Regenerative design in building assessment standards: The case of the living building challenge

Zhou, Jue 2025. Regenerative design in building assessment standards: The case of the living building challenge. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the shift from conventional sustainability towards regenerative design in building assessment standards, using the Living Building Challenge as the sole in-depth case. The study is analytical rather than propositional. It combines the Multi-Level Perspective on socio-technical change with a Social–Ecological Systems lens to diagnose where regenerative intent meets constraints within incumbent rule environments. The research employs a multi-method approach organised in line with MLP's three levels: landscape, regime and niche. Bibliometric analysis and literature synthesis reveal landscape-level shifts in building assessment discourse, showing how regenerative concepts have been emerging as new paradigms necessitated by the limits of mainstream sustainability approaches. Regime-level analysis systematises characteristics of regenerative design, while exposing persistent tensions between mechanistic and ecological worldviews. At the niche level, a systematic SES analysis of the case of LBC examines how its comprehensive requirements attempt to operationalise regenerative principles and where market and technical pressures necessitate compromise. The Living Building Challenge represents a transformative vision that has influenced broader building assessment sector policies and practices. Its comprehensive regenerative framework has pushed the boundaries of conventional sustainability building standards, inspiring systemic thinking across the industry. However, findings reveal that LBC's ambitious vision is systematically compromised by operationalising mechanisms, with only about 15.7% of certified projects achieving fully regenerative outcomes. Most projects seek specialised certification pathways that avoid comprehensive regenerative requirements. The integrated MLP-SES framework serves as a diagnostic lens, making visible the structural barriers that constrain regenerative transformation. The SES mapping exposes critical gaps: the majority of LBC's "imperatives" lack adaptive feedback mechanisms, extensive exception pathways enable compliance without transformation, and verification remains limited to static checkpoints rather than continuous monitoring. These patterns reflect deeper structural constraints inherent in voluntary commercial standards dependent on market adoption. Rather than prescribing solutions, this analysis illuminates why regenerative design remains marginal despite theoretical sophistication and environmental urgency. The research reveals that achieving regenerative outcomes requires fundamental reconsideration of assessment methodologies, market mechanisms, and institutional structures within broader socio-technical systems, transcending the limitations of incremental refinements to existing certification frameworks.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Architecture
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 May 2026
Last Modified:	05 May 2026 10:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/186750

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