Net-Positive
Design:
Creating
Regenerative
Buildings and
Communities
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Acknowledgements/Credits
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The greenest building is one that doesn't need to be built at all. Unfortunately, such an approach is nearly impossible in today’s growing society. So how do architects address the fact that each building they design, no matter how green, has some sort of environmental impact? The only way is to create structures that give back as much as they take.
Regenerative-design buildings go beyond typical green design and construction by seeking to achieve a net-positive impact on both ecological integrity and human well-being. Architects take a full systems approach to design that considers raw materials, cyclical operations, health, and building inhabitant usage. Net-positive performance can be achieved by spilling over to the community the benefits derived at regenerative buildings, which may, for example, sequester more carbon than is emitted by the production, transportation, and installation of building materials; harvesting more energy than is taken from the grid; harvesting and purifying all water needed for potable use and treating/recycling all liquid waste; operating carbon-free; and designing interiors that improve human health, deliver ample day-lighting and natural ventilation, and provide flexibility of use and adaptation for future goals.
Course Description
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• Understand the core principles of
regenerative design and its importance to
future buildings.
• Be able to incorporate regenerative concepts
into current and future building designs.
• Understand how regenerative principles are
impacting real-time operations at the CIRS
building at the University of British Columbia.
Course Objectives
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Where are we?
• Regenerate
• Improve
• Maintain
• Operate
• Stabilize
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Where are we today?
• Regenerate
• Improve
• Maintain
• Operate
• Stabilize
Potential for improvement (co-evolution)
Existence (no further harm)
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Warming of the climate system
is unequivocal, and since the
1950s, many of the observed
changes are unprecedented
over decades to millennia. The
atmosphere and ocean have
warmed, the amounts of snow
and ice have diminished, sea
level has risen, and the
concentrations of greenhouse
gases have increased.
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LEED
SilverGold
Platinum
Living Building
Regenerative
Building Performance
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Regenerative Design
Transition from Standard to Regenerative Design: a. Van der Ryn (2005); b. Reed (2006)
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Trajectory of Design as a Practice, extrapolated from Bill Reed
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• A building by itself cannot be regenerative, rather it
is about the evolution of relationships between
place and program
What is Regenerative Design?
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• It’s about ASKING the right questions to get a different solution
• It is not focused conservation and reduction, but asks:
• how can we do MORE with what we have?
• how can we get the MOST out of the resources we use while achieving maximum benefits for both humans and the environment?
• What is the RELATIONSHIPbetween the program and place?
Regenerative Design Framework
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• Systems thinking
• Co-evolution for mutual health benefits
• Site and context specificity
• Optimum efficiency
Key Characteristics
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Systems Thinking The site is part of a larger system of systems and actions at one scale can have profound impacts across scales and sites. one scale can have profound impacts across scales and sites.
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• Compact: Home to 30,000
• Complete: Live-work-play-learn
• Carbon neutral: 100% renewable
energy
• Significantly reduced ecological
footprint
• Many sustainable lifestyle choices
Westwood
Prince Rupert
Spruce Avenue
Kingsway Mall
YHT
NAIT
Agrihood
Town Centre
Technology & Research
Blatchford Redevelopment Edmonton, AlbertaGlobal model for sustainable city-building
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Residences with direct Park Access“We spent the 20th century protecting nature from people,
and we will spend the 21st century protecting nature for people.”
Glenn Prickett
Park areas
2,000 People within 5 minutes walk of a park
28,000 People within 2 minutes walk of a park
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Connect with Nature
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• Development has high impacts on the health of both human and nature.
• A regenerative project becomes a source of health for both human and ecological systems.
Co-evolution for mutual health benefits
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“[we] come from nature.…There is an importance to [having] a certain reverence for what nature is because we are connected to it... If we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves.” – Edward Burtynsky
Photograph: Nickel Tailings Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 1996
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The Vale: Living with Lakes Research CentreSudbury, Ontario
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The Vale: Living with Lakes Research Centre
Sudbury, Ontario
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Site and Context Specificity • The site is a complex and dynamic system of systems where the
distinct characteristics that distinguish each site drive design decisions.
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VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor CentreVancouver, BC
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Meadows
ForestPonds and Wetlands
Ecological Systems Mapping
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Ecological Systems Mapping: Meadows
Meadows
ForestPonds and Wetlands
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Ecological Systems Mapping: Water
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Ecological Systems Mapping: Forests
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• Abundance and vitality are created by aggregating and not isolating.• Achieving optimum conditions for the function of multiple conditions
[rather than seeking maximum efficiency for individual parts].
Optimum Efficiency
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• Academic Building
• LEED Platinum Certified
• Pursuing Living Building Challenge
Recognition
• Gross Area: 5,675 m² (61,085 ft²)
• Total Project Budget: $36,000,000
• Construction Budget : $24,000,000
• Substantial Completion: Aug 31, 2011
The CIRS Building
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• Two campuses: Vancouver and Kelowna
• 25 faculties, 5 affiliated hospitals
• 5,000 faculty members (2,200 clinical)
• 47,000 undergraduates (15% international) 9,000 graduate students (20% international)
• Ranked 25th worldwide1
• Research leader in Canada2 (Science & Engineering. Social sciences & Humanities) $500 million/year
• Global leader in clean energy, forestry, sustainable development, health research, and Asian studies
• Commercialization leader in Canada
• Small “city” of 75,000 occupying an area of 1,000 acres with more than 400 buildings
1 Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings, London, UK – 2012 (17,554 respondents from 137 countries) 2 Higher Education Strategy Associates, Toronto, Canada – 2012
The University of British Columbia
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1962
1966
1968
1972
1972
1973
1969
Sustainability of Limits
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Regenerative Sustainability
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Environmental Integrity
• Energy
• Water
• Structural Carbon
• Operational Carbon
Human Well-being
• Health
• Happiness
• Productivity
Net-Positive Performance
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• Sustainability showcase
• Building infrastructure = research
• “Process” vs. “product”
• Modular construction
• Flexibility/adaptability
• Plug-and-play
Living Laboratory
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Tonnes o
f C
O2
Concrete
Glass
Aluminum
Brick
Wood
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10:19 AM
Rainwater harvested on north,
south and west roofs
Potable water treatment
system
Rainwater collected on living roof and landscape
areas
Local aquifer
Potable Water (faucets, showers, dishwashers)
Treated Wastewater (toilets, urinals, irrigation)
Solar Aquatics wastewater treatment plant
90,000LTank
Sub-surface Landscape irrigation
Municipal potable water
supply (back up)
Municipal sewer
(back up)
Raw sewage (from other buildings)
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Occupant:
Passive recipient
of building
systems
Inhabitant:
Engaged, with a
sense of place
Benefits/Opportunities
• Fresh air
• Day-lighting
• Acoustics
• Food & social spaces
• Feedback
• Control
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Sustainable Food Services
Community Fabric
Large Day-lit Learning Spaces Hub for Water & Energy Services
Urban Design & Sustainability Features
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CIRS
Time
Su
sta
ina
bilit
y M
etr
ics
Project
A
Regenerative Sustainability
Living Building Challenge
Passivhaus (Austria/Germany)
Minergie (Switzerland)
UBC Standard – LEED Gold
Market Reference
Sustainability “Gradient”
Project
B
Project
C
Project
D
Project
E
Campus Sustainability “Gradient”
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CIRS
EOS
HORTICULTURE
ORCHARD COMMONS
FRANK FORWARDUSB
C&CP
Sustainability Street Industrial Ecology Pilot
Low-grade Heat
High-grade Heat
Storm-water Runoff
Reclaimed Water
Raw Sewage
Food Production (trees and shrubs)
Infiltration Well
(deep)
Raw Sewage Sump
& Solar Aquatics
WWTP
Heat Pumps
Infiltration Well
(shallow)
ESB WATER
FEATURE
Sustainability Street rea
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To be an internationally
recognized leader in
accelerating the
adoption of sustainable
building and urban development practices.
CIRS Vision
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To accelerate the adoption of more sustainable
practices in society by bringing the fruits of the
CIRS research into the public, private and civil
society decision-making arenas ………
…….through the implementation of partnerships
that demonstrate, replicate, disseminate and
commercialize sustainable products, systems,
practices, processes and technologies.
CIRS Mission
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Build
ing
Neig
hbourh
ood
Work
pla
ce
Psychology
Collaborative for Advanced
Landscape Planning (CALP)
SALA Elements Lab
Institute for Social
Innovation & Sustainability
(ISIS)
Acoustics & Noise
Research Group (ANRG)
Behavioural Socio-Political
LCA Alliance
SBSP
Technical
CIRS Multi-disciplinary Research
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Are we ready for this regenerative design journey?
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Kathy Wardle, Associate Principal + Director of
Research Perkins+Will
Alberto Cayuela, Director of Operations and
Business Development
Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability
The University of British Columbia
www.cirs.ubc.ca
Contact Information
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