Creativity training and teaching for engineers
Have you every wondered why we make the engineering decisions we do? Why, despite decades of knowledge about the climate and ecological breakdown, we continue to design in a way that causes harm to our life-support systems. To help understand the driving forces behind design decisions, James Norman and I proposed the Systems Bookcase model in ‘the Regenerative Structural Engineer’.
Continue reading “The Systems Bookcase model”
The idea that construction should enhance ecosystems and communities rather than depleting them might sound like a given. After all, shouldn’t the world be genuinely better off, more resilient, thriving, and adaptable after we build something? This, in essence, is what a regenerative construction industry is all about.
However, when we start translating this approach to individual projects, we quickly encounter a plethora of barriers: supply chain restrictions, legislative hurdles, planning constraints, contractual structures, questions of long-term ownership, measurement and metrics, to name a few.
Continue reading “Shifting the systemic barriers to regenerative design”
We’ve just returned from an enriching experience at our Regenerative Design Lab Summer Residential – the programme’s midpoint for Cohort 2. This marks a crucial stage in our journey, where we transition from envisioning a regenerative built environment industry to figuring out how we can start to build the transition.
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The news we have been waiting to share with you is that systems thinker and futures practitioner Bill Sharpe is going to be joining us as part of the Regenerative Design Policy Lab. Bill is best known as the creator of the Three Horizons Model, which is so valuable for helping us envisage a transition to a regenerative built environment sector.
Continue reading “Bill Sharpe x Regenerative Design Policy Lab”
Today we held the third session for Cohort 2 at the Regenerative Design Lab (RDL).
Our monthly online sessions offer a platform for participants to discuss and digest the reflective work they’ve engaged in over the past month. Additionally, in these sessions we host skill development activities designed to bolster our understanding of regenerative practices.
Continue reading “Systems Mapping and Abundance Thinking: A Glimpse into RDL Cohort 2 Session 3”
Hello! This week marks an exciting time for us as we prepare for the upcoming Constructivist Regenerative Design Lab’s Cohort 1 reunion, taking place from June 13th to 14th at Hazel Hill Wood. This event brings together a group of dedicated professionals who have immersed themselves in the world of regenerative design.
Continue reading “Upcoming CRDL Cohort 1 Reunion: A Step Forward in Regenerative Design”
Interview by Alexie Sommer
Eva MacNamara is leading structural & civil engineer, and innovation consultant. She has led a career working on cutting-edge projects including bridges, buildings and art works. She is technical, creative, innovative, and holds sustainable, regenerative and low-carbon solutions high on her agenda.
Continue reading “Eva MacNamara on taking part in the Constructivist Regenerative Design Lab”
Today we kicked-off our latest round of ‘An Introduction to Conceptual Design fro Structural Engineers’ for the Institution of Structural Engineers. This introductory course, delivered by Oliver Broadbent, is designed to provide structural engineers with a foundation in the conceptual design process, as distinct from more detailed design with which they might be more familiar.
Continue reading “Kick-off of An Introduction to Conceptual Design for Structural Engineers”
We are looking forward to welcoming our second cohort on the Regenerative Design Lab to Hazel Hill Wood for their spring residential visit.
The Regenerative Design Lab programme works with the seasons. We held interviews in the winter (when it was actually snowing) and are meeting in the spring where first shoots of ideas will emerge. Over the summer we will turn these ideas into experiments. And and we will harvest and share the fruits of these experiments in the autumn.
In this find out about what we do on our residential retreats and how it fits into the Lab programme.
Continue reading “Regenerative Design Spring Residential – welcome to the woods.”
This morning we said a big hello and welcome to our second cohort of participants in Regenerative Design Lab. Today, this group of 19 engineers and built-environment professionals begin a deep dive into the principles of regenerative design. Our aim is to experiment with regenerative principles and translate theory into practice for wider adoption by the construction industry.
Continue reading “The journey begins for Lab cohort 2”