Juliana Renn, head of sustainability at HLM Architects, makes the case for regenerative design
For the last few years, the built environment has been on a determined journey towards net zero. This has driven better buildings, improved energy performance, reduced operational carbon, and made sustainability a mainstream design priority.
It’s clear to me, however, that the direction of travel has already transitioned sustainability from differentiator to baseline expectation.
The introduction of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, tightening EPC requirements, the Future Homes Standard, mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain, and increasing investor scrutiny through ESG frameworks are just a few factors that are taking us beyond sustainability.
As a Pilot Programme participant, HLM is proud to have supported the development of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. It’s an important milestone for the built environment, introducing a unified definition of net zero carbon aligned buildings.
Net zero remains essential. We must continue reducing operational energy, tackling embodied carbon and improving building performance. But carbon reduction alone cannot define success. Buildings exist within wider environmental, social and economic systems. They affect biodiversity, water resources, community wellbeing, local economies and long-term resilience.
If, by encouraging us to do less damage, net zero represents the minimum threshold of responsible development, regenerative design helps us to go further.
Actively improving places
Regenerative design asks how buildings and developments can actively improve the places they touch – and how a project can leave a site, community or ecosystem better than it found it.
A net zero building may achieve outstanding energy performance, but if it contributes to biodiversity decline, relies on extractive material supply chains or lacks adaptability for future generations, we should be wary of claiming success.
Regenerative design encourages a more holistic approach. It means creating buildings that support ecosystem recovery rather than merely offsetting impacts. It means treating biodiversity net gain as a genuine design driver rather than a planning requirement, managing water as a valuable resource to be captured, reused and conserved, and designing for circularity.
Regenerative design asks us to consider not only how materials enter a building but how they can be recovered, reused and reintegrated into the economy at the end of its life too.
Considering embodied carbon
Embodied carbon provides a useful example of why this broader thinking matters. While operational energy has rightly received significant attention, embodied carbon represents the emissions associated with materials extraction, manufacturing, transportation, construction, maintenance and eventual end-of-life processes.
The World Green Building Council has set ambitious targets for reducing embodied carbon, calling for all new buildings, infrastructure and renovations to achieve at least 40% less embodied carbon by 2030, alongside significant reductions in upfront carbon. By 2050, the ambition is for new buildings to achieve net zero embodied carbon.
Achieving those outcomes will require more than incremental improvements. We must rethink procurement, material selection, supply chains and construction methodologies from first principles.
Measurable outcomes
At HLM, we have been exploring how regenerative thinking can be translated into practical, measurable outcomes in real life. One of the most significant examples is our Regenerative Twin research study, undertaken in collaboration with Morgan Sindall Construction, Woodknowledge Wales, Cundall, Atkins Réalis and other industry partners.
The study challenged a simple but powerful assumption: what would happen if regenerative principles were prioritised at the very beginning of the design process, rather than being considered after key decisions had already been made?
Using an existing secondary school project in South Wales as a benchmark, the team applied a regenerative lens to procurement, design and material choices.
84% whole life carbon reductions
The results were remarkable. Whole-life carbon emissions could be reduced by 84%, while upfront embodied carbon fell by 66%. Annual energy consumption decreased by 45%, and water consumption associated with materials manufacturing was cut by 90%.
Importantly, these improvements were achieved while maintaining whole-life costs at 95% of the original scheme, with any additional capital investment offset within approximately 11 years.
For me, the significance of the research extends beyond the numbers. The project demonstrated the value of bringing stakeholders together much earlier, involving supply chains as innovation partners and evaluating success through environmental, social and economic outcomes simultaneously. And it highlighted that regenerative design is about fundamentally changing how decisions are made.
Integrated design thinking
HLM has applied similar principles across other live projects, including Trent View College in Lincolnshire, which provides a tangible example of how integrated design thinking can deliver multiple regenerative benefits. Designed as one of the first SEND facilities globally to achieve Passivhaus standards, the project used cross-laminated timber (CLT) as its primary structural material.
While timber is often discussed in relation to carbon, its benefits extend much further. The offsite manufacture of CLT improved construction precision, reduced waste and shortened programme duration. Its low embodied carbon significantly reduced environmental impact compared with more carbon-intensive alternatives. And the material’s inherent thermal performance contributed to a highly efficient building envelope, helping create a stable, more comfortable internal environment for students with special educational needs.
Crucially, the project also embraced circular economy principles through efficient material use and a design approach focused on long-term durability and adaptability.
This is what regenerative design looks like in practice – a series of interconnected decisions delivering positive outcomes across environmental performance, user wellbeing and long-term asset value.
Asset resilience
The commercial case is becoming increasingly compelling as well. Asset resilience is rapidly emerging as a critical consideration for investors and occupiers. And buildings that perform well environmentally, support wellbeing, adapt to changing needs and align with future policy requirements, are likely to retain their relevance and value for longer. In contrast, assets that fail to evolve may face growing risks of obsolescence and stranded value.
Regenerative design therefore represents more than an environmental opportunity. It is a strategy for creating future-ready places.
The built environment has already demonstrated its ability to embrace ambitious change. Net zero has transformed conversations across our industry and established a shared framework for action. Now we can build on that with regenerative design.
The challenge ahead is not simply designing buildings that consume less energy or emit less carbon. It is creating places that actively restore natural systems, strengthen communities, and generate long-term value.
Net zero is an important milestone on that journey, but regenerative design is where the real opportunity begins.
Main image: Juliana Renn, head of sustainability, HLM Architects
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