“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
This quote from polar explorer Robert Swan opens our Regenerative Design Handbook and sets the tone for everything that follows: a belief that progress comes not from waiting for perfect solutions, but from taking action – whether that action is small or significant – and helping others do the same.
Through a series of connected decisions, we all can influence the systems we work within and contribute to meaningful change. Working beneath the surface, much like a mycelium network connecting and supporting life in a forest, countless actions can be taking place at any one time. We may not always see the network itself, but eventually the impact becomes visible.
Making a start
There's a growing conversation around regenerative design. For some, it can feel abstract, idealistic, or only relevant to flagship projects with the time and budget to explore entirely new approaches.
Our experience has been quite different.
Regenerative thinking rarely begins with a grand gesture. More often, it starts with a question asked at the right moment:
- Could part of the existing structure be retained?
- Are there materials that could be reused, repurposed or recovered before specifying new?
- Who should be involved in this conversation before decisions are fixed?
- What benefits could this project create beyond the site boundary?
Across our work, we've found that some of the most meaningful outcomes come from relatively small shifts in thinking early in the process. Those decisions then ripple outwards, influencing carbon, cost, programme, materials, communities and the long-term value of a project.
Small Decisions to Bigger Outcomes
30 Duke Street St James's
At 30 Duke Street, a major workplace redevelopment for GPE, we looked beyond a straightforward cycle of demolition and replacement.
The result is a scheme that incorporates substantial material reuse, including reclaimed marble, recycled glass and reused steel recovered from the demolished building on site. Rather than viewing existing materials as waste, they were treated as resources with ongoing value.
None of these decisions happened by accident. They came from asking early questions about what could be retained, recovered and put back into use.
33 Cavendish Square
For 33 Cavendish Square with BEAM, one of the most important decisions was made before much of the design work had even begun.
By challenging assumptions around demolition and working closely with the project team from the outset, opportunities were identified to retain significant portions of the existing structure. This approach helped the scheme achieve planning consent while retaining 58% of the existing building.
The outcome wasn't simply a carbon saving. Early strategic thinking also helped save time in the planning process, preserve value within the existing asset and avoid unnecessary waste. It is a reminder that regenerative thinking is often as much about timing as it is about technology.
New Streat Hill House
At New Street Hill House, regenerative thinking started with a simple question: what resources already exist here?
The project replaced a 1950s bungalow that had been destroyed by fire. Rather than treating the site as a blank slate, the design team looked at how materials already present on site and within the local area could be put to use. Excavated chalk was reused in the landscape, helping to reduce waste and transport emissions, while glulam beams and trusses were sourced from trees felled on the nearby Glyndebourne estate due to ash dieback.
Over to you
The built environment is shaped by thousands of decisions every day. Most of them won't make headlines or be described as ‘regenerative’.
But collectively, they determine the future of our buildings, communities and natural systems.
So rather than asking how to transform everything at once, ask: What's one thing you could change today?
