Events

We're pleased to be working with London Festival of Architecture and our hosts, AECOM, on this event.

When something holds deep sentimental value, we feel compelled to protect it. But what happens when the stories that once inspired care are lost or dismissed by modern systems?

Beyond Mythology invites built environment professionals and future-focused thinkers to explore how regenerative design and long-term thinking can offer new narratives of care, connection, and responsibility. It’s a call for a mindset shift -- from linear efficiency to adaptive systems that evolve over time.

At the heart of this lies a powerful question: What does it mean to be a good ancestor? To design not just for now, but for seven generations ahead. To embed adaptability, foresight, and care into the decisions we make today -- and to imagine lasting legacies.

In this panel discussion, speakers from across generations, disciplines, and cultures will share personal stories and professional insights. Together, we’ll explore how myth-making, memory, and the landscapes of London -- past, present, and future -- can shape a more just and regenerative built environment.

This event is twinned with our Whose cathedrals are we building? event with New Future Construction School at the Architecture Fringe in Glasgow. Stories and reflections from both events will be shared in a collective output.

We are very grateful to AECOM for their support hosting this event.

Further information & booking.

This online session with UK Structural Engineers Declare is a call to both groups of signatories (and others) to help shape our policy research and recommendations for embedding a circular economy in the built environment.

Join us to discuss the current barriers to circularity, share examples and lessons on where it has and hasn’t worked before, and help us shape our recommendations to government.

Further details and booking info to follow here very soon.

We're delighted to be participating in an event at this year’s Architecture Fringe in Glasgow, hosted by New Future Construction School.

Whose cathedrals are we building? Learning from Dalmarnock’s past, present and future will invite pairs of speakers to exchange stories and share conversation about Dalmarnock across generations, and use the practice of 'cathedral thinking' to consider the following:

Can multi-generational thinking help to ensure a just transition, and can regenerative development ensure future generations become custodians and beneficiaries of a sustainable and resilient built environment?

Please join members of the AD Steering Group and other speakers for an engaging and collaborative discussion.

This event is twinned with Architects Declare’s Beyond Mythologies talk being held as part of the London Festival of Architecture. Place-based stories and learnings from the discussions will be compiled and shared following both events. 

Further information and booking.

We're excited to be partnering with Grimshaw and International Living Future Institute on this special Regenerative Futures panel discussion.

Our keynote speaker is André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, COP30 President.

Speakers - Lindsay Baker of the International Living Future Institute, Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield & UK Architects Declare, Andre Loosemore of Humanscale - will showcase real-world examples of implementing regenerative design principles. This dynamic conversation brings together experts in architecture, design, and sustainability to explore how regenerative design can reshape our built environment.

The panel discussion - moderated by Paul Toyne of Grimshaw - will delve into cutting-edge strategies for achieving net-zero carbon buildings, restoring ecosystems, and shaping the future of sustainable urban development.

Do join us for this opportunity to gain valuable insights from industry leaders as they share how regenerative practices can help create resilient, thriving communities.

This is a hybrid event, hosted at Grimshaw’s London office for in-person attendees and streamed online via Zoom. Please select your ticket option for either in-person attendance or online participation. Further information and booking.

Alongside the Regenerative Architecture exhibition across the 3 days of Futurebuild 2025 (see separate listing), AD and Architecture Today are hosting a discussion on the Arena Stage at 5pm on 4th March as part of Futurebuild’s ‘Knowledge Programme’.

Chaired by Isabel Allen, Editor of Architecture Today, the event brings together leading voices in the built environment to explore how architecture can actively restore and regenerate ecosystems and communities.

Speakers will unpack the core principles of the RAI, each offering unique insights from their practice:

• Anna Pamphilon from Pamphilon Architects & Within Planetary Boundaries and a member of UK Architects Declare's Steering Group will introduce regenerative architecture’s role in tackling the climate and biodiversity crises and AD's work in this essential field.
  
• Being a Good Ancestor – Julia Barfield from Marks Barfield Architects and a member of UK Architects Declare's Steering Group will explore how long-term thinking and adaptability can create enduring architectural legacies.
• Co-evolving with Nature – Tom Bennett from Studio Bark will discuss how design can work within, rather than against, natural systems to regenerate ecosystems.
• Creating a Just Space for People – Sophie Crocker from White Arkitekter will share how architecture can foster equity, resilience, and community empowerment.

For all architects, designers, policymakers - and all who are passionate about the future of our built environment. Join us at 5pm on at the Arena Stage on March 4th.

Join Architecture Today and UK Architects Declare at this year's Futurebuild to explore regenerative architecture and our pioneering Regenerative Architecture Index (RAI).

Our exhibition stand covers the three key principles for regenerative solutions for local and planetary health: Being a good ancestor, Co-evolving with nature and Creating a just space for people. In its inaugural year last year, the RAI attracted 68 organisations from across the built environment - inlcuding 54 AD signatiories - ranging from sole practitioners to international multi-disciplinary firms. Our exhibition will showcase selected answers to questions from the index. You can meet with AT and AD team members to discuss the benefits of the index for you and other organisations.

The exhibition stand, from 4D Design Agency, and is  itself in line with regenerative design principles: employing an innovative structure to minimise material use and maximise recyclability, without compromising on visual impact or quality of finish.

AT and AD also have short talks and discussion as part of Futurebuild 2025's Knowledge Programme (5.00pm on 4th March) - see seperate listing. 

And the 2025 Regenerative Architecture Index is now open for your entries! 

Tuesday 21st January 2025, 12.00-1.30pm

Join us for the next stage in our innovative and popular Regenerative Design Primer.

We released the initial version in April 2024 to support AD signatories and others with the transition from 'sustainable' to truly 'regenerative' design for the built environment - including those submitting entries for our inaugural Regenerative Architecture Index with Architecture Today.

From the outset, we've seen it as 'work in progress' and brought in experts from other organisations and disciplines to help shape it. Now it's time to shape the next iteration and we're setting up working groups to deliver our Primer 2.0. You can be part of this evolution!

Expert presentations, breakout groups & discussions:

• Brief overview of the Regenerative Design Primer and next steps
• Regenerative Design Primer - Your feedback
• Regenerative Design - What are the blockages?
• Regenerative Design - How to move forward

Please come to further your knowledge of regenerative design and help push our industry towards a better regenerative future! 

Book your place now.

Around 100 people joined us for our online session on regenerative design.

Steering Group members Anna Pamphilon and Kevin Logan, plus Eike Sindlinger of Arup, a fellow volunteer on our working group, gave a walkthough of AD's Regenerative Design Primer and our next steps for taking it further. And we were joined by guest experts to showcase other leading guidance and support that's available to help the built environment lead on this paradigm shift:

• Regenerative Design Primer - Anna Pamphilon, Kevin Logan & Eike Sindlinger (UK Architects Declare)
• Regenerative Architecture Index - Isabel Allen (Architecture Today)
• Regenerative Design Lab - Oliver Broadbent (Constructivist)
• Regenerative Places Programme - Joanne Wheeler & Anna Hollyman (UKGBC)
• Regenerative Symposium - Rachel Sayers (FCBS)
• Regenerative Practice Tool - Pete Swift (PlanIt)

You can watch the video of all the talks here, and in our collection of resources to support our signatories.

Around 120 very enthusiastic architects and fellow built environment professionals - many of them resplendent in a wild variety of regenerative hats! - joined us for an evening at The Bottle Factory in Peckham to celebrate the results of the inaugural Regenerative Architecture Index (RAI), launched by UK Architects Declare and Architecture Today. Many thanks to our special guest, pioneering musician and producer, visual artist and activist, Brian Eno, to Fabrix for providing our venue and to our event sponsors, Interface, and all our speakers - and RAI entrants.

As AD co-founder Michael Pawlyn said "This celebration event is deliberately the opposite of the formulaic ‘Park Lane ballroom, black tie event’ and, yes, even the hat competition is part of our strategy for change! As futurist and writer Ed Gillespie said, 'If you want to subvert the dominant paradigm, you need to have more fun than they are… and let them know while you’re doing it', which roughly translates as ‘throw a better party’!” As a special introduction to the theme of the evening and our focus on regenerative design, Michael recorded a live discussion on stage with Brian Eno for the Flourish Systems Change podcast Michael co-hosts with Sarah Ichioka.  

Their wide-ranging discussion - with short Q&A with our audience - covered aspects of Brian's work on projects such as The Long Now Foundation, the central importance of imagination and creativity to addressing our planetary problems, how change happens and making this real for all of us at the level of feelings and not just knowledge. You can hear the full podcast in this Special Episode (Imagining Futures with Brian Eno). Previous episodes include Long Time with Roman Krznaric, another speaker at the RAI event and one of our three RAI Ambassadors.

Architecture Today have published this summary of the evening - and a dedicated issue of their journal featuring the results of this inaugural Index, with examples of how entrants demonstrated our regenerative principles of Being a good ancestor, Co-creating with nature and Creating a just space for people in their projects and practices.

As well as the regenerative hat competition, our Brian Eno conversation, talks from the RAI team and guest Laurence Bates, the CEO of Wildheart Animal Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight who has undertaken to source future designers for their estate from the RAI, and a DJ session to close the evening, we also had illustrator Pheeb Robinson with us to capture the evening in a special graphical animation - which you can enjoy below.

We were excited to have over 120 people join us and our hosts HaworthTompkins on 24th July to celebrate UK Architects Declare's first five years.

Around 80 organisations were in the room to celebrate how far our community has come over the past five years - including many of AD's signatory architectural practices and those across the sector and beyond who have partnered with us to shift the built environment to addressing the planetary emergency head on. The energy, dedication and creative thinking to drive our collaborative action forwards is now more prevalent than ever.

Thank you to everyone at HaworthTompkins for all their help and all who made this special event such a great evening!

Members of our Steering Group shared their insights from AD's inception in 2019, our early activity to bring the sector together around our declaration points for systems change, and our recent programmes to produce our Practice Guide, Practice Action Masterclasses, Regenerative Design Guide, Building Blocks manifesto for transformative built environment policies and Regenerative Architecture Index.

Michael Pawlyn, AD's co-instigator alongside Steve Tompkins, told everyone how "Five years ago hardly anyone was talking about regenerative design, and now everyone is. That’s something we’ve all created together - the potential for architects to reclaim our agency as shapers of the future, as integrators and systems thinkers.”

Zoe Watson said "I think everyone in this room can be extremely proud of the community we’ve grown together and the collective action we have taken over the past five years"

Deepthi Ravi, one of our newest Steering Group members, painted a picture of our future focus: "Let’s embrace and transform the built environment that we all work with for 2030, and do it such that we plan, construct and operate within planetary boundaries.."

Julia Barfield led us in a toast to AD's programme and partners, and Carrie Behar reminded us of all the people and organisations who have made AD a success and whose support is fundamental to our work - inlcuding the growing number who support us with financial contributions. Over the years, AD has worked closely on publications and events with many partners, including the RIBA and ACAN!, with an array of organisations on our Building Blocks policy work, and most recently with Architecture Today to launch the Regenerative Architecture Index - which will announce its first year's results in September.

Carrie then guided us through a short, energetic activity, asking guests to become a ‘human slido’ and move into the corners of the room designated with AD's key themes, according to where they think we should focus our activity - “influencing local and national policy, supporting signatory practices, and advocating for industry change”

Our Plan for Change sets out our approach to supporting signatories and demonstrating where leadership can replace the system that has created the climate and biodiversity emergency with one that builds a better future for us all.