Mission
The School’s mission is to transform the practice of architecture, design, planning, landscape and interiors through teaching graduate level students and returning practitioners in a unique holistic, interdisciplinary approach, that equips them with a new way of thinking, appropriate to deal with the social and ecological challenges of the Anthropocene. We seek to nurture and create Green Warriors™ that will help influence the world for the better.
Approach
The School of Regenerative Design, an initiative of McLennan Design and a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization in the United States, provides a unique internship model to graduate level and professional design students from around the world focused on environmental stewardship and altruistic design through whole systems design and strategy. The School of Regeneration is a small, specialized, interdisciplinary design school that focuses on personal transformation, practical knowledge-based internships, grounded in world-class design and ecological thinking. The School has several core principles:
Collaborative Education
We believe that students perform best and are best prepared as change agents when they work in an environment that is collaborative and positive, without peer-to-peer competition for grades or favor. All courses are pass/fail with a particular emphasis on high degrees of active participation, sharing and knowledge transfer.
Holistic and Interdisciplinary
We believe that we are best equipped to change the world, by having a broad degree of knowledge and an appreciation for the importance of interdisciplinary thought. Our program stresses holistic thinking and a wide variety of topics with the goal of graduating polymaths.
Applied Education
We believe that education is more meaningful and information better retained when students work on ‘real projects’ under the direction of working practitioners. As such the school and its studios center around active projects, for real clients, that push the boundaries of sustainability. A unique nested education with McLennan Design ensures access to world-class projects.
Design Based Inquiry
We believe that design is applied problem solving and that great design is required to solve many of the world’s most pressing challenges. Students learn the importance of quality, craft, beauty and design as central to the hopeful future we seek.
Service Based Learning
We believe that the world will only be saved ‘by a sustained awakening of the human heart.’ As such we believe that students should get a deep grounding in community service and design that benefits those that need help the most. A unique partnership with the Green Warrior Society provides tangible experience for others to design the world that is needed.
Appropriate Technology
We believe that technology is a means to an end – rather than an ‘end’ itself and that part of the challenges that humanity faces has been the result of a near unbridled faith in technological progress. Our students get access to a wide spectrum of appropriate technology, ranging from the ancient and passive to the modern and technological within a framework of responsibility.
Immersive Setting
We believe that providing a highly immersive experience can create powerful, lasting change. Our campus allows for on-site living so that students can reconnect with the natural world while learning to heal it.