Learning objectives
- Situate the thesis focus within the framework of UN Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change Scenarios
- Define a project-based regenerative design problem statements
- Define a regenerative design thesis focus that relate to one or more of the interrelated scales: Ecosystems, Urban Environments, Buildings, Façades, Components and Material, Human
- Orchestrate the conceptual framework with Parametric Tools to Frame Sustainable Strategies
- navigate the big data that informs the regenerative design
- simulate design scenarios according to regenerative targets and co-benefits approaches
- generate scientific knowledge derived by the "research by design" conducted in the Studio
- Write a short scientific report describing the regenerative design strategy that is of interest of the candidate. For those interested the scientific paper will constitute the premises of their thesis.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
Given the context of climate change, architectural design should not be merely concerned with developing artefacts that limit environmental impacts on the ecosystem or people’s health within a certain threshold. Instead, cities, buildings and technology must be designed to enhance the quality of the relationships between natural systems, the built environment, and their inhabitants. This approach is called regenerative design, and is the focus of the course.
The course presents and reviews a variety of emerging practices that can support the implementation of Regenerative Design, with the aim to establish a series of Master thesis tracks. These are introduced by a series of key literature references, design approaches and digital implementation, drawing from the international practitioners and researchers. Their common effort is, with extensive use of science-based approaches, to seek multi-domains approaches and integrate measured and simulated data into their design generation.
Full programme
The course is organized around 5 areas (thesis tracks) that are introduced by the course leaders and by international guests:
1) Ecosystem integration. It is explored how cities can produce their own food, energy, and water and be designed to provide habitat, cycle nutrients, and purify water, air and soil.
2) Climate Change. Urban Microclimate and Decarbonisation. The design focuses on how the built environment and its local current and future climate can be designed in ways to optimise both outdoor comfort and indoor comfort while balancing energy use and while seeking nature-based solutions (NBS) that are part of nature (rather than apart from nature).
3) Carbon and Ecology. Circular Design. In line with the four laws of ecology, regenerative design is holistic. It integrates and tracks the energy, material and emissions flow of cities, buildings, components and products (i.e. with LCA). Instead of the current take-make-dispose system, natural ecosystems are circular: There is no waste.
4) Regenerative Design brings products and components from previous lives into buildings and ensures future lives through circular design principles.
5) Human Well-being. Biometrics. Regenerative Design aims to promote and enhance human wellbeing and health in the built environment. While a reductionist approach targets the absence of ill health, the regenerative design focuses on Salutogenisis, a term coined by Aaron Antonovsk, which means "generation of health". Designs for indoor and outdoor environments must demonstrably improve inhabitant health, and not merely seek to reduce ill-health. Focus is given to daylighting, circadian rhythms, thermal comfort and the integration of senses in the concept of thermal delight.
Bibliography
NABONI, E., HAVINGA L. Regenerative Design in Digital Practice: A Handbook for the Built Environment. Bozen-Bolzano: Eurac Research, 2019 (please download for free from Emanuele Naboni's profile in researchgate).
PEDERSEN ZARI, M., CONNOLLY, P., & SOUTHCOMBE, M. 2020 Ecologies Design: Transforming Architecture, Landscape and Urbanism. Oxon, Routledge Earthscan. 1st Edition
PEDERSEN ZARI, M. 2018 Regenerative Urban Design and Ecosystem Biomimicry. Oxon, Routledge. 1st Edition (hard cover).
After each lecture, a series of readings and publications are suggested.
Teaching methods
Students will attend Lectures by international practitioners and researchers that focus on sustainable, regenerative design. They will be introduced to research and built projects, as well as to the use of simulation techniques, quantitative and qualitative design methods.
Their work will focus on the concept of net ecological and social positive balance, and on formulating a robust and testable, regenerative research topic that potentially will lead to their master thesis formulation.
Assessment methods and criteria
Students will have to show how their future thesis projects will embody regenerative design principles (by design means) and provide a series of evidences of their design strategies. Students that will be interested in following one of the suggested thesis tracks in architectural technology will be asked to prepare a sound written thesis proposal in coordination with the course leader.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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