The buildings and construction sector is a significant emitter of greenhouse gases worldwide, accounting for around 42 percent of emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Nearly half of these emissions will come from the initial stages of the building life cycle, in the production of materials such as cement, steel, and aluminum, by 2050, when an estimated 2.3 billion new inhabitants will have moved to the planet’s cities. Without a change in building practices, this population shift will triple the amount of land covered by constructed environments.
What if the making of global buildings and cities could instead become a force to incentivize environmental restoration, reverse climate change, and enhance biodiversity? “Regenerative building” is a new approach that empowers makers of built environments to pursue radical reductions in the consumption of raw materials, non-renewable energy, and waste.
With funds from a YPS grant, researchers from the Yale School of Architecture (YSoA) and the Yale School of the Environment (YSE) developed and systematized a novel construction system that uses wood species harvested from sustainably managed forests and waste earth residues in southern New England. In creating the initial structural components, the team also incorporated excess materials from the Living Village project at Yale Divinity School. The team then applied the new regional assemblies to build a structural prototype for an urban building for New Haven, demonstrating how construction can contribute to a mutually beneficial relationship between cities and forests.
“If we use regional materials to build buildings and develop new workforces, there is a force multiplier of benefit that spans from forests to cities: the economic benefit of new opportunities for our workforce and our entrepreneurs; we create more and better-quality housing; and we can help to restore regional ecosystems. And if we do it right, those buildings we construct can be dismantled at the end of their service lives and become material banks for future construction, thereby reducing our demand for virgin raw materials,” said Alan Organschi, a project team member who is a professor at YSoA and director of the Yale Building Lab.
As part of the project, a three-day educational symposium titled Building a Planetary Solution was held at YSoA, bringing together leading thinkers and makers in discussion of a new regenerative paradigm for the building sector. The event featured tours of local projects, workshops and presentations, and panel discussions, including a keynote conversation with President Maurie McInnis and Edward P. Bass Dean of YSoA Deborah Berke.
The project also resulted in a seminar on regenerative building that was offered to Yale students.
“This project has been a highlight for me through my academic career, and it’s something I’ll keep with me as I move forward,” said Mariah Langlois ’25 MArch. “Working with external partners especially was something that helped me prepare for my future.”
Last updated September 2025.
