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  • The fifth industrial regenerative revolution (5IRR)—: Ontological, pedagogical and entrepreneurial approaches

Fantini Van Ditmar, Delfina, Pfeiffer, Katie and Abbas-Nazari, Amina, 2025, Conference or Workshop, The fifth industrial regenerative revolution (5IRR)—: Ontological, pedagogical and entrepreneurial approaches at Cumulus South Africa 2025, South Africa, 2025-11-26 - 2025-11-28.

Abstract or Description:

In response to growing ecological and social crises, this paper explores how existing design approaches and ideas of industrialisation can be reimagined to support a regenerative future. Shifting away from extractive and degenerative systems, regeneration moves beyond conventional sustainability to actively restoring and enhancing ecological and social well-being. A key aspect of this shift is rethinking design’s role as a caring, place-based relational practice embedded within more-than-human worlds. In response to the conference call ‘Design Intelligence and the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR)’, we frame this transitional moment as the Fifth Industrial Regenerative Revolution (5IRR). This demands a fundamental reassessment of the principles underpinning design and production, the embrace of ecological stewardship, as well as our role as humans and designers within the broader web of life. Drawing on insights Becoming Regenerative (B-Regen), a UKRI-funded research project, the paper examines what might be required ontologically, operationally, and pedagogically for this revolution to happen. By investigating design education in London, through a series of case studies, it examines how regenerative design will require more than simply replacing conventional materials with more ecological alternatives; it necessitates a complete reimagining of production - considering more than human externalities, locality, suitable scaling and collaborative practices. This paper highlights essential areas across the regenerative design process - from rethinking design education to the development of a revitalising design economy. The discussion will address critical challenges to implementing regenerative practices, including integrating within existing infrastructures, navigating legislation and certification requirements, and building legitimacy through impact metrics. To conclude, we bring these challenges into conversation with design pedagogy as we ask how art and design universities can cultivate both regenerative imaginations crucial to imagining better futures and the pragmatic skillsets needed to implement within current constraints. We suggest that art and design schools can and should prepare students to develop a regenerative imagination, equip them for the challenges of designing for a regenerative economy by teaching practical systems design strategies and instil a distinctive regenerative ethos to guide their decision-making.

Subjects: Other > Biological Sciences > C100 Biology > C180 Ecology
Other > Education > X300 Academic studies in Education > X340 Academic studies in Tertiary Education > X342 Academic studies in Higher Education
School or Centre: School of Design
School of Arts & Humanities
Uncontrolled Keywords: Living principles, Regenerative Design, Regenerative Pedagogies, Regenerative Entrepreneurship, Regenerative Futures
Date Deposited: 09 Dec 2025 10:53
Last Modified: 11 Dec 2025 00:24
URI: https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/6646
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