Regenerative architecture: designing high rise timber co-housing with nature-inspired concepts

"HOW CAN ARCHITECTURE FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE BY HOUSING AUCKLAND’S GROWING POPULATION?” We live in a time of ecological imbalance partly decided by how much carbon our buildings emit into the atmosphere. The architectural industry looks to nature for new architectural solutions and inspirations to meet sustainability and economic demands. According to Auckland Council, the city's urban layout will grow as more people come from overseas. Without a sustainable housing proposal, the council's plan to house new residents endangers human health, wildlife and New Zealand's significant ecosystems. As the population grows, so will the area of urbanisation, pushing the natural environment towards the point of no return. The architecture industry has attempted to build net-zero housing but depends on high carbon-emitting building materials such as concrete and steel. New Zealand has access to timber, one of the most sustainable building materials globally. Yet, the industry is failing to create a sustainable future for the growing population by using building technologies and design processes that contribute to the global problem of climate change.

Offical Design Process — Parti-diagram for regenerative architecture

Fighting climate change by housing the increasing population is a challenging and broad design process, but not impossible. The industry needs to keep generating nature-inspired building proposals incorporating sustainable building technologies, biophilic designs, and a sense of community to truly combat climate change with accommodation. Nature-inspired building proposals go by many names, such as biomimetic and regenerative architecture. Biomimetic architecture requires science and biology specialists in the design process. The architectural industry can achieve regenerative architecture without depending heavily on less relevant research areas.

Nature-inspired production

Place Water Energy — Place, Water & Energy as concepts

Materials Wellbeing Equity — Materials, Wellbeing & Equity as concepts

In this work of literature, the reader will find the process behind a nature-inspired building proposal that creates/restores ecologies on Auckland building sites. The proposal incorporates sustainable building technologies and a sense of community in tall building forms, reversing Auckland's damaging effects on the natural environment.

Idea & Research-based production

Artboard 1 — Prototype high rise timber co-housing model

Portrait Site Models — Site development models

My project uses the living building and community challenge guidebooks to connect nature-inspired production with joint research into co-housing, high-rise design, and timber technologies through creative practices. The aim is to maximise the readers' understanding of the creative process behind the regenerative architecture and how it can sustainably house Auckland's growing population by fighting climate change. Keywords: High rise, co-housing, timber technologies, regenerative architecture & nature-inspired concepts