A discussion on regenerative design : the 2012 Beyond LEED symposium

This is a report about modern theories of sustainability and the progression of regenerative design. I utilize a framework of sustainability put forth in 2001 by Simon Guy and Graham Farmer to analyze the content of the Beyond LEED Symposium held in January, 2012 on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Using the six logics of sustainability proposed by Guy and Farmer; eco-technic, eco-centric, eco-aesthetic, eco-cultural, eco-medical, and eco-social, I examine the results of the symposium and determine which of these logics is being employed in the development of a new, regenerative design paradigm. I will also examine whether or not the Guy and Farmer framework of sustainability, and its contained logics, represent an incomplete definition of contemporary theories of sustainability. The results of this study and of the Beyond LEED Symposium suggest a change in how we think about sustainability and regenerative design.