ReBuilt

Transformation Pathways Towards a Regenerative Built Environment – or ReBuilt – promotes the novel concept of a regenerative built environment and demonstrates how it can be put into practice worldwide.

The research, roadmaps, toolkits, and policies generated in the ReBuilt project work towards reversing the negative impacts of construction on the climate through a fundamental change in the way we design and maintain our built environment and landscapes. The goal is to turn the built environment from a carbon source to a carbon sink through the adoption of regenerative building practices. In doing so, we can improve and preserve habitats for people and the planet.

Central to achieving this goal is the rethinking of construction materials and practices worldwide. In order to do so, the ReBuilt Project engages holistically with regional and global supply chains, including their socio-spatial, ecological, and political dimensions. We analyse and advocate for using bio- and geo-based materials, such as wood, bamboo, hemp, and compressed earth blocks, as well as secondary materials such as reused and recycled building components.

The ReBuilt Project has two research strands: a global study and a series of regional case studies. The Global Study quantifies the supply and demand of bio-based materials for future urban construction worldwide. The four Case Studies – Berlin-Brandenburg (Germany), Cape Town (South Africa), Denpasar-Bali (Indonesia), and Paro-Thimphu (Bhutan) – promote transformative action by engaging with local stakeholders, identifying opportunities, and testing them through demonstration projects.

The project aims to advance the adoption of regenerative building materials by combining quantitative assessments with qualitative field research at multiple scales. Our interdisciplinary and international team employs a variety of methods including lifecycle assessments, spatially explicit resource assessments, transformation labs, and participatory engagement. The results will be disseminated in various multi-media formats.

ReBuilt is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). The duration of the project is between 02/2023 and 12/2025.

Global Study

At the global scale, the project assesses whether the supply of natural building materials can meet future construction needs under different scenarios. This will be achieved through a scenario-based model that will provide important insights into the potential to transform the built environment from a carbon source to a carbon sink. It comprises two components: the supply side, which focuses on regionalised timber supplies and other nature-based resources, and the demand side, which provides information on the future material demand for residential new construction. The model integrates these components by providing a spatially explicit quantitative comparison of wood supply and demand for urban agglomerations, supporting the quantification of the carbon storage potential of a future nature-based building stock until the mid-century.

Regional Case Studies

At the regional scale, a transformation methodology is applied in the following four urban regions: Berlin-Brandenburg (Germany), Cape Town (South Africa), Denpasar-Bali (Indonesia), and Paro-Thimphu (Bhutan). In close collaboration with local partners, the project identifies challenges and opportunities of nature-based and secondary material value chains in the specific regional contexts and develops tailored solutions targeting the transformation of the construction sector. The learnings from these regional deep dives feed into strategic roadmaps developed jointly with our local partner networks and addressed to policymakers, and a digital toolkit for other urban regions seeking the transition to a regenerative built environment.

‍

The findings from our global research are transferred into the regional studies and vice versa. This continuous dialogue across the regions creates a dynamic and iterative project context, applying quantitative and qualitative approaches to develop innovative solutions for a location-specific regenerative built environment.

Key fields of research and action across the Global and Regional Studies are:  

1. Analysis of the global supply and demand of nature-based construction materials  
2. Identification and promotion of regenerative building practices
3. Implementation of Transformation Labs as regional testing sites to create an enabling environment for systems change
4. Realisation of four location-specific nature-based demonstration buildings in three continents
5. Creation of networks and dissemination of knowledge through publications, models, events, exhibitions, podcasts, webinars, and a toolkit

The research design of the regional studies includes three iterative phases:

1. ‍Systems Analysis of the regionally available natural building materials, the characteristics of the local construction sector, the socio-spatial conditions of the built environment, as well as the actors, policies, and innovation landscape needed to implement the envisioned transition.‍
2. Transformation Labs are transdisciplinary learning journeys that bring together key stakeholders to co-create and test alternative visions and transition scenarios.‍
3. Development of Strategic Roadmaps including scalable solutions to guide the short, medium, and long-term transition towards a regenerative built environment.

‍