ArcDR3 Forum Vol.1: New Agendas For Regenerative Urbanism

ArcDR³ Forum Vol.1: New Agendas for Regenerative Urbanism was held on Friday, June 26. It was the first event in the series of research, symposia, and exhibitions planned by the ArcDR³ initiative. The event was live-streamed via UCLA Architecture and Urban Design’s YouTube page starting on June 26, 2020 PDT/ June 27, 2020 JST. Under the umbrella of the “Grand Syllabus,” the 11 participating universities presented their syllabi for their context-specific design studios in the upcoming 2020-2021 academic year. Discussions were divided into three panels: #1: Earth, Wind and Fire, #2: Water, and #3: Multi-hazard.

The event was organized around two key objectives:

To address the projected theme of “Regenerative Urbanism” and its implications for the design studios at each of the participating universities. The increased intensity of global risk establishes an urgency to define new strategies for designing buildings, cities and environments. Regenerative Urbanism is envisioned to address the unprecedented changes through an adaptive systems approach with the focus on regenerative and evolutionary design and development strategies for ecologically, sociologically and technologically resilient cities. It expands the notion of resilience and implements an alternative complex form of adaptability, where resilient design responds and adapts to change, whether a sudden shock or a long-term trend though the establishment of ERS (Evolutionary Regenerative System). One of the objective of ArcDR³ Initiative is to develop this conceptual approach together and sets a foundation for the development of alternative sustainable regenerative design models for the future and enables urban designers to prepare for the complexities of the changing urban environment.

To recognize the changes in learning environments and teaching processes that have been redefined by the global crisis, and explore opportunities for participants to expand their research skills by collaborating on a global scale through the ArcDR³ network. Culminating studio projects will be discussed in upcoming conferences, displayed in exhibitions, and compiled into a publication for public distribution.