Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development

The Systems of a Living Community

John Tillman Lyle. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1994. 340 pages, hardcover, $49.95.

Regenerative Design tells the story of the creation of the Center for Regenerative Studies (CRS) at California State Polytechnic University.

A comprehensive work, the book offers a systems perspective on each of the natural and social forces that shape our communities, using the newly constructed CRS and other case studies to illustrate each concept. Lyle’s wholistic perspective and consistent—though not dogmatic—mission are invaluable background to any design process.

Beginning with an analysis of our existing post-industrial society (which he terms “paleotechnic”), Lyle discusses its failings in terms of our energy, water, nutrient, and cultural systems. He then introduces the principles he deems necessary for regenerative design, or design of systems that can mimic nature’s ability to restore damaged environments. This ability to extract manageable concepts from the intricate web of natural and restorative systems is the book’s real gift. Through it the solutions one might have recognized intuitively become concrete principles and design tools.

Though not overly technical,

Regenerative Design is dense. There is a lot of material packed into its 300-plus pages. The layout is confusing at times, with boxed case studies, often spanning several pages, interspersed with the main text. Some confusion may be inherent in any attempt to contain such rich, multidimensional material in the linear form of a book, but it results in a text that is a bit daunting until one gets used to it.

Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development should be required reading for all students of design, because it provides a real understanding of the context of our living systems. Even designers already well-versed in the principles of low-energy and low-impact buildings will find some new information here. More importantly, they’ll find some new perspectives on the reasons for sustainable, or regenerative, design.