REGEN
Towards a regenerative
built environment.
What is REGEN
A bridge between what science says we should do and what practice could do.
The construction sector is caught in a trap: low margins, fragmented value chains, project-by-project risk management, short investment horizons and incentives that reward repeating existing solutions.
REGEN supports applied science through embedded research — Industrial PhDs and postdocs working inside companies and academia, to make new choices clearer, safer, and easier to repeat.
15
Researchers embedded in practice
13+
Companies bridging science and application
4
Universities partnered
1
Shared compass: the Doughnut
REGEN structure
Three layers, one network.
A tight core of researchers, a bridge to practice, and a long-term community — the same shape that threads through this page.
- 01
Core research group
Industrial PhDs and postdocs. Depth of knowledge, cross-disciplinary dialogues, analysis, concepts, cases.
- 02
Bridge to practice
Companies, researchers and supervisors. Applied science, organisational learning, sector events.
- 03
Long-term community
Alumni and early-career researchers. Science talks and meetups beyond single projects.
Four ways in
Insights
Ask questions in natural language. Answers are retrieved from indexed REGEN research — never generated.
12 indexed answers · 24 sources
Researchers
Meet the Industrial PhDs and postdocs embedded inside companies and universities.
15 researchers across 6 institutions
Companies
See how research becomes practice through partner companies across architecture, engineering and construction.
13 bridge-to-practice partners
Community
Join science talks, sector workshops and a long-term community of regenerative practitioners and researchers.
Newsletter · Events · Discussion
Recent answers
REGEN Insights
Are bio-based insulation materials safe enough to scale?
Fire performance is the single largest barrier to scaling biogenic insulation. REGEN research is developing new testing protocols and modelling approaches so bio-based materials can be specified with the same confidence as mineral wool — without forcing them through tests designed for entirely different materials.
How do we scale biogenic construction without compromising performance?
REGEN frames scaling as a coordination problem, not just a technical one. The work focuses on standardisation, industrialisation through Modern Methods of Construction, validated performance and replicable supply chains — so biogenic choices become the default, not the exception.
Why does REGEN say 'retrofit-first'?
Most of the building stock that will exist in 2050 is already standing. REGEN treats renovation as the primary site of regenerative practice — and treats it as an industrialisable, repeatable platform rather than a one-off craft activity.
What does circularity look like in practice for buildings?
Circular construction is reframed across REGEN as three connected practices: (1) design for disassembly so future reuse is possible, (2) consulting demolition that shapes upstream decisions, and (3) refurbishment platforms that industrialise reuse.
How do we measure a building's impact on biodiversity?
Carbon is necessary but insufficient. REGEN develops methods that trace site-specific biodiversity loss through construction supply chains and that quantify ecosystem services a project can provide. The aim is to make biodiversity impacts as decision-relevant as carbon already is.
What does 'beyond carbon' actually mean for a project?
Going beyond carbon means measuring biodiversity, ecosystem services, supply-chain origin and sufficiency — and making them traceable through the project lifecycle. REGEN converts these into evidence-based decision-support tools that designers and clients can actually use.