Systems Thinking, Regenerative Design, and the Living Building Challenge in Post-Pandemic Workplace Interior Design

All living and man-made features have their place in Earth’s web of living systems. Thinking in terms of design and positioning social, environmental, ecological, and economic systems as interconnected parts of a whole, regenerative design seeks to give back more than it takes from the environment; surpassing present sustainable design initiatives to foster holistic solutions which have the capacity to transform wicked problems into positive outcomes. This method utilizes a systems thinking approach by connecting various scales to the benefit of ecological, environmental, economic, and social organizations. Systems thinking can be defined broadly as “an approach to integration that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system will act differently when isolated from the system’s environment or other parts of the system” (Principal 2021). Thus, systems are nested within one another and cannot be properly examined without considering the other elements they impact. It is then pertinent to work within the interconnectedness of elements and account for these relationships since “the sustainability of a living system is tied directly to its beneficial integration into a larger system” (Regenerative Development and Design: A Framework for Evolving Sustainability 2016). Regenerative design builds upon this by striving to create a unified whole where the co-evolution of humans and natural systems support one another through design (Regenerative Development and Design: A Framework for Evolving Sustainability 2016). Serving as a framework for regenerative design, the Living Building Challenge creates a unified building standard with the goal of enriching architectural and interior environments to positively impact social, environmental, economic, and ecological systems. To implement these principles, the aim of this creative project will be to attain Living Building Challenge Interior CORE certification in the context of a post-pandemic workplace design project.