Abstract

An emerging field in architectural research and praxis is ‘Regenerative Design.’ Regenerative Design and Planning tenets go beyond conventional sustainable strategies, performance goals and green building practices. In contrast to conventional “less harm” approaches, regenerative strategies endeavor to build, intensify, and re-create natural and social capital. This is especially made possible through the intensification or creation of on-site synergies. This paper outlines methodologies and strategies for regenerating urban neighborhoods by employing a new approach to planning and design. Specifically, it begins to develop a synergistic framework. The paper asks, how can the notion of mutual dependencies or synergies—either programmatic, ecological, infrastructural, or economic—influence the ways in which we understand the nature of place, and subsequently develop strategies for adaptive reuse and urban regeneration? It stresses architectural and planning strategies that move towards being net-positive in natural and social capital and suggests a way of thinking about design that calls for the blurring of property lines and other spatial boundaries. It both provides a design and planning framework and describes one key case study in Canada.