An increasing number of building professionals now are of the view that 20 - 21st century planning, design and construction of the built environment has been unimaginably bad, reckless, and unacceptable; as the way we have built our cities has resulted in a degeneration of the earth's natural systems, now eventuating in unprecedented impacts of a changing climate, and we have pushed beyond the planetary boundaries that can sustain life. 
The current status quo is to apply the concept of ‘sustainability’ to the discourse of our actions in planning, design, development, manufacturing, and construction, even agriculture and forestry. However, sustainability is not good enough, as to ‘sustain’ is still part of a degenerating system – we need to go beyond sustainability to move from a degenerative system to a regenerative system. 
Regenerative Design provides the opportunity to restore, renew, revitalize, and replenish our natural resources. The aim of the process is to achieve net-positive impacts for nature, ecology, health and society.
In this webinar Dr Phillip Roos an international expert in Environmental Design, will explore this exciting new direction in thinking and practice, including how timber use, and regenerative forestry, could be part of a regenerative-adaptive future for our planet.

Webinar at: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5irOB9EwTOOXVzm_oPoeAg

Online Exhibition Now Available!!
All living creatures on earth have an innate connection to water, in fact, we cannot survive without water. This deep affiliation to water heightens our sensory experiences and attachment to place, where beautiful landscapes along waterways gets settled by humans since ancient times.  In the exhibition ‘Aquaphilia’, five contributors from a multidisciplinary background of architecture, landscape architecture, sculpture and fine arts – submerge themselves into the depths of their practice to produce works reflective of a ‘Love of Water’.  The collection of contemporary visual and interactive artworks underpinned by the adoration for hydration, raises questions of social and environmental consciousness.
View the online exhibition at https://www.aquaphilia.info

Rewilding the City, 2021
Online exhibition Now Available!

What might a biophilic city look like and how could its residents benefit from a city that embraces nature through a spectrum of green infrastructure solutions?
Explore in this exhibition alternate possibilities of Geelong as a Nature-full City through design ideas from students, researchers and academics that propose an integrated ecosystem across rooftops, city plazas and future growth areas.
The Vision 
The role of abundant wild nature in a truly sustainable city is often undervalued. Evidence shows that the integration of natural systems in urban and suburban areas helps cities cope with climate change impacts, as well as enhancing the health and wellbeing of urban populations. It is our vision that the City of Greater Geelong embraces biophilic design and could become a ‘rewilded and nature-full city’.  Online exhibition at https://www.rewildingthecity.info  View window displays at CentrePoint Arcade, 132 Little Malop Street, Geelong.

Announcement of winners on 28th October 2020 at 4:30pm. Watch online at https://prov.vic.gov.au/community/grants-and-awards/community-history-awards 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PROVchannel/videos
Facebook: ​https://www.facebook.com/PublicRecordOfficeVictoria 

Join the Talk at:https://aila.delegateconnect.co/talks/biophilic-landscapes-application-in-education-spaces
2020 AILA Land-E-Scape: Reset - Towards healing. https://landscapeaustralia.com/calendar/conference/2020-aila-land-e-scape-reset-towards-healing/
Overview:
Biophilia, suggests that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life, and thus as humans we seek “the urge to affiliate with other forms of life”. To be able to reflect how biophilia can be expressed in the design of educational environments, we need to understand what it is about nature that creates a sense of well-being and the subconscious engagement of place. We know from a significant body of research that sensory connection to nature initiates in us reactions that enhance well-being and healing. Biophilic design needs to include these deep patterns of connection.  

​Short Description:
In 1982 eminent architect, mathematician, writer and visionary thinker Christopher Alexander challenged the status of modern architecture in a public debate with Peter Eisenman, hosted at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. He openly announced that modern architecture is messing up the world. The importance of this debate has been widely recognised. The writings of A Pattern Language (1977) fundamentally lies at the core of Alexander’s reasoning, raising the issue that we need an architecture that is embedded in the generative codes of nature, that is alive, and that can result in living structures. He referred to a design of ‘deep sustainability’ informed by the Nature of Order.  Nearly 40 years later, the evidence is all around us that the way we have designed and built our cities has been almost un-imaginably bad and unacceptable, and has resulted in a degeneration of the earth's natural systems, now eventuating in unprecedented impacts of a changing climate. 
 
In this lecture Dr Roös set the context of the need for a new paradigm in architecture, raising the debate to new heights for scaffolding a world view of ecological responsibility. The narrative explores the  fundamentals for a more holistic, all encompassing, integral method, presenting a regenerative-adaptive pattern language for sustainable development, that re-establishes our wholeness with nature, and considers the vulnerabilities of a changing landscape. Reflecting on his learnings in practice and research, he ask us the question: What is the legacy that you will leave behind for future generations? It is time to change.
Link to Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/736493056941440 Link to Live Stream (Facebook Live): https://www.facebook.com/reallectures/posts/4856648807680362

In this book, the author tests a regenerative-adaptive pattern language theory towards investigating the possibilities of a holistic, integrated design and planning method for sustainable development that incorporates the principles of regenerative design, as well as an adaptive pattern language that re-establishes our wholeness with nature, and considers the vulnerabilities of a changing landscape. The book examines an integral approach to contemporary theories of planning and design that explores the human-nature relationship patterns in social and spatial interconnections, between people and their natural environments. The interconnectedness of human and natural systems is used to scaffold possible solutions to address key environmental and sustainability issues that specifically address the need for patterns of behaviour that acknowledge the duality of ‘man and nature’. In 12 chapters, the book presents a holistic, regenerative adaptive pattern language that encapsulates how communities can better appreciate landscape change under future climate effects, and acknowledges the importance to adapt to patterns of change of place and the environment and therefore inform the communities’ responses for sustainable development. The application of the regenerative-adaptive pattern language was tested along the Great Ocean Road region of the Victorian coast in Australia.

How home office design impacts on wellbeing and productivity is being investigated in a new project that aims to identify the elements needed to create a happy home workspace. Researchers from Deakin University's Live+Smart Research Lab in the School of Architecture and Built Environment have partnered with a team from Deakin's School of Psychology to identify the design elements needed to improve mental health outcomes for home-based workers Director of the Live+Smart Research Lab, Dr Phill Roös said the research project was prompted by the numbers of people working from home as a result of COVID-19 restrictions "Many home workspaces are temporary setups in shared areas of the home such as dining rooms, kitchen counters or bedrooms so there is a lack of privacy and the chance of frequent interruptions," Dr Roös said.
For further information see link: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/media-releases/articles/the-secret-to-making-working-from-home-a-happy,-healthy-place-to-be

This Webinar is now available to view on youtube: YouTube channel 
​or this link by Deakin Webinars: Designed by Nature: How sensory architecture can improve our well-being

​Spending time in nature has significant positive effects on our emotional and physical wellbeing. How do we maintain this in a time of ever-increasing urbanisation?
In this webinar, Dr Phillip Roös explores the concept of our human desire to be part of nature, also known as Biophilia, and how this can inform architecture in wonderful ways.

What does it take to give a building soul? In this webinar, Dr Phillip Roös will explore the concept of our human desire to be part of nature, also known as biophilia, and how this can inform architecture in wonderful ways. He will focus on how these natural design elements have historically been integrated in architecture, some current best practice examples, and the positive effects they can have on our well-being. 
​DATE
Wednesday 26 February 2020.
TIME
12.30 pm - 1.30 pm AEDT
VENUE
Online.       Register at: Deakin Online registration