2009 - 2011

Greenfield training course in regenerative design

The training material for this course was purpose built by Meshfield and taken by a wide variety of built environment professionals in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth over a three-year period. It aimed to address the very limited understanding and application of regenerative design thinking in the field.

Each course commenced with a felt-sense immersion into systems thinking and collaboration through playing Fishbanks, a simulation developed by Dennis Meadows, co-author of the 1972 seminal text “Limits to Growth”. Each course had a real project at its heart, so that the work done was of use beyond the training duration. Topics covered included systems thinking, perspective taking, building materials, water, sanitation, energy, land tenure and legal contracts. The course also integrated personal reflection and a phenomenological approach to understanding “place”.

The course was also accredited for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points by the South African Institute of Architects.