Designing spaces to live a thousand lives

We design and build for purpose. There is a reason, a defined plan, and an end goal in mind with each project and place that is created. But, there is also an expiry date that is quietly marked on the bottom of the building, it says that once the purpose is served, we will move onto the next, the best, and the greatest. But, what if we could build and design in a way that served not just the present, but the future, too?

Circular design as a practice and principle means that we don’t just build in silo, but we invite in new conversations, new perspectives, and the chance to build something that can last and live beyond that initial use. 

For so long, we have been blinkered, focussed on the goal ahead and the sole purpose that a space aims to serve, but we are entering into a new world where circularity is part of the conversation and regenerative design is more than a concept, but a way of doing. 

We see circularity running through the materials we use and how we can repurpose, reuse, and reimagine words like ‘second-hand’ and even ones like ‘vintage’. It’s not a trend, it’s a vital shift in the industry to value the opportunity in the pieces, items, and materials that are part and parcel of the process. 

A space shouldn’t have one life and one purpose, and, with solid planning, slick design, and considered fit out and delivery, it can have ten, a hundred, a thousand lives. 

An office that shapeshifts into a yoga studio for its next iteration, a communal area that becomes a coffee shop, a workspace that takes the form of a co-living space for its next act, and so it continues. 

We have had linear thinking for too long. One goal and one purpose, and we move on to the next thing. But, circular thinking is another way of saying free thinking, letting the mind expand and wonder - what could be next?

It’s easy to wax lyrical about this, to spend time with the mind and not see it in action, but this shift is essential, vital, and the only way we will be able to design and build for the future. The world is changing, resources are changing, and a new world requires new thinking - and this is it. 

Regenerative design believes that it gives back more than it takes. No longer is it enough to sustain, we need to improve the conditions of the planet and fast. Circular design puts reuse back into our vocabulary, and understands that we must keep materials in circulation and out of landfill. 

Both of these concepts are key in designing and building spaces that have more than one life, more than one purpose, and more than one chance. It means we get spaces that are truly designed for function and form, for people and planet rather than just to satisfy the bottom line, and that in turn will pay dividends for the years to come. It’s not about discarding the financials or paying through the nose to change the way we build, really, it’s quite the opposite. 

It’s being mindful with our resources, creative with our spaces, and choosing the long road over the shortcuts, so we get a better future, and an industry that is fit for that future, too. 

Spaces give us so much. Whether it’s a space for work or one for play, somewhere to socialise or to simply exist, we need them to be created for us, with us, and also in spite of us. They have to give something back to Nature, back to the planet, and one of the best ways we can do that is to let these spaces live beyond that first life, and see what they could become.