Contents
User Guide
Regenerate is designed with the iterative nature of design processes in mind, evolving as projects evolve. The web version of this tool provides accessible and navigable pages to quickly edit and extract information about the project, circular economy principles and criteria.
The following user guide outlines key routes and features of the tool with annotated videos to guide you through the process. Please ensure that you have followed the User Guide and read the About sections to ensure that regenerate is integrated within projects to its full potential.
If you encounter any problems please Contact Us or email regenerate@sheffield.ac.uk
Dashboard
The dashboard is the regenerate homepage from which users can start a new project, create a new team, modify and edit current projects and teams, and access information about ongoing projects. To return to the dashboard, select ‘My Account’ or the regenerate logo at the top of the page.
Starting a new project
To begin a new project, simply select ‘Start a New Project’ from the dashboard, fill out the following information and ‘Start Project’. Users can assign the project to an existing team or may alternatively ‘Create a New Team’ and begin a new project from there.
Editing a current project
To edit current projects use the ‘Total Projects’ tab in the dashboard and find the required project. From here projects can be filtered by completion status, category, and/or ordered by creation date (ascending or descending). Alternatively, an ongoing project can be selected from ‘Ongoing Projects’ displayed on the dashboard.
Although the tool is designed to be used by the whole design team, it may be helpful to create teams for different working groups within projects. For example, it may be useful for each team (structures, MEP etc.) to create their own project/team to feed results into a master project during project meetings.
Assessment Scope
The Assessment Scope page outlines objectives and suggests user responses and the required detail for Circular Economy Statements (London Policy SI7) based on the current project stage. Simply select the RIBA project stage most appropriate to the project. The below sections highlight the evolving objectives and user responses which enable core principles to be carried through the project from inception to completion.
User responses – This informs the user of how to respond to credits and input information based on the project stage to maximise the potential of the tools integration into the project. As the project evolves responses should be developed from indications/genuine statements of intent, to answers supported with information and evidence.
Tool output – The outputs from regenerate can be used to evidence Circular Economy Statements. This section outlines the detail required to complete a Circular Economy Statement at the current RIBA project stage (the referability of the project to London Plan SI7 is evaluated in the ‘Project Details’ section).
Tool objectives – The tool objectives outline criteria at the given project stage. It is critical that objectives are considered and agreed upon early in the design process.
Strategic Approach
The aim of the strategic approach is to prompt developers and designers to consider opportunities to maximise the residual value of any building, material or component on site prior to strategies aimed at increasing the value over the lifetime of the development. Considering the appropriate strategic approach early in the development process aids in implementing Circular Economy principles most effectively throughout the project.
The criteria are a slightly modified version of the decision tree outlined in the Circular Economy Statement Guidance (section 2.4). It is important to note that as well as the identified strategic approach, all development should be designed for deconstruction. It may also be the case that a different approach should be adopted for different parts of the development. Detailed information can be found in the Circular Economy Statement Guidance.
Project Details
The project details section is used to disaggregate the project by development type, number of building zones, and building layers affected which subsequently enables the systematic evaluation of the circular economic potential of a wide range of projects.
General details
This section is used to indicate the development type and number of zones and is designed to capture a wide range of projects. This enables regenerate to accurately account for the circularity of the project based on three discrete criteria that form a building zone.
Building zones
A building zone is an area of the building that has a discrete combination of:
1) Development type (e.g. new build or refurbishment)
2) Building use (e.g. residential)
3) Structural form (e.g. steel frame)
Two building types are present in the below video. Both are used for office space with a steel frame structural form, however two zones are required as one is a new build development and the other is a refurbishment.
Building layer affected
The building layers affected by the works to be completed are input to affirm the scope of works within each zone; enabling credits to be restricted or automatically awarded. The layers affected as part of the project should be indicated here by using the drop-down ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
It is important to note that if any layer is affected, in partial or full, (as part of a new build or refurbishment) then users must input ‘Yes’ into the relevant building layer (e.g. if only glazing is changed in the façade as part of a refurbishment, then the whole ‘Skin’ layer is ‘affected’).
The ‘Description’ box is provided for users to store more detailed explanations or any further details that may aid as a reference during the design process.
Circularity Criteria
Principles
Selecting a principle (e.g. design for adaptability) will change the displayed circularity aim and criteria, as well changing where the ‘Help’ and ‘Additional Info’ buttons navigate to. For each principle select an aim (basic, partial or full) and respond to criteria for each layer (the extent of which varies on the project stage, but can be modified as the project progresses). Users can also learn more about circularity aims and the principles by selecting the ‘Help’ and ‘Additional Info’ buttons respectively.
Criteria
Circularity criteria are listed within each layer and a self-certification drop-down box is available for each zone where the user can indicate ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘To be confirmed’ (to be confirmed is included to increase usability during design discussions, allowing for visual identification as to whether criteria have been considered yet and can be supported using the description box provided). All criteria are awarded a maximum of 1 circularity credit. This is calculated by summing the scores for the respective zones, the proportion of which is calculated by the contribution of the zones floor area to the total area of the project (e.g. if zone 1 contributes half zone 2’s floor area, given the project meets the criterion for both zones, zone 1 will score 0.33 and zone 2 will score 0.66 totalling to 1). Select ‘Save and return’ or ‘Save and proceed’ at the bottom of the page to store results within the project before progressing/closing.
GLA Principle Reference – All criteria contains a reference to the Core Principles outlined in section 2 of the GLA Circular Economy Statement Guidance which underpin the structure and content requirements of statements. These map the key circularity principles outlined in the tool to the guiding principles of the statements to ease the completion of key reporting forms for Circular Economy Statements (found in section 5 of regenerate). For reference, GLA principle A(1,2,3) refer to conserving resources and sourcing ethically, B(1,2) refer to designing to eliminate waste (and for ease of maintenance) and C(1,2,3,4) refer to managing waste sustainably and at the highest value.
Additional information and resources – Criteria contain a brief statement/explanation concerning the respective criterion. These contain reference to sources which, amongst others, can be found by following the ‘resources’ button.
Use ‘Read More’ for quick access to relevant information about the page.
Circularity Overview
The Circularity Overview summarises the circularity of the project by evaluating the total number of credits obtained, the percentage of the selected aim and percentage of the total available credits for each circularity principle, which is further disaggregated into building layer.
The charts indicate the total number of credits obtained for each circularity principle (disaggregated by building layer), and the total and share of credits achieved by circularity principle.
Circular Economy Statement
This section functions in a similar way to the Circularity Criteria page. Selecting each key reporting form will display information about the output required and drop downs become available for each section of the respective reporting form. For guidance on how to complete a Circular Economy Statement, see the Circular Economy Statement Guidance.
Project Summary
Here users can output a summary of the Circularity Overview and the Circular Economy Statement sections (also available on the project summary page accessed from the dashboard).
