Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications

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    Evaluating the Practice and Outcomes of Applying Regenerative Development to a Large-Scale Project in Victoria, Australia
    Hes, D ; Stephan, A ; Moosavi, S (MDPI AG, 2018-02-09)
    Regenerative development is one of the critical pathways or processes towards an ecological worldview and a built environment in synergy with the natural environment. This vision aims to restore and support environmental, social and economic flows from a systems perspective. While regenerative development has been discussed in theory and applied to some projects, very few studies have analysed the processes that support its emergence. Our study investigates the design process of an ongoing development project, “Seacombe West” in Victoria, Australia. It evaluates the design outputs, using the LENSES Framework (Living Environments in Natural, Social, and Economic Systems) which is specifically designed to facilitate the emergence of regenerative development thinking. The project included a series of four workshops that led to a set of guidelines that in turn were used to design a masterplan. We evaluate the resulting guidelines, the masterplan, and the experience of the participants through an online survey (70% response rate) and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Our results show that using LENSES encouraged systems thinking and helps facilitate a transdisciplinary approach towards regenerative development. This evaluation provides insights into how regenerative development can emerge in projects and how the potential for net benefit can be embedded.
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    Putting Regenerative Development into Action: Understanding the Decision Making Process of a 680 Hectare Regenerative Project
    Hes, D ; Stephan, A ; Moosavi, S (Construction Industry Council, Hong Kong Green Building Council Limited, 2017)
    The built environment is responsible for significant environmental impacts. It is therefore a central research area to balance ecological and built systems and allow them both to thrive. While the majority of previous and existing attempts have targeted minimising environmental impacts, regenerative development goes beyond reduction and aims to restore and support environmental, social and economic flows. Yet, very few projects to date have been able to demonstrate a regenerative outcome. This is because few consulting firms currently offer regenerative design thinking, which is in turn linked to a lack of understanding of processes that support decision making in regenerative development projects. This paper uses a 680 hectares regenerative development project in Gippsland, South East Australia as a case study to investigate how implementing a regenerative development approach from the onset affects the decision-making process. A series of workshops were facilitated by the authors with the local community, indigenous elders, design experts, academics, scientists, government and industry partners and other stakeholders. An online survey consisting of 10 questions was sent to the 40 actors involved and 28 responses were collected (N = 28 and a response rate of 70%). This study provides a contribution to the understanding of both the processes that can support the implementation of innovative regenerative concepts in the built environment and their benefits. It covers aspects ranging from the personal motivation of participants, to the performance of the workshops in facilitating a regenerative design. The knowledge gained from this study will inform the future use of regenerative development and associated facilitation tools.
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    Towards Buildings that Thrive
    Crawford, RH ; Stephan, A ; Jensen, CA ; Hes, D ; Soccio, P (The University of Melbourne, 2016)
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    Net regenerative regional development: implementation in the master planning stage of a 680 hectares case study
    Hes, D ; STEPHAN, A ; Moosavi, S ; Zuo, J ; Daniel, L ; Soebarto, V (The Architectural Science Association and The University of Adelaide, 2016)
    A positive vision for the future of humanity can be the basis for a needed change, a vision of opportunity, abundance and the potential for thriving. Regenerative development can provide a pathway towards this vision. Case studies are beginning to show that when applied, the concepts underpinning regenerative development can accelerate a transition to more equitable, sustainable, post fossil carbon societies. Net Regenerative Regional Development (NRRD) is development that supports the health and vitality of a region through mutually beneficial relationships between all the stakeholders and flows of the system. Though in its infancy in application, NRRD is based on the accumulation of millennia of human knowledge and provides us an opportunity to positively change the often negative future predicted. The potential of NRRD is being investigated using a large project called Seacombe West in Gippsland, Victoria and its masterplanning process. The masterplanning process is being informed by regenerative development theory and the facilitation process by the Living Environments in Natural, Social and Economic Systems (LENSES) framework. This study shows that planning NRRD through the use of LENSES supported the emergence of more holistic and systemic guidelines which informed a masterplan that has greater regenerative potential.