Tag: WhereWeMakeAndWhereWeTake

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I’m so glad the humans have come

Just imagine, you are visiting the site of a new development. And you are suddenly aware that you are surrounded by voices. The voices include the insects, the animals, the trees, the plants, the fungi — all saying in chorus:

“I’m so glad the humans have come!”

Because when the humans come they make things better. 

By creating buildings for themselves they improve habitats for others. 

By harvesting materials they contribute to, rather than deplete local renewable resources. 

They take waste and turn it into valuable inputs. 

And their waste is a valuable asset for the rest of us. 

They are so sensitive to the fragile balance of the ecosystem. 

They listen.

They work with us to find the best next step.

Now that the humans are here, we can thrive even more. 

Just imagine.


Because that is our North Star in regenerative design — that every time we design and build something, the world gets better. So that if we weren’t there, the ecosystem would miss us.

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Where we make but also where we take

This has become one of my catchphrases in regenerative design*. To think of design as being for ‘where we make but also where we take’. The role of the regenerative designer is to create a transition to an industry in which our designs create human and ecological thriving.

To make that possible we need to bring two separate things into our view at the same time. The place where we are doing the making, and the places that are we are drawing upon to do that making.

Because if our work makes the world better where we are making, but worse where we are taking, we are not creating thriving. We are just shifting it from one place to the other.

*It definitely is a catchphrase – I’ve already written a post this year with this exact same title.