Resources

Below, you can find all the resources we've created for our signatories and others to use since 2019.

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

In Useful Links, further down, you will find some resources from others. If you know of resources we should add here - or have any feedback on AD resources - please contact us: [email protected]


2024 - Regenerative Design Primer

Regenerative Design Cover

We've produced our new Regenerative Design Primer to help architects and other designers lead the transition away from degenerative, destructive built environment practices that perpetuate the planetary emergency to regenerative design that creates positive outcomes for people and the natural systems we are part of. It supports our new Regenerative Architecture Index, adopting the same core principles of Being a Good Ancestor, Co-evolving with Nature, and Creating a Just Space for People. The Primer complements our Practice Guide (2021), replacing the short chapter there on regenerative design.

We hope it will speak to all who really care about the future and meeting their full commercial, social and environmental aspirations.

Note: The Primer is designed as a digital document. If you wish to print a copy, please consider omitting section title pages 7, 12, 33, 35 & 40, to save ink and energy.

2024 - Regenerative Architecture Index

Regenerative Architecture Index logo small web

Developed by UK Architects Declare with Architecture Today, the Regenerative Architecture Index benchmarks regenerative policies, actions and working practices. It aims to share best practice, celebrate success, raise awareness across the wider construction sector and act as a catalyst for regenerative practice across the industry. We will also use the initiative to identify obstacles to progress, encourage knowledge sharing and identify tools, methods or policy measures required to support the transition to a low-carbon, high well-being and resilient future.

The Index asks participants about their practice and its projects under three broad headings:

Part 1: Being a good ancestor. This is about a shift in practice mindsets to consider truly long-term thinking. Our decisions today should consider seven generations ahead, ensuring adaptability and flexibility for the future. This requires innovative thought, as current models are rarely beneficial in the long term.

Part 2: Co-evolving with nature. This is about recognising that we are part of nature, within integral living systems, not separate from it. Our work should actively regenerate ecosystems by learning from and working with natural systems. This requires designing for circularity and encouraging closed-loop energy, material and water cycles.

Part 3: Creating a just space for people. This is about providing social connection, economic opportunity and wellbeing for all. Our design processes should foster a shared sense of stewardship where neighbourhoods can self-organise and build their resilience. This requires ethical, inclusive and participative approaches.

The deadline for entries is Wednesday 17th May 2024. The results will be published in September 2024 in a special issue of Architecture Today and on the Architecture Today website, with a celebration event.

2024 - Building Blocks to Transform the Built Environment

AD Building Blocks manifesto

Building Blocks manifesto image

Our manifesto - launched at a special event in Parliament with MPs, Peers and industry experts on 12th March 2024 - is the culmination of considerable work by AD and others, starting in 2023. Ahead of this year's UK general election, we've developed this comprehensive policy framework to address the need to transform our built environment in line with the realities of the planetary emergency. Key bodies have endorsed a set of early adoption policies from the manifesto. Our new Building Blocks website brings everything together - where you can also show your support for drive to have the manifesto adopted by parties ahead of the election and implemented by the next government.

2023 - UK Architects Declare 'Design Conversations: Talking through your declaration challenges'

Meeting the design challenges of the Planetary Emergency is a journey - and making your declaration is only the start. Each signatory practice needs to govern its own progress toward achieving its commitments, and AD has have developed ‘Design Conversations’ to help. These short, informal sessions of focused and confidential discussions offer an additional layer of support to our signatories, and help AD better understand the barriers to delivering on the declaration.

A Design Conversation session is usually via Zoom or Teams, lasts up to 2 hours and remains in confidence between your team and our small panel of Steering Group members. Design Conversations are free and unfunded, so we're looking to offer a handful of sessions in 2023 as we explore and develop our process.

If you would like to find out more and how this might help your practice, contact us: [email protected]

2022 - UK Architects Declare 'Practice Action Masterclass' videos

Practice Action Masterclass videos

In 2022, UK Architects Declare held a series of masterclasses on key topics in our Practice Guide (2021), as part of our Practice Action collaboration with ACAN and in partnership with the RIBA. We launched this with a special online event in April to share expert guidance and participants' experiences on using the principles in our Practice Guide to build more sustainable and regenerative projects and practices. This video has all the presentations and Q&A discussion - as well as the launch of AD's Practice Guide Masterclasses series, developed jointly with ACAN and in partnership with the RIBA.

Our workshops then ran from May to September. The 5 workshops brought together a wide range of experts for presentations and Q&A with participants around key topics in implementing the Practice Guide. The videos last from 40 to 70 minutes approximately.

We ended the series in December with a special event with ACAN, in London, Edinburgh and online. You can watch the ‘Practice Action - Assembly!’ video, with videos from ACAN’s Conversation series complementing our Masterclasses, on ACAN’s YouTube channel.

You can read more about the series in this short guide: UK Architects Declare - Guide to the Practice Action Masterclasses - which includes a link to the template Miro Boards we developed. During the workshops, participants used these to share ideas and their practices’ progress on the topics.

2022 - UK Architects Declare 'Building Justice: Crisis Solutions' video

On 3rd November 2022, we held a special in-person event (with livestream option) on climate justice as a key aspect of the planetary emergency resulting from the failing systems that govern our built environment and economies. This event - kindly hosted by Levitt Bernstein in their London offices - took place ahead of the COP27 global talks, and as households, businesses, communities and professions seek to navigate the ongoing energy crisis. We had an excellent panel of speakers and you can watch all the talks and discussions in our video, which is just over 90 minutes.

2021 - UK Architects Declare 'Practice Guide'

AD Practice Guide cover small

Architects Declare has developed this Practice Guide to help signatories convert their declaration into meaningful action and build momentum within their practice. Part 1 is a Practice Roadmap that provides 5 simple steps to transform your business. Part 2 is the Project Design Guide, focused on the fundamentals of truly sustainable design and demonstrated through exemplars. It is intended to be a live, working document that helps fulfill the fourth point in our 12-point declaration by encouraging the sharing of knowledge and research on an open-source basis.

There is also a short form here for signatories to give their feedback on the document and for anyone who would like to help develop further versions of the document to register their interest.

We held a special online event in November 2021 to introduce the Practice Guide, featuring a 'walkthrough' of the Guide and a short Q&A session:

2021 - UK Architects Declare 'Ideas Into Action' videos

Ideas into action 2021

In April 2021, our Ideas Into Action online two-day conference brought a close focus to both bold ideas (Day 1: a series of inspiring talks from Roman Krznaric, Dr Gabrielle Walker, Farhana Yamin & Jojo Mehta, interspersed with break-out sessions) and to practical actions to translate these into reality (Day 2: with three short talks from companies: Expedition, Interface and British Land - who have all undergone transformative change, sharing some of the successes and challenges in how they have risen to the planetary emergency - and series of PechaKucha style presentations about emerging and provocative ideas. We also launched our Strategy for Change, and you can see all the plenary sessions here.

2020 - UK Architects Declare 'Embodied Carbon Workshop' presentations

Embodied Carbon 2020
In March 2020, we held a one-day at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios in London, with 12 expert presentations on embodied carbon.

2019 - UK Architects Declare 'Battersea Conference' videos

Battersea Arts Centre event Day 1

In November 2019, our conference at the Battersea Arts Centre in London brought together architects and engineers for inspiring talks by our special guest, Jeremy Lent and Kate Raworth.

Other UK Architects Declare documents

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