What is the difference between conventional sustainability and regenerative design?

Let's consider this for a moment …

Sustainability has been at the forefront of ecological mindfulness in the world of design for decades. Maintaining our environment and stopping global warming in its tracks while we plan, design and build became a popular notion in the 80s. However, we quickly realized that it was too little too late. Our ecosystems have continued to decline rapidly, leaving us with only one solution: Regenerative design.

Implementing biophilic design and biomimicry has led us from a place of sustainability to exploring and implementing a restorative design strategy.

For decades we believed that we were making a global difference with a sustainability architecture model. Reactively changing architectural design when global warming became too large to ignore was needed. 

The pendulum swung from sustainability and architectural blueprints to regenerative design, development and planning.

Sustainability should remain the most basic goal, but regenerative design is how we will generate change by proactively addressing climate solutions. Simply put, we must critically think about how we can mimic how the earth has sustained us thus far and develop architectural models that produce energy and will restore what we have taken from our environment.

In addition to replenishing the earth's resources, this plan includes rebuilding community spaces and care. 

How can we cultivate connection with each other as humans? 

How can we restore what has been lost in the way of culture and community so we can work towards abundance? 

Much like sustainability, there are many moving parts and variables to consider when working toward regenerative design models.

We cannot resign to just using fewer resources; we must work together to replenish and improve the earth's health using the built environment. Regenerative design includes not only ecological systems but also how we as humans experience the world we live in. We need to move away from the conquest of natural resources to how we can support, maintain, replenish and move forward in the biosphere we call home.

What are your thoughts?