Regenerative Buildings for Low-Carbon and Climate-Responsive Futures
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 8
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioclimatic architecture; passive strategies; sustainable building; energy efficiency; vernacular architecture; low-carbon materials; life cycle assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: sustainable construction; sustainability assessment; life cycle analysis; multi-criteria decision support methods for sustainable construction; vernacular construction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, the building sector has undergone a profound paradigm shift. Growing environmental awareness has exposed significant challenges related to energy efficiency and environmental impacts. As a result, the sector is moving away from a model that relies primarily on mechanical systems and high–embodied-energy materials with limited consideration for climatic context and environmental consequences toward a more holistic, sustainability-oriented approach.
However, the notion of “sustainable construction” is no longer sufficient. Current challenges and objectives demand strategies and technologies that restore and regenerate, fostering positive impacts that allow for social and ecological systems to remain healthy and to evolve. If sustainability can be seen as a complex, branching tree, then a regenerative approach is akin to adding the roots.
Buildings are a critical domain for applying regenerative principles, as they are among the largest consumers of energy and natural resources, responsible for roughly one-third of global carbon emissions and a wide range of potential life cycle environmental impacts.
Therefore, this Special Issue seeks to collect and disseminate current knowledge on the subject, with the aim of advancing regenerative buildings through integrated design, passive strategies, and low‑carbon technologies and materials, among other approaches. We invite contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Bioclimatic, climate-responsive, and passive design;
- Indoor environment quality (air quality, thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort);
- Active technologies for low-carbon and energy-efficient buildings and communities;
- Vernacular architecture and construction;
- Simulations for regenerative buildings and communities;
- Low-carbon building design and construction;
- Low-carbon, low-tech, and regenerative materials;
- Circular construction methods and strategies;
- Innovative technologies for regenerative buildings;
- Tools and technologies for regenerative buildings (holistic design);
- Biophilic design;
- Policies and regulations for regenerative buildings;
Dr. Jorge Fernandes
Dr. Ricardo Mateus
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- regenerative design
- low carbon/regenerative materials
- life cycle assessment
- circular construction
- integrated design process
- regenerative construction policies
- human well-being and comfort
- water management
- urban and building energy performance simulation
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