system has a song. Whether that system is the collection of components in an engine. Or the hum of a collaborative team. The tap-dance of ants in…

Time for new patterns

We see patterns. We think in patterns. We create patterns. A pattern is something that repeats. A drum beat. An oscillation. Patterns make things regular and therefore intelligible….

Vision for a regenerative programme of forestry and building maintenance at Hazel Hill Wood

This afternoon I met with two trustees of Hazel Hill Wood to develop some ideas for a funding bid to support more regenerative use of timber to maintain…

Reading the patterns from the regenerative design lab

This week I am delving into the data we gathered from cohort one of the regenerative design lab. As I struggle to process reams of text my first…

Downhill to the weekend – time for writing

I’m just noticing that I’m entering that perfect groove of Friday afternoon. I’ve stopped travelling for the week and I’m back at my desk. My head is buzzing…

An experiment in foundational capital

Last year I read about foundational capital in Lean Logic. It’s the idea of the capital that systems depend upon to live. For us Earthlings it’s clean air…

Regenerative Design Tetris Blocks

There’s lots of regenerative design thoughts bubbling around between my ears. I often get to a point in my creative process where I feel I can’t write something…

Patterns versus words

In my exploration of regenerative design I’m often struck by how language is a barrier to exploring regenerative thinking. I can see two things at play here. The…

A myriad of questions about regenerative design

In my post earlier last week I made the case for regenerative design as a response to the range of systemic ecological, social and climatic challenges that we…

The incredible system that will save us

Good news. There is an incredible system that can save humanity and will enable us to thrive on planet Earth. Here’s how it works.  It is the system…

Regenerative design as a response to the systemic challenges we face

In the construction industry we are focused on tackling anthropogenic carbon emissions. But this focus misses two wider points.  Firstly, that the climate crisis is just one of…

Targets for regenerative design

Rather than look at a design process and ask ‘is that regenerative’, I find it more insightful to look for where a design process is enabling a living…

Salt harvesting in Brittany – engineering and commoning

Salt has been harvested in the bay between Le Croisic and Guérance on the edge of Brittany for centuries. The industry had been in decline but in more…

If you want to save the planet… have dancing lessons

Serendipitously, as I was preparing for my first dance teaching workshop this morning at the Idler Festival, I spotted a quote in one of my other open browser…

Notes from RESTORE report Sustainability, Restorative to Regenerative

Here are my notes from reading the RESTORE report ‘ (REthinking Sustainability TOwards a Regenerative Economy) Sustainability, Restorative to Regenerative – edited by Martin Brown and Edeltraud Haselsteiner…

Engineering of the commons

If we want to think really regeneratively about engineering and the creation of buildings, then maybe we should consider building materials as a common resource. I realise that…

Exploring regenerative practice for engineers

As James and I start to delve into the writing for our book on regenerative design for structural engineers, I am gathering my thoughts on what regenerative practice…

Notes on building local

This month I am writing an article on that explores what if we restricted construction material use to those from a local catchment. Rather than a global supply…

Following abundance versus desire

At our local allotments, permaculture teacher Mike Fiengold re-distributes food waste in the community. Even after he has sent food to various local charities there is lots left…

Restorative versus regenerative design

Restorative and regenerative are two words I am hearing used interchangeably. Both are relevant to engineering and design. Both are approaches to design that are valuable. But they…

Making the Regenerative Design Lab a Regenerative System

In today’s planning session for the Regenerative Design Lab with my co-facilitator Ellie Osborne, we asked what if we made the lab itself a regenerative system? Based on…