In a traditional loom, strong fibres are stretched out in one direction, through which a second set of perpendicular threads is tied in. These longitudinal threads are called the warp, and the fibres woven in between are the weft. Together they form the patterns in our fabric.

The goal of regenerative design is for human and living systems to survive, thrive and co-evolve. This statement describes a future state – a vision for how different things could be. 

But most of the people we work with, be they clients, colleagues or collaborators – are focused on the present. And if we are honest, so are we. If we were to ask ourselves what we think about most often, the answer probably we would be present-day concerns rather than distant aspirations. 

Warp threads – linking present and future.

As futures thinker Bill Sharpe helps us understand, the makings of the future are here in the present. 

The key to bridging future aspirations and present concerns is use framings that are both relevant to today’s challenges and compatible with the future that we want to build. 

These framings act as strong warp threads, running through the present and the future. Of the various strands of regenerative thinking, three threads stand out as links between the present and future.

  • Complexity – the character of the present and the future. The present is very complex, and it’s not about to become any less so. Regenerative thinking requires us to work with interconnection and complexity. Seeing and working with complexity is therefore both relevant to the present and the future. 
  • Time – the amplifier of change – whether its through compound interest, network effects or technological acceleration, time has the power to amplify both the good and the bad. Regenerative thinking recognises that things are constantly in flow, evolving and adapting over time time. Applying a long-term view is therefore both relevant to today’s interests and tomorrow’s.
  • Iteration – the means of navigating complexity over time. whether it’s the philosophy of continuous improvement, or the method of iterative problem solving – cycles of action and reaction are part of how we work. Regenerative practice requires long-term cycles of experimentation, feedback and learning.  Therefore iterative working has both currency in the present and the future.

Complexity, time, iteration – are warp threads that link today and tomorrow. They provide a common language that allows us to address immediate concerns through a frame that is still compatible with our regenerative goals.

You will see these threads running throughout the patterns in this book. 

But on their own, they are not enough to guarantee a regenerative future. We can also with with complexity, time and iteration to create other, less desirable futures. 

What bends these threads is the crosswise threads we weave in between, the weft that bends the present towards the regenerative future.