The Regenerative Design Lab

Cultivating regenerative practice to transform the built environment

I have been co-convening and co-facilitating the Regenerative Design Lab with Constructivist since it’s inception in 2021. So far, over 3 years and 4 cohorts, we have stewarded over 70 participants through our 9 month programme and growing community of practice is for leading engineers, construction industry professionals and changemakers.

The community is thriving, regularly meeting to support each other in their work to bring regenerative design and practice to the built environment and policy space.

73

Participants have been through our programme

4

Regenerative Design Lab Cohorts complete

18

Multi-day woodland residential retreats held

Approach

Our aim is to foster and inspire personal regenerative leadership practices as well as professional, and the relational side of the Lab is foundational for the learning, confidence, impact and connections that stretch far beyond the 8months.

As part of the Lab we offer training and workshops focused on regenerative design principles, values and practices, systems thinking, 3 Horizons, imagination practices, coaching and more. We also take each cohort to Hazel Hill Wood, a woodland for 3 x overnight residential stays. It is the perfect place to learn about regenerative principles and practice and to explore our relationship, and the industry's relationship with living ecosystems.

Every aspect of the Regenerative Design Lab is connected to and rooted in regenerative practice and transformation for a thriving living world. We have taken a great deal of care to embody these same principles and approaches that we teach into the design of every aspect of the programme, through recruitment, onboarding, course structure, mealtimes, welcomes, closings, as well as content, workshops in theory and frameworks.

Along the way, we have been honoured to partner with Bill Sharpe for 2 cohorts, and for the 4th edition, the Regenerative Design Policy Lab, we had the pleasure of partnering with Chatham House who brought a wealth of policy focused expertise to the experience.

Since we launched the Regenerative Design Lab in 2022, we have welcomed a wide range of built-environment professionals to the programme, including participants from: Architects Declare, Arup, Beep Studio, Buro Happold, DEFRA, Engineers Without Borders UK, Elliott Wood, Essex County Council, Expedition, GLA, Hawkins Brown, IStructE, Piers for the Planet, Price and Myers, Ramboll, Robert Bird, Sheffield Council, Studio Dash, UCL, UKGBC, University of Bath, University of Bristol, WSP and YesMake.

If you’d like to read more about the learnings of cohorts 1-3, or if you are intrigued to find out more about future cohorts, you can do so on the Regenerative Design Lab webpage.

“I am indebted to Ellie, who in her powerful way, embodies level three regenerative in the way she holds space and models relationships. From the start we’ve co-facilitated the RDL - a process we are continually updating. Together we have facilitated four cohorts in three years - a feat that would not have been possible without her.”

- Oliver Broadbent, founder of The Regenerative Design Lab and Constructivist

What participants have been saying

“If you are looking to explore what we 'should' be doing as practitioners, then this is the place to do it. The impressive facilitation and calibre of members allows critical discussion which has resulted in demonstrable impacts to my projects. The lab has provided the clarity sought for real-life application and fostered a network of contacts which continue to prove invaluable in navigating this new (and essential) discourse. ”

- Regenerative Design Lab Cohort 3 participant

“The Regenerative Design Lab was the best professional development opportunity I've participated in to date. It provided a uniquely safe, informative and enjoyable space to explore a critical (and currently under-discussed) topic with a diverse collective of change makers. I recommend this Lab to anyone looking to critically reflect on their practice and drive real change within the sector.”

- Regenerative Design Lab Cohort 1 participant

“The course provided the essential tools to navigate a shifting and complex industry, identifying and unpicking regenerative opportunities from a systematic approach, rather than cookie-cutter sustainability.”

- Regenerative Design Lab Cohort 4 participant

“An insightful and uplifting experience designed in a way that is refreshingly unscripted.”

- Regenerative Design Lab Cohort 2 participant

“Participating in the lab has been transformational on so many levels - i have learnt so many new ideas and given my brain space to wander and open up new areas of interest. I have met interesting people whose generosity and knowledge has helped fill in what regenerative design might practically mean for Watershed and it has topped up my spirits and given me strength to commit to an area of work that is still on the edges.”