Melbourne Regenerative Design Forum

The Melbourne Regenerative Design Forum is now an initiative listed in the recently launched firstquestionsociety.org site. Jeff Robinson was one of the co-founders of the Forum so it is nice to link it back to First Question Society which will honour and build on his legacy.

Thanks Dr Dominique Hes for sharing this post on this Study of Regenerative Development and Design by the Belgian Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment. This is an impressive body of work that brings together some much wonderful leading thinking from thought leaders and practitioners who have helped shape our collective understanding of what regenerative development and design means. Even if you have completed extensive training and are well read when it comes to the 'meta-discipline' of regenerative development and design, I recommend that you read this report. The ideas, the history, the connection to indigenous knowledge, the relevance to carbon, circularity, nature positive etc are all very well articulated. We have so much further to go in the way we think about how our 'projects' can be in service to socio-economic and living systems. That is where we can create real and lasting value. It is a terrific resource for anyone wanting to further enrich their understanding of this topic.

On August 1 the many communities of which Jeff was so much a part, will come together to celebrate his life and impact. Melbourne Regenerative Design Forum was one of those. Please come along if you can, but tickets are limited so you might want to get in early.

A wonderful and very special Melbourne Regenerative Design Forum event to share and reflect on Jeff Robinson's life. Also the fourth event we have hosted this year.

Join us for a tour of sustainable buildings in Melbourne and a reflection on regenerative leadership, in honour of Jeff Robinson. Starting at Melbourne School of Design and walking down to Docklands, this walk will take us through a series of buildings where we will have an opportunity to hear stories about the buildings as well as Jeff’s role in enabling sustainable building design.   Jeff was well known in the industry, and beyond that, he played an important role in many of our lives: he was a regenerative leader. It is our hope that this event will help us come together and celebrate the positive impact Jeff made in the industry, our lives, and reflect on how we can channel a bit of Jeff and work towards our own regenerative leadership. At each stop, we will: 🍁 Learn stories about the sustainability features of various sustainable buildings. 🍁 Discuss Jeff’s role in this or other projects in the area 🍁 Engage in a participatory activity inviting your own stories of working, engaging Jeff or in facilitating sustainable outcomes in your own life Speakers include: Peter Mathieson, Aurecon Brendon McNiven, The University of Melbourne Jessica Bennett, Aurecon Chris Buntine, Atelier Ten Adolfo Fernández Fernandez, Aurecon Stephen Webb, Design Inc Tiffany Crawford, City of Melbourne Andrew Norbury, Metier3 All attendees will receive a tour brochure with the tour stops as well as information of other buildings that Jeff contributed to. We will end the event at the Wharf Hotel and share a drink in Jeff’s memory and continue the conversation. Limited places are available, so RSVP to secure your registration. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gTeVi4Fw

An upcoming workshop hosted by Australian Architects Declare, Australian Institute of Architects, and the National Climate Action Sustainability Committee (NCASC) focussing on the importance of architecture in improving buildings as they achieve 100% electrification. This event is a tribute and love letter to Jeff Robinson who mentored and propelled a large cohort of professionals into sustainability and ensuring that Architects, Engineers, Building Scientists, sustainability experts and consultants work collaboratively towards net zero. 📅 Date: Thu 20 June 2024 ⏳ Time: 4 – 6 pm AEST 📮 Where: Online workshop webinar 💳 Cost: $20 donated to Jeff Robinson's Sustainable Forest through Greenfleet + coverage of Humanitix fees Host: Dr Dominique Hes #NetZero #Electrification #AIA #AustralianArchitectsDeclare

This month's event on FSC Building Materials hosted earlier this week by Cox Architecture provide a deep dive into sustainable timber and the robust framework that FSC Certification provides around Chain of Custody. We had a great turnout, in-person and on-line. If you missed it here is the recording: https://lnkd.in/g2HYzhWV Thank you to our wonderfully insightful panel Stefan Steen Jensen with FSC Australia and New Zealand, Nick Capobianco with SCS Global Services, Joe Ballester with Abodo Wood Ltd, Edward Bond with Robert Bird Group, and William Cassell with Cox Architecture. Thanks also to Chris Buntine with Atelier Ten for facilitating and for Laura Turner with COX for helping with organisation and support. FSC building materials are available in Australia and the certification they come with is the most respected and widespread forest certification system in the world. The assurances embedded in the FSC Chain of Custody process align exceptionally well with commitments we are all making in the building industry around social, economic and ecological value. Every building project presents an opportunity to support the forest management practices, manufacturers and suppliers that have invested time and effort to make sure the forest sourced building materials that arrive on your site reflect those values. "Volumes speaks volumes" so every building project can be part of a larger transformation towards a regenerative timber industry. Timber remains a precious resource, so FSC or not, we need to use it judicoiusly in the right ways. When we do use it we need to move quickly early on in a project to understand sourcing, availability, lead times and cost. Bring in contractors and suppliers during design to get their input and guidance to derisk the process. Check the paperwork all along the way, remembering that the material and the organisation handling the material need to be able to demonstrate current FSC Certification. FSC certification of plantations is thriving in Australia so great availability of softwood products. FSC certification of old growth forests has not been as successful as forestry operations have struggled to demonstrate application of the principles required by FSC. You can search for FSC materials here, note that a new search dashboard will soon be released. https://lnkd.in/ge4S_E5f Australia can be a world leader in a regenerative timber industry. Specifying FSC is a great way for the building industry to support that transformation.

The next Melbourne Regenerative Design Forum event is ready to roll - and this time we are tackling the subject of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified building materials - What are they, where can we get them and how can they be incorporated into building projects. Wed 1st May 2024, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm Cox Architecture, 2/167 Flinders Ln, Melbourne Despite the very active conversations about wood as a sustainable building product, we often know so little about the true sustainability of wood based materials. FSC is a leading global standard and is a great place to start when seeking transparent, verifiable and sustainable materials. FSC is recognised under Green Star and is a requirement for every Living Building Challenge project (Core, Petal and Living). This event will provide an opportunity to hear from an eminent set of speakers. Stefan Steen Jensen, Forest Stewardship Council Nick Capobianco, SCS Global Services Joe Ballester, Abodo Wood Ltd Edward Bond, Robert Bird Group William Cassell, Cox Architecture Together these speakers will key topics such as what is FSC, how is the standard applied, what is the supplier experience and what are the challenges and opportunities for structural engineers, architects and designers in using sustainable wood products like FSC. We want your participation and questions so please come along. On-line access will also be provided for those who cannot attend in person. Thank you to Cox Architects for hosting the venue. 

Following the tragic and sad news that we lost Jeff Robinson on Sunday, much has been shared about the far reaching impact of his role in co-founding and guiding so many sustainability organisations and groups. The same can be said of the Melbourne Regenerative Design Forum. Jeff was eager and supportive when a group of us came together during Covid to discuss how to reconnect people interested in regenerative design. Jeff, more than anyone, realised the importance of events that brought people together to connect and collaborate. Over the last two years this collective of organisations has gathered momentum, meeting every month to plan out new activities. Despite his busy schedule Jeff often turned up to be a part of those discussions. I remember on one occasion he was working remotely from Ireland, had just had Covid and it was clearly very early in the morning but such was Jeff's interest that he turned up on our Teams call nonetheless. Most recently, in February Jeff orchestrated the Nature Positive Design event at Aurecon on behalf of the Forum. In true collaborative fashion he pulled together a wonderful and diverse panel of speakers and the event was a great success. Jeff's enthusiasm, advice and support has been invaluable to the community of organisations and individuals that have come together through this Forum. We will dearly miss his presence in future events but we will carry his spirit forward in this important work of regenerative transformation that he so fervently believed in. Thank you Jeff.