Media
Dispatches from UK Architects Declare: Michael Pawlyn
February 2024
Architects Declare has been a parallel project for Michael Pawlyn, alongside writing Flourish with Sarah Ichioka. It has been a great opportunity to put into practice many of the things we talk about in the book: seeking to maximise our agency, encouraging the shift towards regenerative design and taking inspiration from Donella Meadows on how to change systems. Architects Declare has just launched a new initiative in partnership with Architecture Today: The Regenerative Architecture Index
London of the Future
A vision of a regenerative London, written by "Flourish" co-author Sarah Ichioka, has been featured in the London Society's recent book "London of the Future" (Merrill Publishers). The proposals in "London of the Future" aim to predict and prescribe how the UK capital might be governed, organized, and designed in years to come and to provoke debate among planners, architects, and developers not only in London but in all major cities throughout the world. Over the course of eighteen essays, experts in various fields - urbanism, architecture, engineering, manufacturing, futurology, journalism, and more - examine possibilities for reimagining and improving many aspects of the city. These writers consider changes both radical and minor that could shape London into a more resilient city and a fairer, healthier place to live. The ideas explored in Sarah's essay reflect concepts co-developed with Michael Pawlyn for "Flourish". Get your copy!
Image: composite from originals by Angharad Palmer (via LinkedIn)
Inspiring Minds
January 2024
Michael Pawlyn featured in masterclasses at Welsh Colleges as part of the Knowledge Transfer Programme (KTP) - an initiative supporting activities designed to accelerate learning.
“Most audiences I speak to are senior in business and industry so it was a pleasure to join students at the start of their careers at Pembrokeshire College and Gower College. I described the ‘possiblist future’ that we set out in Flourish and discussed Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Venn diagram that helps direct individuals to effective action.
Majlis Mohamed Bin Zayed lecture
December, 2023
In the build up to COP28 in Dubai, Michael Pawlyn was invited to present at the prestigious Majlis Mohamed Bin Zayed lecture series. The room contained 200 of the most influential people in Abu Dhabi, including COP negotiators, scientist and influencers. It was a great opportunity to talk about the shifts in mindset that will be required to shape a positive future and share the ideas that Sarah and Michael developed together when writing Flourish.
Designing Cities for All (DCFA) Fellowship at Pakhuis de Zwigjer (PdZ)
January to March, 2023
Sarah Ichioka was invited by PdZ's Designing Cities for All programme to be their first RE-generation Fellow. The 3-month fellowship produced five thematic livecasts and a podcast interview about "Flourish". Watch the final livecast episode, recorded in Amsterdam, here.
Design for Life • Resurgence & Ecologist
May / June, 2022
“Flourish sketches a new agenda for built environment professionals to make their profession part of the solution, not the problem.”
Review of Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency by Prashant Vaze
The Power of Regenerative Design : Flourish in Asia
April 6, 2022
Sarah Ichioka speaks to Fabian Clavier on the Cities in Mind Podcast about the power of regenerative design and what it means for cities across Asia.
“The quest for sustainability has moved society forward in important ways, but we believe it is now time to embrace a new regenerative approach to design and development. As a globalized society, we urgently need to reach the turning point in human civilization where everything we do has a net positive impact on the environment. We contend that this is a transformation that is within our reach. It is time to shift from merely mitigating negatives to optimizing positives.” Sarah Ichioka & Michael Pawlyn
Regenerative Design, Biomimicry and Systems Change
March 7, 2022
Together with Ross O’Ceallaigh, from The Green Urbanist podcast, co-author Michael Pawlyn discusses the concepts of biomimicry in architecture, systems change and shifting paradigms captured in Flourish.
Can indigenous knowledge help us design a more sustainable future?
March 13, 2022
Article by Malaika Byng on the cover of FT Weekend featuring Flourish co-author Michael Pawlyn. “We need to overcome the separation between man and nature that encourages extraction,” says co-founder Michael Pawlyn, founder of Exploration Architecture and an expert in biomimetic design, which imitates natural systems. His new book Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency, co-written by Sarah Ichioka, is a call to arms for designers to find new forms of creative coexistence, “much as many Indigenous cultures have done for millennia.”
"A possibilist revolution would unlock designers’ power to address our planetary emergency"
February 22, 2022
Designers and architects need to adopt a "possibilist mindset" to amplify their influence a to make the meaningful changes needed in the face of climate change, argue Sarah Ichioka and Michael Pawlyn.
The Possiblist Mindset: Climify with Sarah Ichioka
24 May, 2023
Sarah Ichioka joined Eric Benson from the Climify podcast to share five principles of regenerative design from her and Michael Pawlyn’s book Flourish. This episode details Project Drawdown as one of the perfect examples of a Possiblist Mindset where we understand our position in relation to both the realities on the ground and our desired outcome, and inspiring case studies from Desire Lines to help designers in their work to shift client mindsets towards regeneration.
The Forest Talks: Regenerative Design
February 16, 2022
Sarah Ichioka and Michael Pawlyn talk about their new co-authored book Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency, which proposes a bold set of regenerative design principles, drawn from natural and cultural wisdom. This talk is chaired by Carole Collet, Professor in Design for Sustainable Futures and Director of Maison/0.
Uncanny Landscapes
February 2, 2022
A podcast interview by Justin Hopper on the 12th episode of Uncanny Landscapes with architect, writer and activist Michael Pawlyn. They discuss Flourish, co-authored with Sarah Ichioka, which proposes a new approach to addressing design for a world experiencing environmental and other crises.
Book review: Flourish - design paradigms for our planetary emergency
February 1, 2022
Dr Mike Cook, Chair of the Institution of Structural Engineers Climate Emergency Task Group, takes hope from this inspirational book which illuminates a path towards the profound transformation required to arrive at a sustainable future for the planet.
“I think this book, alongside others, such as Kate Raworth’s Doughnut and Jason Hickel’s Less is More, does set out a way we could approach the future that rings true and feels important.” Dr Mike Cook, TheStructuralEngineer.org
What will it take to restore balance to our world for future generations’ survival?
January 27, 2022
The focus on sustainable design has led to a great deal of positive change in our shared built environment, but for two visionary systems change thinkers, it’s now time to embrace a radical, regenerative design approach for a truly flourishing future. Michael Pawlyn and Sarah Ichioka discuss this new approach with Gareth Evans at the RSA (Royal Society for the Arts, London).
Bloomberg CityLab: The Restorative Architecture Pushing Sustainable Design
January 9, 2022
“There’s a new climate push in the building industry: regenerative architecture. Developers need to go beyond preventing pollution if they want to help avoid catastrophic climate change, according to Sarah Ichioka and Michael Pawlyn, co-authors of a new book, ‘Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency’.”, writes Damian Shepherd.
Can Our Cities Be More Regenerative & Natural?
December 25, 2021
A conversation with urbanist Sarah Ichioka at Breaking the Spell.
Have you ever looked at your city and wondered if there is a more balanced and environmentally-friendly way to live? Can we redesign our cities to be more regenerative and ecological? In the interest of expanding our imagination towards these possibilities, co-hosts Unsu and Santosh explore the benefits of new design paradigms that break free of degenerative systems and aim at human flourishing within planetary limits.
Beyond Zero / Perkins & Will
November 30, 2021
The impact of climate change—including extreme heat, severe storms, sea rise, pollution and drought—is being felt globally. To protect our planet, and meet government targets, we must act now. The architecture and construction industry must set bold, ambitious, and achievable targets to reduce our environmental impact. These goals must be underpinned by science, creativity, and new approaches to design.
Organised by Perkins & Will this series brings together panellists with diverse perspectives and insights—architects, economists, researchers, academics, and governmental advocates—to discuss the challenges we face and potential solutions that we can turn to.
November 30, 2021
How will the construction sector, which currently accounts for almost 40 per cent of global CO2 emissions, contribute to the latest environmental targets? Michael Pawlyn joins as a panellist in an online seminar hosted by Interface to consider how different stake holders within the industry can adopt and drive change.
WRLDCTY Singapore
November 17, 2021
What will it take to restore balance to our world? How can we repair our devastated environments, and secure future generations’ survival? Sarah Ichioka joins Adib Jalal in conversation to discuss how we can build a thriving future, together at the WRLDCTY The Global Forum for Urban Innovation.
November 19, 2021
Michael Pawlyn joins a panel discussion about the planetary emergency chaired by Eliza Kavanagh of the Publishers Association, together with Hazel Broadfoot, Vice President of the Booksellers Association and owner of Village Books in Dulwich; and Laurel Brunner, Managing Director of Digital Dots.
Collective Impact
November 10, 2021
Sarah Ichioka speaks at the US Green Building Council, Los Angeles, on embracing a regenerative approach to design and development, as detailed in the new book, Flourish: Design Paradigms for a Planetary Emergency
Flipside Festival
November 9, 2021
The role of nature in design is more paramount than ever before. Professor Martyn Dade-Robinson (Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment), Michael Pawlyn (Exploration), Natsai Audrey Chiesa (Faber Futures), Julia Watson (Lo-TEK) explores the role nature plays in all aspects of the design world and how we can work with it to save our planet.
October 30, 2021
Biomimicry architect Michael Pawlyn in conversation with artist film-maker Ben Rivers about Flourish and collaborating on the upcoming film ‘After London’
How to Activate Transformative Change
October 29, 2021
Michael Pawlyn, co-author of Flourish, moderated a panel at the Built Environment Summit with speakers: Nnimmo Bassey, Director of the ecological think tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Carl Elefante of Architecture 2030, and co-author Sarah Ichioka. Discussing agency and leadership during the panel, the summit was a response to the publication of the Built for the Environment report ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.
(Y)OUR 2040
September 20-22, 2021
At the [Y]OUR 2040 event in Switzerland: Michael Pawlyn presents ideas from Flourish based on the adaptive cycle model.
[Y]OUR 2040 is an annual gathering dedicated to co-creating a coalition of the willing to accelerate the transition to a planetary boundary compatible society.