2. Main ideas and definitions from peer papers
Issues with a business or economic-based model of sustainability (measurement, monitoring and evaluation):
• Leads to quantitative limits and establishment of monetary values of natural and social capital
• Assumes that a piecemeal approach can produce an aggregate solution
• Complex behavior of natural systems is unknowable
• Indicators can obscure resource flows and systematic interactions
Cognitive transition from imposition on nature to cooperative with nature, adaptive to change and participatory.
Humans have the capacity for reflection, abstract thought, intentional novelty or innovation and learning. Values
determine whether the interaction with nature is beneficial or detrimental.
Steps toward regenerative design:
1. Sustainability requires change and persistence. There is not an ideal end goal in a changing world.
2. Align human efforts with nature’s (How it works rather than how we would like for it to work!)
3. Engage and focus on the evolution of the whole system of which we are a part. Rooted in
biomimicry – “Conscious emulation of life’s genius.” – Benyus
Process of regenerative design:
Builds capacity of people and place to engage in a healthy relationship through co-evolution.
1. Understand human aspirations and unique character of place
2. Translate story of place into a conceptual design that integrates human aspirations with living
systems in a mutually beneficial way
3. Ongoing learning and feedback. Monitoring flows of energy and change. Participation. Co-evolution
Requires achievement of a common story through dialogue for all partners, including silent ones.
Changes the role of architect and planner from manager to “gardener.”
3. Buckminister Fuller Janine Benyus Eugene Odum
The Big Ideas
• Systems-based Approach
• Collaborative Dialogue of Discovery
• Feedback Loops
4.
5. A Shift to Systems Thinking
Joanna Macy’s GREAT TURNING
Shifting from a society of industrial growth to a life sustaining civilization
12. Subsidies, codes, standards, and taxes
A Holding Action
(actions to slow the damage to Earth 11. Sinks, buffers, and other courses (markets)
and its beings)
10. Infrastructure (of material stocks and flows)
9. The timing of information (relative to the rate of system changes)
8. Regulating negative feedback loops (disincentives)
Structural Change 7. Driving positive feedback loops (incentives)
(analysis of structural causes and the
creation of structural alternatives) 6. Access to information
5. Laws or rules of the system (incentives, punishment, constraints)
4. The power to self-evolve
3. The goals of the system
2. The mindset or paradigm that the system (its goals, structure, rules, delays,
Shift in Consciousness
parameters) arises out of Worldview.
1. The power to transcend paradigms (power of belief)
Donella Meadows’ “Places to Intervene in a System”
6. “Life creates the conditions
that are conducive to life.”
Janine Benyus
8. Odum School of Ecology
University of Georgia, Athens, GA
ENERGY CYCLE MATERIAL CYCLE
9. Feedback Loop
discover
design
refine community
participation
community
participation
build
learn
occupy
community
participation
10. “There is no power greater than a community
discovering what it cares about.”
Margaret J Wheatley
11. There is a deep story to every place.
How do we find it ?
12. What does quality of life look like?
It is different in every place.
Edmonton City Centre Airport Lands Redevelopment
13.
14. The Impact of Behavior
In the UK (Beddington Zero Energy
Development) of reductions in carbon
– 58% = building envelope, equipment &
renewable energy
– 42% = behavior changes (food,
personal transport, waste)
In the US (Sonoma Mountain Village) of
predicted reductions in carbon:
– 31% = buildings envelope, equipment &
renewable energy
– 69% = behavior changes (food,
personal transport, waste)
Lifestyle and behavior changes are
important!
21. Transforming Natural disasters by building healthy communities
Tornado Hurricane
1993
Great Mississippi River Flood
Pattonsburg, MO,Valmeyer, IL
2001
Tropical Storm Allison
Houston,TX
2005
Hurricane Katrina
New Orleans, LA
2007
EF5 Tornado
Greensburg, KS
2008
Iowa River Flood
Iowa City, IA
2010
Cumberland River Flood
Nashville, TN
2010
Haiti Earthquake
Greensburg, KS New Orleans
22.
23.
24.
25. Blessed with a unique opportunity
To create a strong community
Devoted to family,
Fostering business,
working together for future generations.
26. Greensburg Sustainable Comprehensive Plan
Community Growth
A progressive community that offers urban services within the A community that opens its doors to new residents and visitors
unassuming feel of a rural, Midwestern community. without affecting the values and lifestyles of its current
residents.
Family
A community that provides opportunities for its young people in Renewal
the way of jobs, education, and recreation as reasons to stay in A community that makes proactive decisions that use this
Greensburg. opportunity to reverse the decline of the community and build a
progressive city with a strong future.
Prosperity
A community where entrepreneurial spirit, customer service, and Water
a sustainable economy permeate the business sector and where Treat each drop of water as a precious resource.
residents, travelers, and tourists enjoy a full line of locally owned
businesses that provide jobs and services to Health
an exceptional example of small-town America. Improve quality of life by promoting a healthy and active
lifestyle.
Environment
A community that recognizes the importance of the natural Energy
environment and balances the need for growth and economic Promote a high level of efficiency in new construction and look
development with the maintenance and improvement of the to renewable options for generation.
environment.
Wind
Affordability Greensburg’s vast wind resources are part of an emerging
An up-to-date, affordable rural community where housing plans economy and should be harvested.
and strategies incorporate energy-efficient design and materials
and serve as a regional and national model for integrating Built Environment
residents of all ages and needs with services of all kinds. Build a town that encourages interaction between residents,
welcomes guests, and serves as a model community. New
Catalysts development should be durable, healthy, and efficient. City
The rebuilding process starts with the most stimulating structures projects will lead the way by becoming examples of green
and spaces. These will spawn further growth. practices that are built to last.
27.
28.
29. “Greensburg is a global example of
how clean energy can power an
entire community, how it can bring
jobs and businesses to a place where
piles of bricks and rubble once lay.”
President Barack Obama
INSERT COLOR RUBBLE IMAGE
HERE disaster image
EF5 Tornado First Platinum Community
39. Number Category Prerequisite
One Site Design Responsible Site Selection
Two Site Design Limits to Growth
Three Site Design Habitat Exchange
Four Energy Net Zero Energy
Five Materials Materials Red List
Six Materials Carbon Footprint
Seven Materials Responsible Industry
Eight Materials Appropriate Materials Radius
Nine Materials Construction Waste
Ten Water Net Zero Water
Eleven Water Sustainable Water Discharge
Twelve Indoor Environmental Quality Civilized Work
Thirteen Indoor Environmental Quality Source Control
Fourteen Indoor Environmental Quality Ventilation
Fifteen Beauty & Inspiration Design for Spirit
Sixteen Beauty & Inspiration Inspiration and Education
40.
41.
42. Omega Institute of Sustainable Living
Rhinebeck New York
Omega Center
for Sustainable Living
Rhinebeck, NY
AIR FLOW ENERGY FLOW WATER FLOW
48. Vision
The Green Arts District
will be a laboratory for
exploring possibilities,
promoting innovation in
arts, music, sciences and
sustainable design to
reweave community,
transform the way we
learn and create new
post-carbon economies.
49. Five Principles
POST-CARBON ECONOMY
Embracing the challenges and great possibilities of the next century, we
acknowledge the monumental task of transforming our local and global
economy. The Green Arts District will provide an example of how, by living
smartly, it is possible to improve the quality of our lives and heal our
planet.
COMMUNITY
As a town and college we embrace the great opportunity and responsibility
to renew our communal aspirations and strengthen our joint commitment
to local and global communities.
LEARNING
Through transformative interactions among the arts, sciences, and the
natural world we will initiate new ways of thinking, teaching, and learning.
SUSTAINABILITY
Leading through study and practice, we will embody sustainability through
our actions, creating models that exhibit integrated solutions, amplifying
environmental health, prosperity, and humanity.
EXPLORATION
Creativity, experimentation, and collaboration are ingredients for
innovation and understanding. The Greens Arts District will demand
exploration and reveal the human spirit.
50.
51. Site Plan
A Tappan Square
B Allen Memorial Art
Museum
C Venturi Art Building
Renovation and
Expansion
D Workshop
E Hall Auditorium
F Student Housing
G The Center
H Green Theater
I Curricular Arts Building
J Eco-machine
K Forum
L Lecture Hall
M Restaurant
N Oberlin Inn
O Downtown
P Black Box
New Construction
Renovation
Existing
Joanna Macy, when she describes the Great Turning, and Daina Meadow’s “12 places to intervene in a system” help to describe all the steps that are required to shift a society from the traditional industrial growth model, with its faulty assumptions about resources, into a life sustaining civilization. We can place Daina’s 12 steps into Johanna’s three categories of: Holding actions (like code, laws, taxes etc.), Structural changes (positive feedback loops, incentives, access to information) and Shifts in Consciousness (transcending paradigms) to see a pattern. Obviously as a society we are somewhere in the middle of holding actions and structural changes. A shift to systems thinking really demands a shift in consciousness. How do we lead that change? How do we define it for all the communities we serve?
Natural capital not identified in “health, welfare, safety” definition – major omissionNeed more feedback loops in the practice of architecture
So if everyplace has a deep story how do we find it? It is a lot of work currently to find the scientific and cultural information, but it does exist. It is often a matter of bringing more disciplines to a project and tapping into a deep well of open source data to make sense of it. And when we assemble the story of place for one site or one community, how can we capture it for the next team to use?
We thought if regenerative design had something to do with quality of life it might be helpful to illustrate what quality of life looks like. Humans tend to make decisions based on emotional, subconscious responses and then search for the facts to support our decisions. So how could we tell this deep and scientific story of place with imagery in a way that could be understood in an instant at the emotional level? The problem we soon discovered is that when we draw what quality of life looks like for one place, we know that the image isn’t appropriate anywhere else. So if one image doesn’t work everywhere, what hope do we have of finding one quantifiable definition of what constitutes regenerative design that will work everywhere? Simply, we can’t. And we shouldn’t. Each community must arrive at its own definition through conversation and experience informed by the deep story of the place. So, while we may not have the definition we were looking for, we think we might have the right question. “How can we help a community to have a conversation that will shift their consciousness and result in the community regenerating itself and all of its living systems from within?
Because of some of the work of One Planet Communities we are also becoming aware that while buildings and infrastructure certainly have a measureable impact in and of themselves, perhaps their greater impact lies in the positive behavior changes that they allow and inspire. In the BEDZED community in the UK, behavior changes like sustainable food, personal transit, consumption habits and waste account for more than 40% of the reductions in carbon emissions for those communities. In the US,(Sonoma Mountain Village), behavior is predicted to account for almost 70% of the reductions in carbon emissions (because American lifestyle is more carbon intensive). And quality of life indexes are high in these places. This newly emerging data trend suggests that any definition of regenerative design must address and inspire this kind of generous behavior that improves the quality of life for all life.
These collaborations are transforming communities. BNIM is an international leader in large- and small-scale design. They have led efforts to rebuild devastated communities…in Greensburg, New Orleans and, Nashville. Floods. Tornadoes. Hurricanes.
The town of Greensburg, Kansas was leveled by a tornado, BNIM worked tirelessly to regain the town’s basic necessities while creating a vision that sustains future generations.
One of the possibilities that grew out of all this history is the Living Building Challenge…
And now we know that achieving LEED Platinum and meeting the Living Building Challenge is possible and we celebrate the potential as more and more owners, designers and constructors strive to reach high standards. This is the Omega Center for Sustainable Living…
…a water treatment facility. It is an example of what systems thinking can look and feel like.
While this is still just a concept for a tool, the ideas is that Regen will identify components of life on Earth (shown here as the colored circles) that are organized into four quadrants: natural systems, constructed systems, economic systems and social systems. Components are things like water, flora, fauna, energy systems, transportation systems, capital, employment, food, social justice, public health etc. The idea is that a project team can input basic information about their project type, scale and location…
…and the tool will instantly populate, from a deep well of open source data, everything that is known about that place and its state of health. It is the beginning of a conversation. The circles are smaller or larger to indicate their state of health. An indicator bar in each quadrant begins to show whether natural systems are robust and resilient, the constructed systems are high-performing, the economic systems are prosperous, and social systems are whole. These indicators are currently shown as indexes on a scale of 0-100. Zero is doing nothing. 100 is doing everything that is known to be possible within the system. And because this is an open source and constantly evolving tool, what is 100 percent on one day, may become 99 percent the next day. For each action or piece of information added to the tool expands what is possible.
In the center, these dots represent strategies that can be taken to impact the components. The strategies impact multiple components, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively, in a complex web of connections.
It is also possible to enter based on more than one primary component.
When more components are selected, a more robust set of strategies are shown and those strategies that are most synergistic can be identified.
If one drills into a strategy, they will find all the smaller actions or tactics and LEED credits that are related to that over-arching strategy. They will discover all the components linked to that strategy in a different way. And is it is possible to see how that strategy could be measured.