Review of regenerative design theories for school buildings in the tropics of India

The Trajectory of Environmentally responsive design by Bill Reed [1] maps paradigm shift from degenerating to regenerating systems. The trajectory depicts sustainable system as neutral. Regenerative design integrates ecological system in the built environment and is based on the premise that everything built has the potential for the integration of the natural world as an “equal partner” in the architecture. The design profession is bestowed with legendary individuals who have attempted to translate ecological processes into something meaningful and useful for design theories. This paper will focus on recent trends and representative theories that followed the influential social, economic, and ecological movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The works of Malcolm Wells, Nancy Jack Todd and John Todd, William McDonough, John Tillman Lyle, Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan, Bill Reed, and Raymond J. Cole continue to influence the evolution of regenerative design thought and practice. The paper reviews regenerative design theories and explore ways in which ecological processes have been interpreted through design at the end of the first decade of twenty first century. Each theory will be summarized and considered for regenerative design of schools for thermal comfort in the tropics of India. This study is significant as India has about one million schools and out of which 80% are government schools. The paper argues that regenerative design for school building would create environmentally responsive learning environment.