Conscious Design promotes the emergence of places that have an awareness of and responsibility towards people, communities, and ecosystems. These qualities are intentionally designed through co-creation, Science-Informed Design, and the activation of an ongoing Person-Space dialogue.
The concept emerged out of the Conscious Cities Manifesto which advocates for the understanding of the built environment as inseparable from the health outcomes of individuals and communities.
Conscious Design is continuously debated and developed by the Conscious Cities Movement and those involved in researching and practicing the approach. As such, the CCD works to collate and present the evolving work of a community of practice.
Imagine
Design
Build
Evolve
Collaborative
01
Co-Imagined
Shared intention emerges out of a cross-sector dialogue and collective imagination.
02
Co-Designed
Stakeholders and a multidisciplinary team are involved in ideation and design decisions.
03
Co-Created
Building processes involve local knowledge and craftsmanship, and include the participation of the community.
04
Co-Stewarded
People-Place relationships emerge from shared stewardship and transparent management.
Aware
05
Context Driven
Project goals are framed by research of social and ecological settings.
06
Evidence Based
Design decisions are informed by scientific insight.
07
Integrated
Building processes, material sourcing, and planned use are sustainable and regenerative.
08
Observational
Impact is observed, measured and analysed to generate insights.
Responsive
09
Reimagined
Project goals are periodically reconsidered, affirmed, or reimagined.
10
Redesigned
Environments are a result of design iterations responding to feedback.
11
Recreated
Environments possess inherent adaptability to accommodate people-driven changes.
12
Reassessed
Environments are reactive to the People-Place Dialogue, setting into motion cycles of evolution.