Bio-Regenerative Design Research Center

Anchor is able to infuse buildings with life through innovation at its Research &
Development. Work on indoor growing systems and bio-based products is done at the Bio-
Regenerative Design Research Center, which has a mission to develop products that
improve “the health and wellbeing for humans, other living beings and ecosystems as a
whole.” Common to all products developed is the application of bio-regenerative design.
This is the process of combining living and engineered elements to build new ecosystem
services into degraded environments – such as closed loop food systems within buildings.
A hallmark of these ecotechnologies that they go beyond sustainability – where product
cycles only aspire to minimize waste and environmental impact – and actively improve the
environment for a net-positive impact. Many of Anchor’s technologies, for instance, use
biochar which is a carbon negative substrate that can offset carbon emissions and provide ,many other environmental benefits.

Topics of research at the Centre center on meeting the needs of building inhabitants with sustainable and regenerative technologies. Current topics include:

• Food, and how its production can be integrated with buildings
• Wellness, and how natural elements can nurture it
• Energy, and how it can be provided renewably
• Soil, and how it can be rebuilt from a degraded urban state, and
• BioChar, and how its unique properties can be applied to regenerating the built environment