106
used a ‘chain of effects’ process to identify the human impacts on the Lagoon system, and subsequently proposed design interventions to achieve a state of equilibrium where the Lagoon would be
sustainable in regenerating resources similar than its natural state.
He proposed a ‘use frame’ for the development and management of the Lagoon that grew out of
his analysis and studies (Lyle, 1991a [1985], p. 13). He included a ‘control by design’ schedule to
minimise the damage to the natural environment, and established initiatives for regeneration. The pattern of uses that was proposed was very complex. Lyle acknowledges that to be able to achieve a
successful regenerative system for the Lagoon, one would need to understand its initial natural state,
as well as consider the total landscape integration of the ecology systems beyond the footprint of the
Lagoon. This requires considering the wholeness of the system, even beyond its boundaries.
To solve this issue would be a mammoth task. Lyle proposed three organisational concepts in the
shaping of ecosystems. The first is scale; the relative size of the landscape in question with its connections to larger and smaller ecosystems. The second is the design process; the pattern of thought that
will deal with this landscape scale. The third is the underlying order that binds the systems together
and makes the total human ecosystem work (Lyle, 1991a [1985], pp. 17–21). I found an interesting
observation that in the works of Lyle and Alexander, scale and order feature as an important aspect in
design thinking. Lyle (1991a [1985]) addresses this topic from the generative perspective, mostly
aligned to the natural environment, and Alexander (2001–2005) from the form-making perspective,
mostly aligned to the built environment.
Scale recognizes that the ecosystem is part of a larger and smaller subsystem, and that in turn it
includes a number of smaller subsystems. In Lyle’s method of ‘ecosystem design’, this is a fundamental principle in understanding the larger framework that needs to be considered for designing a human
ecosystem. Van der Ryn and Cowan (1996) refers to this as ‘scale linking’, where nature’s processes
are inherently linked and intimately dependent upon the flow of energy and materials across scales.
He explains this concept as follows:
Consider a drop of rain. Hidden within it is an implicit history of places – water gathered from ancient fjords,
alpine lakes, urban reservoirs, Antarctic ice, all running together in a single cycle, ever changing yet unitary. The
flow of water in the biosphere links all of this together. Other natural cycles bind us to the living world as they
carry nutrients and trace minerals between earth, air and water (Van der Ryn & Cowan, 1996, p. 33).
Lyle explains that despite all these connections of the larger framework (scale linking), a single
human ecosystem has definite boundaries, and thus it can only be dealt with at a certain local scale
(Lyle, 1991a [1985], p. 25). To work with this in the larger context, he proposes a set of hierarchical
scales in a larger organised system. The hierarchy of scales ranges in levels from ‘construction’, to
‘site’, and through broader and broader hierarchical levels, to the ‘whole earth’, as indicated in
Fig. 8.3.
The design processes of ‘ecosystem design’ consider hierarchies of scale and reflects in the midst
of complexity the nature of order. Similarly, Christopher Alexander (2001–2005) argues that everything that exists in nature and the built environment includes the phenomenon of order (Alexander,
2001–2005a; 2001–2005b). Lyle defines order as visual in terms of landscape design. The visual order
of nature reflects the geometry of the underlying eco-systematic order. Three modes of eco-systematic
order are considered: the modes of structure in structural order, the function of materials and entities
in functional order, and order in locational patterns (Lyle, 1991a [1985], p. 18).
Structural order describes the composition of biotic and abiotic elements, including rocks, soil,
plants and animals. In consideration of the structure of an ecosystem, the interconnectivity between
living and non-living elements is taken into account. Natural systems are continually reorganizing
themselves through a specific structural process that is linked to place (location). Eugene Odum
hypothesized that the input of energy in simple systems allows them to maintain stability (Lyle, 1994;
Odum, 1975). Regenerative systems tend to have a need to reduce energy input and do this by means
8 Regenerative Design, Ecology as Teacher
used a ‘chain of effects’ process to identify the human impacts on the Lagoon system, and subsequently proposed design interventions to achieve a state of equilibrium where the Lagoon would be
sustainable in regenerating resources similar than its natural state.
He proposed a ‘use frame’ for the development and management of the Lagoon that grew out of
his analysis and studies (Lyle, 1991a [1985], p. 13). He included a ‘control by design’ schedule to
minimise the damage to the natural environment, and established initiatives for regeneration. The pattern of uses that was proposed was very complex. Lyle acknowledges that to be able to achieve a
successful regenerative system for the Lagoon, one would need to understand its initial natural state,
as well as consider the total landscape integration of the ecology systems beyond the footprint of the
Lagoon. This requires considering the wholeness of the system, even beyond its boundaries.
To solve this issue would be a mammoth task. Lyle proposed three organisational concepts in the
shaping of ecosystems. The first is scale; the relative size of the landscape in question with its connections to larger and smaller ecosystems. The second is the design process; the pattern of thought that
will deal with this landscape scale. The third is the underlying order that binds the systems together
and makes the total human ecosystem work (Lyle, 1991a [1985], pp. 17–21). I found an interesting
observation that in the works of Lyle and Alexander, scale and order feature as an important aspect in
design thinking. Lyle (1991a [1985]) addresses this topic from the generative perspective, mostly
aligned to the natural environment, and Alexander (2001–2005) from the form-making perspective,
mostly aligned to the built environment.
Scale recognizes that the ecosystem is part of a larger and smaller subsystem, and that in turn it
includes a number of smaller subsystems. In Lyle’s method of ‘ecosystem design’, this is a fundamental principle in understanding the larger framework that needs to be considered for designing a human
ecosystem. Van der Ryn and Cowan (1996) refers to this as ‘scale linking’, where nature’s processes
are inherently linked and intimately dependent upon the flow of energy and materials across scales.
He explains this concept as follows:
Consider a drop of rain. Hidden within it is an implicit history of places – water gathered from ancient fjords,
alpine lakes, urban reservoirs, Antarctic ice, all running together in a single cycle, ever changing yet unitary. The
flow of water in the biosphere links all of this together. Other natural cycles bind us to the living world as they
carry nutrients and trace minerals between earth, air and water (Van der Ryn & Cowan, 1996, p. 33).
Lyle explains that despite all these connections of the larger framework (scale linking), a single
human ecosystem has definite boundaries, and thus it can only be dealt with at a certain local scale
(Lyle, 1991a [1985], p. 25). To work with this in the larger context, he proposes a set of hierarchical
scales in a larger organised system. The hierarchy of scales ranges in levels from ‘construction’, to
‘site’, and through broader and broader hierarchical levels, to the ‘whole earth’, as indicated in
Fig. 8.3.
The design processes of ‘ecosystem design’ consider hierarchies of scale and reflects in the midst
of complexity the nature of order. Similarly, Christopher Alexander (2001–2005) argues that everything that exists in nature and the built environment includes the phenomenon of order (Alexander,
2001–2005a; 2001–2005b). Lyle defines order as visual in terms of landscape design. The visual order
of nature reflects the geometry of the underlying eco-systematic order. Three modes of eco-systematic
order are considered: the modes of structure in structural order, the function of materials and entities
in functional order, and order in locational patterns (Lyle, 1991a [1985], p. 18).
Structural order describes the composition of biotic and abiotic elements, including rocks, soil,
plants and animals. In consideration of the structure of an ecosystem, the interconnectivity between
living and non-living elements is taken into account. Natural systems are continually reorganizing
themselves through a specific structural process that is linked to place (location). Eugene Odum
hypothesized that the input of energy in simple systems allows them to maintain stability (Lyle, 1994;
Odum, 1975). Regenerative systems tend to have a need to reduce energy input and do this by means
8 Regenerative Design, Ecology as Teacher