Architecture for good – practising design as a socially and environmentally regenerative practice

Overview

The erosion of democratic values in society and the environmental crisis have become inseparably intertwined, and architects are deeply implicated. The profession’s continued dependency on capital can exacerbate inequality, while conventional practice enables the exploitation of resources. A new generation of architects is questioning this track record and pursuing alternative models to serve the public good.

This research addresses questions central to that shift: how can a long-established profession like architecture be re-fashioned as a force for good? What needs to be done for design to foreground circular processes, re-use, repair and re-invention? How can architectural practice provide for the needs of future users when specificity — and consequent obsolescence — has become so dominant? And how can established conventions be broken up to tackle inequalities and work towards climate justice?

The research unpacks nascent approaches to architecture that embrace the integration of social and environmental practice, presenting insight, methodology and case studies of projects with a regenerative impact on people and the natural world. Projects including High Road Leyton, Paper Garden and Blue House Yard demonstrate this approach in practice, leaving social and physical legacies across sectors including regeneration, economic development, education, public space, landscape and planning. While research on environmentally sustainable architecture and engagement practices in the built environment exists in relative abundance, little work interrogates the dependencies between the two.

This project addresses that gap and will culminate in a book to be published by Routledge in 2027.

Image: Participatory design event with young people in Edmonton, Jan Kattein Architects