The integrated design process for a regenerative building or community typically follows a sequence of stages, each of which produces insights that inform the next.
1. Site and Climate Analysis
Before any design decisions are made, the site must be thoroughly understood: its solar geometry, prevailing winds, hydrology, soils, vegetation, access, and relationship to surrounding land uses. Climate data — temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and solar radiation by month — must be gathered and analyzed. This analysis establishes the parameters within which design must work: how much solar energy is available for passive heating and PV generation, how much rain falls and when, what the typical diurnal temperature swing is, what passive cooling strategies will be effective.
2. Program and Needs Assessment
How many people will the building serve? What are their space needs, their energy use patterns, their water use habits, their food production goals? How will the building relate to community infrastructure? What are the budget and timeline constraints? These questions, answered in consultation with the owners and future occupants, define the building’s program: the functional requirements that the design must meet.
3. Concept Design
Concept design translates the site analysis and program into spatial and formal decisions: the building’s orientation, general footprint and massing, the arrangement of primary systems, the relationship between interior and exterior spaces, and the character of the materials. This is the stage at which the most important passive solar decisions are made — orientation, glazing placement, greenhouse integration — and it is the stage at which the systems relationships are most actively explored. Mistakes made at concept design are expensive to correct later; this is where integrated design has the greatest value.
4. Design Development
Design development elaborates the concept into a more detailed design that can be priced and permitted. Structural systems are sized, mechanical and plumbing systems are designed, energy and water systems are specified. Detailed energy and water balance calculations confirm that the passive solar, PV, and rainwater harvesting systems are correctly sized for the building’s needs. Materials are specified for structural, thermal, and ecological performance.
5. Permitting
Obtaining building permits for alternative construction is often the most challenging part of the process. Tire walls, earthen construction, and botanical waste treatment systems may fall outside the scope of conventional building codes, requiring consultation with building officials, submission of engineering calculations, or application for variance or alternative means of compliance. Pangea has developed a body of technical documentation and precedent that supports the permitting of all of its standard systems. Book 2 of this series, Site, Land, and Construction, covers the permitting process in detail.
6. Construction
Construction of a regenerative building is a skilled and often community-involving process. Tire pounding is labor-intensive and benefits from organized volunteer participation. Cob and adobe work can involve community building events that strengthen social relationships as they raise walls. Natural plasters are typically applied in multiple coats over several days, with each coat needing to cure before the next is applied. The construction sequence must carefully coordinate the installation of structural systems, water harvesting infrastructure, plumbing, electrical, and growing systems to allow efficient workflow without conflicting operations.
7. Commissioning and Occupancy
A regenerative building requires commissioning: systematic testing and adjustment of all systems to confirm that they are performing as designed. The water filtration system must be tested for potability. The PV and battery systems must be configured and load-tested. The botanical treatment cells must be established with appropriate media and planted. The passive solar performance should be monitored through the first heating season to confirm that the glazing, thermal mass, and insulation balance is correct. Occupants should be trained in the operation and maintenance of all systems.