Development of a Regenerative Design Model for Building Retrofits

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.