Holistic regenerative design: the Common House by Common Practice

In the August 2023 issue of The Structural Engineer, Oliver Broadbent and James Norman ¹ presented the principles of regenerative design, and Will Arnold and Phil Isaac ² discussed how structural engineers can achieve this in buildings through designing for place, circularity and reuse, material choices and knowledge transfer. However, while the article gave example projects for each of these aspects of regenerative design, it noted that case studies that can be considered exemplars in all four areas at once were lacking. The Common House is a community gathering space and the heart of the Hazelmead co-housing development in Bridport, Dorset, UK. Featuring a locally sourced timber frame, straw-bale wall panels, and concrete-free foundations, its construction was also a catalyst for long-term social engagement and ecological conservation. The authors believe that the Common House project design process has roots in the four areas outlined above. With a quietly revolutionary vision for its surrounding land and communities, the Common House is a rare case study representing a holistic approach to regenerative design. Through conversation with designers Common Practice, this article examines the transformative potential of developing construction projects as strategies to empower local communities, support continuous-cover forestry, protect endangered crafts, minimise fossil carbon emissions and promote biogenic carbon storage, and make construction sites spaces of care and support.