The purpose of this research project was to examine how socially
regenerative practices promoted in eco/intentional communities can be applied in a
mainstream higher education setting. The global environmental crisis is addressed
here through social means. Based in the Highlands of Scotland, the design research
was undertaken using a practice-led method. The practice was performed through
the researcher/designer/artist’s process of “living as form” (social and cultural)
embedment method. Living as form, is the term applied to socially engaged
artworks that take the form of what they engage with rather, than an abstract
representation of them. Along with embedment and community engagement, other
methods used were “go-along” walking interviews, long form interviews, course
enrolment, and participatory performance workshops. This project takes a meta
delineation of the design research study, process, and outcomes (including this
text), as the form of practice and an art piece. Socially regenerative design methods
were applied to test their effectiveness and examine their prevalence within local
eco/intentional communities and were subsequently introduced into the
mainstream higher education setting at Glasgow School of Art’s (GSA) Highlands
Campus. It was concluded that the Highlands Campus could benefit from further
investigation of socially regenerative skills, especially those related to
communication, mindfulness, and group work.