Beyond "green" building - what is regenerative design and how can buildings sustain life?
Some buildings sicken us, while others allow us to sustain healthy and happy lives. Some individuals and communities have access to deciding where they live and work, while others do not.
The construction of modern human environments is made possible through the fabrication of synthetically treated building materials. These materials are often sourced through processes which exploit human workers, animals, and the environment. We manufacture plastic in factories. We pressure-treat wood with chemicals. We make insulation from non-recyclable synthetic materials, such as foam. We should not only be concerned about the life and afterlife of these products, but also about how they are produced. Is the production of building materials healthy for workers, or does it cause them to become afflicted with illnesses, both temporary and permanent?
Buildings, such as offices, factories, houses, and schools, can and will promote health or induce illness in people, animals, and entire ecosystems. They can sometimes do both simultaneously. I have recently learned about the topic of healthy buildings through the study of a building standard called the WELL Building Standard, which focuses on cultivating holistic human health and wellness within the built environment. However, I have also been thinking about this topic for a while because of a relative who encountered the issue of toxic work environments directly, such as toxic fumes, toxic lighting, hazardous chemicals, and more.
My grandfather worked at the Amoco Chemicals Plant, a factory in Delaware that manufactured plastic, from approximately 1965 to 1980. As it is now, plastic was very prevalent during this time. Factory jobs were steady, reliable employment for many people at that time. Factory work was and is more accessible to people from immigrant backgrounds, with my grandfather coming from an Eastern European immigrant family, for example. My grandfather helped make plastic beads that were shipped elsewhere to be made into plastic products of all kinds.
The Amoco plant exploded in a fireball in October 1980. He was away from work on workers’ compensation at the time due to a workplace-induced illness. While several of his coworkers died and were injured in the explosion, he died several years after the incident. He died slowly from fibromyalgia and other co-occurring conditions. He fell ill due to working with toxic chemicals without proper safeguards.
My grandfather’s workplace was causing him to decline rather than live a long and healthy life. The same can be said for the products created from these plastic beads. Individuals who touch them are exposed to compounds that can harm the reproductive and other body systems. Whenever I think about buying a plastic storage bin to organize something or another single-use plastic drink bottle, I think of my grandfather, whom I never really knew because he passed shortly after my birth. He became ill due to his involvement in the manufacturing processes of plastic, including interactions with oil fields. I often think about how too much contact with plastic could do the same to me.
Although this has only recently begun to be studied, microplastics are like the lead of the new generation. Many designers choose plastic as a building material because it is lightweight, easy to clean, and durable. Commonly observed examples include linoleum and synthetic wood flooring. If a building is both of the things it needs to be, it will be sturdy when it needs to be, and it will be able to safely break apart when the time comes. Some plant-based plastic flooring options may meet the need for buildings to decompose eventually. However, it is important to note that currently, these plant-based plastics can only break down in specialized facilities that are not available in every region.
Regenerative, sustainable, green, and living. All commonly used buzzwords, but what do they mean, and what are we trying to prioritize here?
With a focus on promoting human health and happiness, an ideal living building will be a place that brings people to life rather than making them sick, both now and in the future. While features such as compost toilets and geothermal heating and cooling save water and electricity, the materiality of the building could help us later. If the building is made of wood, it can be composted and recycled when the time comes. Alternatively, parts of the wood can be repurposed. If the building is made of bamboo, the bamboo can be composted or recycled, made into bamboo bricks, or used for other purposes.
For over a year, I worked in the field of renewable energy, specifically on signing Mainers up for community solar programs. We talked a lot about how much more renewable and ecological solar panels were as an incentive for signing up. However, the reality is more complicated. For example, a building with solar panels would instantly be considered sustainable by many people. However, is it sustainable or regenerative? For solar panels to be truly regenerative, they must be created using ethical, sustainable, and humane mining practices. Therefore, are solar panels regenerative? Are they sustainable if mining, which has historically been a part of their production, does not consistently allow workers to remain healthy? We must consider the ecological and human impacts of each design decision at each step of the supply chain. We are part of the environment, and the environment we build lives within us. For better or worse, we are affected by the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the buildings we inhabit. That said, certain historically targeted and oppressed groups, including Black and Brown communities in the U.S. and workers in the Global South, have been and will continue to pay the highest cost of exploitative material sourcing decisions made by upper-class, Western, White architects, developers, factory owners, and designers.
The concept of regeneration is important because it reimagines buildings as organisms that live and breathe and provides something nutritious. We need buildings to be part of a closed-loop system, rather than producing endless toxic construction waste that sickens us. Indoor plants can provide oxygen and help alleviate other health issues. Building rooflines can shelter birds from predators. We must live in a way that integrates into the natural environment in a way that helps rather than harms. I would like to participate in building a world where people who work in factories are healthy and not sick, and where they can live to see their grandchildren grow up.
References:
Defrees, S. (2020, March 12). The Case for Regenerative Design. YouTube.
Grace Farms . (2025, June 5). Design For Freedom - Grace Farms. Design For Freedom by Grace Farms. https://www.designforfreedom.org/
Leaders’ Quest. (2022, May 17). What is Regenerative?. YouTube.
McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. William McDonough, Michael Braungart. North Point Press.
Well Building Standard®. WELL Building Standard® | WELL Standard. (n.d.). https://standard.wellcertified.com/well