“What if every piece of life and nonlife — flora and fauna alongside rocks, seas, soil — had a vote in the future of our world?”
– Avinash Rajagopal, Metropolis
As the planet grapples with escalating challenges relating to climate change and biodiversity loss, our approach to designing the world around us is undergoing a major transformation. One significant shift is moving from human-centred design to life-centred design. This isn’t just a tweak in perspective; it’s a reimagination of how we interact with the world around us.
Human-centred design has certainly elevated human experiences and well-being by placing people at the centre of the development process. In the commercial world, Netflix has skilfully adapted its service to eliminate customer pain points using this methodology. While the humanitarian sector provides countless examples, such as the country-specific programmes to increase COVID vaccination rates. However, this approach often falls short of considering the needs of the environment and non-human life, resulting in harm to our natural ecosystems.
Enter life-centred design, an emerging movement that presents an evolution of its human counterpart. This regenerative approach seeks to preserve and rebuild habitats in a way that respects and includes all living systems. It recognises humans as a keystone species, acknowledging our profound impact on the wider ecosystem, rather than viewing us as a separate, superior entity operating outside of it.
Life-centred design envisions a world where good design means working with nature as an equal partner, not a resource to be exploited.
Nature’s playbook
Engineering has long borrowed ideas from nature. Take Velcro, for instance, inspired by the way burrs stick to a dog’s fur. Meanwhile, the small bumps on humpback whale fins have inspired the design of wind turbine blades, allowing them to capture more wind energy and operate more quietly.
Life-centred design takes this a step further. It’s not just about mimicking nature; it’s about placing nature and non-human species alongside human needs, at the heart of the design process. It’s about recognising that our work doesn’t happen in isolation, but is deeply connected to the world around us.
This shift in thinking is crucial for several reasons. First and foremost, when we design with all life in mind, we create environments that support biodiversity and ecosystem health. Biodiversity is nature’s way of adapting. More than protecting iconic species, it’s about preserving the intricate web of life that can kickstart ecosystems even after significant destruction. Life-centred design ensures that we harness nature’s ability to adapt and change, enabling all life to flourish despite the challenges it faces.
The benefits to humans are also profound. Healthier ecosystems mean stable resources, as well as cleaner air and water, enabling greater resilience against climate change and improved human well-being. Additionally, concepts like biophilic design, which aims to increase human connectivity to nature in the modern built environment, have been shown to boost health and productivity.
Life-centred design also drives innovation by pushing us to rethink traditional engineering practices. This kind of thinking is essential if we are to develop engineering practices that can address the complex challenges of the 21st century.
So, what does this look like in practice?
Designing to avoid harm to non-human species
Designers and engineers can start by ensuring that their projects avoid negatively impacting non-human species. This involves rigorous environmental assessments and measures to mitigate harm, making sure our actions don’t disrupt the delicate balance of ecosystems we share.
Fish-friendly hydropower technology, an engineering innovation that allows fish to migrate safely through or around dams, exemplifies how engineers can meet human needs (in this case, the need for renewable energy) without a cost to the surrounding ecosystems. These designs include fish ladders, bypass channels, and turbines specifically designed to reduce injury to fish.
Designing for non-human needs
By taking a more proactive stance, projects can be designed with the intention to address the needs of non-human species. This means creating environments and systems that support the well-being of other species.
In Oslo, Norway, the Bee Highway initiative illustrates how we can design for non-human needs. This project aims to create a safe passage through the city for bees, with flower-rich habitats that provide food and shelter. By collaborating with businesses, schools, and private citizens, the initiative has fostered a network of green spaces and rooftops dedicated to supporting pollinators. This design not only benefits the bees but also enhances urban biodiversity and helps maintain healthy ecosystems in the city.
Designing for non-human and human needs
By recognising the interconnectedness of human well-being and ecosystem health, solutions can be developed that have mutual benefits for non-human and human species.
In urban green spaces, this might look like recreational areas that serve people while also providing crucial habitats for birds and insects. Meanwhile, in water management, engineers are now creating habitats for aquatic species while effectively managing urban water runoff. Green roofs, permeable pavements, and constructed wetlands are designed to mimic natural water cycles, providing essential habitats for fish, amphibians, and other aquatic organisms.
Designing with non-humans
As technology evolves and we take a glimpse into the (not-so-distant) future, we start to see a profound shift in how we perceive and engage with the natural world: by designing and collaborating with non-human species.
This involves developing systems and structures in partnership with non-human species, taking cues from their behaviours, needs, and inherent wisdom. This process embodies a truly symbiotic relationship, where human ingenuity and natural intelligence come together to create sustainable, thriving ecosystems.
Seems tricky? Well, it’s already happening. In response to severe deforestation in Australia, developers have created ways to use AI and machine learning to include non-human stakeholders – in this case birds and trees – in the design process of artificial structures that mimic the features of large old trees. Researchers on the innovative project shared with The Conversation:
“In effect, we enrolled large old trees as lead designers, and birds as discerning assessors of their work.”
Meanwhile, plastic-eating mealworms have been dubbed “collaborators” in the design of a stool made with waste polystyrene. London-based designer, William Elliott, shared with Dezeen:
“Seeing insects and animals as creative partners, not just species that need to be protected, alters perceptions we have of the creatures that inhabit the planet. It opens up creative opportunities, and engages interaction and engagement in ways that go beyond charity.”
Embracing the wild side of design
Life-centred design, while transformative, still presents several technical, ethical, and regulatory challenges. Technically, creating designs that accommodate the needs of diverse species requires interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative engineering solutions. Designers must integrate complex ecological data and ensure that human-made structures coexist harmoniously with natural habitats.
Ethically, life-centred design demands a shift in values. It challenges designers to consider the intrinsic value of all life forms, not just their utility to humans. This perspective can raise difficult questions about prioritising certain species over others and balancing human needs with those of the wider ecosystem.
Regulatory frameworks must also evolve to support life-centred design. Current regulations often prioritise human safety and economic development, often at the expense of environmental health. New policies are needed to enforce biodiversity protection, promote sustainable practices, and incentivise designs that benefit all life forms. These changes require collaboration between governments, industry, and communities to create a supportive environment for life-centred design to thrive.
For those keen to add their voice to this conversation, Constructivist’s Regenerative Design Lab is inviting professionals to join a community of change-makers and gain the tools required to put life-centred principles into practice. Register your interest for future programmes.
Life-centred design challenges us to reconsider our relationship with the natural world, urging a shift from exploitation to collaboration. By placing all life forms at the heart of our design processes, we can forge pathways to resilient ecosystems where human innovation meets ecological wisdom.
As we continue to tackle climate change and biodiversity challenges, embracing this shift forces us to confront a tough question: How can we build a future where every voice, from the tiniest microbe to the largest mammal, has a meaningful say in shaping our shared future?
—
This piece has been written as part of a 12-month campaign exploring the 12 competencies of globally responsible engineering identified in our Competency Compass. Each month, you can expect thought leadership content, ranging from panel discussions to video interviews to articles, focussed on one of the 12 competencies. Sign up to our newsletter to ensure you don’t miss anything!
