Regenerative By Design

Time-honored grazing processes

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a tiny, microscopic virus has torn a staggering hole in our world. All that we knew, all that we took for granted is gone!  We are being thrust into the unknown.

At the same time, our Earth-wide collective lockdown is detoxifying the air, water, and soil. We flock to beaches, the ocean, mountains, lakes, parks, forests, jungles, fields, glaciers, — to areas reserved for the Earth’s presence in the midst of built environments in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. In these places, the sun is shining through the empowered Earth elements, immersing all life in its unadulterated energy.

Why? Why? Why do we instinctually seek out places where the Earth emerges and where what we make in response to her is so strongly felt?

The entries below reveal experiences that help us understand why.

Some Buildings Make You Look Outward

Some buildings make you look outward. They connect you with the surrounding ecology, the place, the culture, the landscape. Others make you look inward. They prompt personal reflection, self-awareness, and contemplation. And then on rare occasions, some buildings do both.

Visiting the Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland, was one of these unique experiences. Nestled in a hillside in the Alps, Vals sits atop a geothermal spring that has long brought tourism to the region based on therapeutic bathing. After the financial decline of the ‘80s, Vals held an architectural competition to revive the waning tourism industry, which was awarded to Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. Zumthor’s deep-seeded “local knowledge” is abundantly evident in the building’s design, with profound understanding and respect for the landscape, culture, and above all, human experience of these elements. Read the full article here.

-Jack Dinning, Architect