ABSTRACT
The effects of climate change and earth degradation in Nigeria is evident in flooding, damage to infrastructure around ecotones, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity. The built environment being the site for cultural and economic activities contributes greatly to environmental degradation, thus a key area to frontier sustainable development. The problem of Human-nature divide resulting from fragmentation of Human actions and intention to nature is blamed for unsustainable development, while increasing tourism activities poses threat to thriving of the ecosystem since it takes advantage of virgin environments. Understanding the negative impacts of man's activities entails reducing and reversing these impacts. Regenerative architecture is thriving among building science principles, attempting to solve rather than mitigate problems, while adding a positive impact to our degrading environment. Hotels and resort facilities now, acclaim green qualities, presenting a platform where regenerative architecture can be explored. The study is aimed at evolving a framework conforming to the principles of regenerative architecture for the design of sustainable resort hotels in South-east Nigeria; the objectives included identifying these principles, their level of reflection in the study area, peculiar features to the study area and limitations of its adoption in design of resort hotels and finally produce a design proposal. Literatures in the field of study are reviewed to develop the basic idea governing the proposed framework. The research methodology adopted is the case study approach to research; three foreign cases were sampled internationally which served as examples of regenerative architecture covered in literature review, while three local cases were purposively sampled in South-Eastern Nigeria representing the platform for the research. Qualitative data was primarily obtained via visual surveys, observations, and interviews, and presented in checklists developed for the research; while secondary data was obtained from documentations. Data analysis was by descriptive and context analysis summarized in tables and charts. The findings of the study includes that regenerative architecture is still at infancy in South-Eastern Nigeria; tropical elements -rain fall, sunshine, and the native green lush are natural endowments of the region but have not been fully utilized in resort hotel designs; a framework is developed conforming to the principles, while limitation to success identified is the issue of luxury in the industry. A design proposal for Oguta Lake is developed, and the study finally recommends that bringing people to closer positive contact with nature will force them to consciously improve on it, also power and water needs within resort facilities can be met using tropical elements: while areas for further study includes exploring the principles in other regions of the country, and studying the performance of structures adopting regenerative architecture principles.