Associate ProfessorElizabeth Donovan

Elizabeth Donovan is an Associate Professor in Architectural Design (Education focused) with expertise in a holistic approach to sustainable architecture.

She specialises in the historical and discursive dimensions of the field, spanning from early passive and technical advances in the 1960s to more recent understandings of regenerative design. Her research builds on the plethora of sustainable design approaches, highlighting the urgent need for systemic environmental and societal change in both the profession and education. Recent projects include exploring the present and future of regenerative design within a Danish context, grounded within the understanding that it is critical to move beyond the "less harm" approach of sustainability to "doing good" through deeply rooted place-based design.

Elizabeth also conducts research into the pedagogies for teaching sustainability within architecture and urban education. This work has led to her co-authoring "Designing for the Climate Emergency: A Guide for Architecture Students" (2022), and co-developing the Erasmus+ funded education project ARCH4CHANGE, an open-source knowledge bank for climate emergency design.