LIVING LOCALLY IN THE AUCKLAND BIOREGION

Saturday 7 NOVEMBER 2020 9am – 5pm

TUTORS – Gary Marshall and Finn Mackesy

  • “The question Where are we? has a deep, sustaining ring to it. It is a simple question with a deceptively complex answer.”
  • Robert Thayer

“The question Where are we? has a deep, sustaining ring to it. It is a simple question with a deceptively complex answer” (Robert Thayer). This workshop asks participants to explore what it means to live locally in the Auckland bioregion. Through a series of discussions and design exercises, participants will investigate concepts and design strategies that seek to enrich their neighbourhoods and bioregion. The workshop includes a site visit to an on the ground example of a bioregional design and development initiative and talk with people involved.
Retrofitting the Auckland Bioregion workshop image

COURSE CONTENT

Introduction to – Bioregionalism and Life Place theory; Bioregional and neighborhood audit and stocktake; Design strategies for retrofitting bioregions and neighbourhoods; Re-localization and Transition Culture – the Transition framework and the 12 Touchstones; Local, national and international best practice examples; Integrated Catchment Management, landscape ecology and settlement design.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Develop a deepened understanding of the Auckland bioregion
  • Develop an understanding of the key principles of sustainable design and retrofitting
  • Develop strategies for living locally, enriching and retrofitting the Auckland bioregion for a sustainable and resilient future
  • Develop an understanding of retrofitting existing structures
  • Apply the day’s learning to a practical design activity
  • Identify opportunities and challenges to applying the day’s learning

LINKS + REFERENCE MATERIAL

  • Relocalisation
  • Life Place, Bioregional Thought and Practice
    ROBERT L. THAYER, 1999
  • A Field Guide to Auckland: Exploring the Region’s Natural and Historic Heritage
    CAMERON, HAYWARD AND MURDOCH, 2008
  • How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built
    STEWART BRAND, 1994
  • The Localization Reader
    RAYMOND DE YOUNG and THOMAS PRINCEN (EDS), 2012
  • How to Thrive in the Next Economy
    JOHN THACKARA, 2015
  • A Design Agenda For Bioregions
    JOHN THACKARA, 2017