Implementing Regenerative Design Principles: A Refurbishment Case Study of the First Regenerative Building in Spain (original) (raw)
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Regenerative Design - General Principles and Implementation Strategies in Building Design
Bulletin of the Polytechnic Institute of Iași. Construction. Architecture Section
The built environment, through the consumption of energy from non-renewable sources and the associated CO2 emissions, as well as through the production of waste throughout its life cycle and the effects of soil and water degradation, contributes significantly not only to the phenomenon of climate change, but also to the irreversible degradation of the natural environment. The concept of regenerative design provides a framework for a holistic approach to these issues in order to identify the most effective remedies, proposing the restoration and regeneration of the global socio-ecological environment through a system of engineering practices suitable to the specific context. The defining aspects of the regeneration applied in the buildings sector refer to the architecture and inserting in the natural environment ensuring a healthy and well-being indoor environment, reducing to zero the consumption of energy from non-renewable sources and promoting renewable energy sources, minimizing...
Regenerative Architecture as a Paradigm for Enhancing the Urban Environment
PORT-SAID ENGINEERING RESEARCH JOURNAL, 2019
The building and construction industry is considered one of the highest contributor to many issues our world is facing today, especially in a country undergoing a rapid urbanization and industrialization like Egypt, where the higher percentage of buildings are designed and constructed specifically for the circumstances and needs of the moment that don"t consider the environment conditions, ecology or occupants needs and activities. Architecture in general tend to be dealt with as static entities that will stay the same over the decades, while interacting too little with its occupants and its surrounding urban environment, therefrom the human built environment is now considered the largest consumer of the world"s energy resources, freshwater resource, and natural resources. From there, many new architectural design concepts are presented every day in order to change the common conception of the traditional built environment, such as Regenerative Architecture which aims to leave a positive environmental impact on a site instead of creating a project that has as little impact as possible, where more is given to the environment over a building"s lifetime than is taking during its construction and operation. The main objective of this paper is to promote the use of regenerative architecture as a thinking paradigm for sustainable architectural design on a larger scale throughout studying its concept, history, implementation strategies and the fundamental principles that should be considered in the design process. The research methodology consists of a theoretical study about regenerative architecture, it then uses the analytical approach, by studying a certified example that incorporated regenerative architecture principles, to evaluate the efficiency of its regenerative solutions. The study found that regenerative buildings offer an exceptional opportunity to emphasis the value of ecosystem services in an urban context, as it provides such a huge ecosystem services to its surrounding urban environment.
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This paper is an attempt to study various design principles and strategies needed to build a regenerative building. It answers the question of how architects can invent regenerative architecture and a positive-impact built environment and the importance of the regenerative system in climate change. Using design concepts and techniques for regenerative and impactful architecture should be the designers' main priority. Early design teams must be well-informed with a deeper understanding of regenerative design concepts to develop design solutions and incorporate them into efficient performance-driven buildings. The essential design concepts for regenerative design are therefore presented in this paper, along with-and perhaps more importantly-a design framework that acts as a logical basis for decision-making throughout the design process.
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he project focuses on developing strategies for interventions of sustainable renovation, with the awareness that re-using existing buildings allows to reduce the impact on the environment and also to maintain our cultural sources and ecosystems. The largest part of the European building stock is composed of buildings older than 30 years that will continue to account for the major portion of it also for the decades to come. These buildings are very important because of their economic, social-cultural and environmental value. Often built stock needs interventions of renovation in order to meet the actual standard of performance, both from energetic and functional point of view. Recent changes in human life style oblige to modify spaces in a quick way and this necessity has reduced the life of our buildings. For this reason it is fundamental operate on existing buildings reducing the waste production, by using the strategies of the design for de-construction and the reversible design. To do this, LCA is the best method, because it allows measuring objectively the buildings impact and the environmental benefits of renovations and also it can help in defining the most appropriate materials. This work presents the analysis of the restoration projects of two industrial buildings in a sustainability perspective. Industrial buildings were chosen as case studies because of their big sizes, good accessibility, flexible internal partitions and large pertinence areas, features which make them good candidate for rehabilitation. The focus point is how to convert this existing estate in a sustainable way, in order to reduce the need for new constructions and optimize the intrinsic qualities of forsaken industrial spaces. Life Cycle Thinking: Strategies for Sustainable Renovation of Existing Buildings Notes, References, Figures, Tables and Graphs _ Notes [1] definition of sustainable development according to the report Our Common Future, written by the World Commission on Environment and Development and known as Brundtland Report;
Development of a Regenerative Design Model for Building Retrofits
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Current building retrofits are predominantly focused on energy and cost efficiency at an individual building or building component scale. Whilst the aspirations of these retrofits are crucial to the sustainable development of our built environment, we can and need to do better. Many argue that we need a shift in worldview from mechanistic to regenerative, and in order to do so we must engage with the living world by (re)aligning human and natural systems. This paper proposes a 'proactive' retrofit approach which seeks to integrate net-positive, restorative and regenerative design concepts into building retrofits. A regenerative design model that explores the key interactions between physical, human and natural systems is developed to achieve these proactive outcomes. A set of regenerative design principles for building retrofits are proposed to emphasise the positive interactions an existing building can have with its surrounding environment. More specifically, this paper will explore how an energy efficient building retrofit can improve occupant health and wellbeing, and restore and enhance local ecosystems. A detailed example will then be used to demonstrate the principles as a means of shifting the way designers and decision makers view the building retrofit design process.
Renovating the existing building stock: a life cycle thinking design approach
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Considering Europe, the renovation of the existing building stock is getting more and more attention compared to the construction of new buildings. Indeed, a significant portion of the existing buildings has been built before the enforcement of modern standards concerning comfort, aesthetics, thermal efficiency and, especially for older buildings, seismic safety. In the case of renovation of existing buildings, it is important that the retrofit measures address most of the aforementioned issues in an integrated solution. Such measures should maximize resilience and safety and minimize the environmental impact of the intervention itself and of the operational use of buildings. A possible solution consists in carrying out the interventions mainly from the outside, minimizing the building downtime and the disturbance caused to users. The Life Cycle approach and the Performance Based Design are fundamental methodologies for such integrated renovating projects. The combined use of both m...
A Conceptual Framework for Stages of Regenerative Built Environments
Architectural Sciences and Building & Construction, 2022
Regenerative sustainability can guide the process of reforming a new relationship between systems of human and nature in which built environments can be the key component of this partnership. In order to address the scarcity of proper support tools, this study aims to constitute a framework. The research firstly examines the properties of a built environment with regenerative aspects in order to reveal key principles and knowledge. Framework is organized as a conceptual guidance tool based on the systematization of these acquisitions. Process begins with a pre-design stage including an integrated analysis where all key elements are understood with the aim of procreating outcomes to distinguish built environment’s catalysis role. Based upon pre-design outcomes, target-oriented decisions can be produced for all stages. Evaluating the aspects of these decisions can initiate a prosperous feedback and feed-forward cycle. Tasks and relations are positioned into a model and by this way it can be possible to re-organize thinking systems and to supply a strategic guidance for different case-specific experiences. As an alternative to current research context, it is believed that interactive stages of the framework organized in a symbiotic cooperation can serve to fill the stated scarcity. By examining the significance of the whole process through interactions of phases and proposing an approach for their systematic regulation, built environments can be designed as healthy ecosystems.
Regenerative Architecture in Europe and Asia
2018
Traditionally, buildings have been created to meet certain needs-function, comfort and budget-but minimally focused on how well they fit with the natural environment. The current pattern in the field of architecture is one of degeneration and obsolete building technologies. Buildings tend to be thought of as static edifices that remain the same over decades, interacting little with their environment or occupants. The introduction to sustainable design has begun to change this conception through the establishment of green building standards and rating systems intended to help the current difficult situation. As a further step, Regenerative Architecture is known as the practice of engaging the natural world as the medium for, and generator of architecture: it responds to, and utilizes the living and the natural system which are present on a specific site and that will become the model from which the architecture has to embrace. The term "regenerate" has several denotations, but it generally represents one of these three things. First, a radical change for the better. Second, the creation of a new spirit. And third, returning energy to the source. Applied to architecture it mainly focuses on conservation and performance through a reduction of the environmental impacts of a building. This paper introduces regenerative architecture as a mean for future design technologies, starting from the "Nine Principles of Regenerative Architecture" and "Place Analysis Criteria" which are studied to provide a logical and exhaustive execution of regenerative architecture. These critiques will be employed in the analysis of how an emerging country like Vietnam can exploit the current push towards sustainability and ride a path towards a more environmental concerned country. Due to the quick economy rise many possibilities are open for Vietnam both in the public and in the private sector; the question is, will it rise, or will it fall? To better understand globally the extent of Our possibilities, a deeper look is also given to one of the countries leader in the field, the Netherlands. Amsterdam, famous for its many bikes, holds the second spot in greenest world's cities, and is and will be the set of many changes to come: the renovation of 3 silos in Ijburg will be a practical example of this paper, a project that will see the application of the throughout analysed regenerative architecture.