ECONOMICS + ECOLOGY + SHELLS: The Rhizomatic Expression of Values

The Triune Expression of Axiological Values

The rhizomatic expression of the Axiological Axis—ECONOMICS + ECOLOGY + SHELLS—reveals how values materialize as interconnected systems rather than isolated domains. This triune expression recognizes that our economic practices, ecological relationships, and built environments are not separate spheres but mutually constitutive dimensions of a single value system.

ECONOMICS in this framework encompasses not just monetary transactions but the entire circulation of resources, labor, and care within human communities. It includes Production & Resourcing, Exchange & Transfer, Accounting & Regulation, Consumption & Use, Labor & Welfare, Technology & Infrastructure, and Wealth & Distribution. When operating from extractive values, economics becomes necrocapitalism—death-worlds and sacrifice zones where life is converted to profit. When operating from regenerative values, economics becomes biocracy—circular flows and regenerative design where wealth is measured by ecosystem health and human wellbeing.

ECOLOGY extends beyond environmental management to encompass the conscious relationships between all living systems. It includes Materials & Energy, Water & Air, Flora & Fauna, Habitat & Settlements, Built-Form & Transport, Embodiment & Sustenance, and Emission & Waste. From extractive values, ecology becomes resource extraction and externalized pollution. From regenerative values, ecology becomes rewilding and symbiotic relationships where human activity enhances rather than diminishes biodiversity.

SHELLS refers to our built environments and infrastructure—not as neutral containers but as value-laden expressions of our relationship to space and community. It includes housing, public buildings, industry, agriculture, recreation, and monument. When designed from extractive values, SHELLS become segregated, car-dependent sprawl that prioritizes efficiency over connection. When designed from regenerative values, SHELLS become 15-minute neighborhoods and biophilic design that honor the intelligence of place and community.

These three domains function as a unified system where changes in one domain ripple through the others. For example, when a community transitions from industrial agriculture (ECONOMICS) to regenerative farming (ECOLOGY), it often transforms its physical infrastructure (SHELLS) to include community kitchens, food hubs, and accessible green spaces. This integrated approach prevents the common trap of addressing symptoms in isolation while ignoring systemic patterns.

Bioregional Material Intelligence

Material Intelligence provides the foundation for transforming SHELLS from extractive to regenerative expressions of value. This intelligence recognizes that materials aren't dead matter but expressions of Mind at Large's intelligence through local adaptation—remembering their origin and expressing place-specific wisdom.

The framework provides specific bioregional material recommendations that align with axiological transformation:

• Arid regions use adobe, stone, and rammed earth—materials that remember water scarcity and express thermal intelligence that honors that reality
• Tropical regions use bamboo, living vines, and thatch—materials that express abundance intelligence and rapid response to conditions
• Temperate regions use timber lattice, cob, and living willow—materials that embody seasonal rhythm intelligence and balance of structure and flow
• Cold regions use double-walled structures and snow blocks—materials that express winter's intelligence of preservation and patience as survival
• Urban regions use recycled materials and vertical gardens—materials that express waste transformation intelligence and memory of previous lives

These material choices aren't merely practical but deeply ethical—they determine whether our built environments harden or heal the dissociation between human systems and natural systems. When we choose materials that remember their origin in Mind at Large, we design boundaries that are permeable enough to allow circulation while maintaining integrity—exactly the quality needed for regenerative value systems.

Economic Transformation Frameworks

The framework integrates several economic transformation frameworks that align with axiological principles:

Ostrom's Commons Governance demonstrates how communities can manage shared resources through principles like clear boundaries, proportional equivalence between benefits and costs, and participatory decision-making. When applied to the Axiological Axis, these principles transform economic systems from extractive hoarding to regenerative circulation.

Neri Oxman's Material Ecology shows how design can honor the intelligence of materials and systems rather than forcing them into industrial molds. This approach transforms economic production from standardized manufacturing to context-responsive creation that celebrates local wisdom and ecological relationships.

Relational-Cultural Theory reveals how economic systems can be redesigned around mutual growth rather than competition. This theory transforms labor from alienated work to purposeful participation in community wellbeing, creating what the framework calls "care as infrastructure."

These frameworks share a common principle: economic systems must be designed for circulation rather than concentration. This requires what the framework terms "power circulation criteria"—challenging power hoarding in all its forms and designing for power circulation rather than redistribution. True regeneration comes not from taking from the rich to give to the poor, but from designing systems where power (including knowledge, meaning, and resources) flows through networks rather than hierarchies.

Ecological Intelligence as Value Compass

Ecological Intelligence functions as the compass that guides axiological transformation by reading ecosystem relationships as conscious communications. This intelligence recognizes that ecosystems aren't merely resources to be managed but expressions of Mind at Large's intelligence through place-specific patterns.

Key practices of Ecological Intelligence include:

• Phenological Calendars that replace arbitrary calendar dates with local ecological indicators—bud bursts, bird migrations, temperature shifts—reconnecting human timekeeping with ecological memory
• Listening Practices that establish regular times for silent observation of non-human intelligence expressions, allowing human systems to align with ecological rhythms
• Decision Filters that require all major decisions to pass through the filter: "How does this serve the web of life beyond humans?" ensuring that human activity enhances rather than diminishes ecological health
• Governance Structures that create representative roles for non-human intelligences in community decision-making, honoring the agency of place and ecosystem

These practices prevent the common trap of "greenwashing"—superficial ecological gestures that maintain extractive systems. Instead, they create what the framework calls "authentic alignment" where human values genuinely reflect ecological intelligence. This alignment requires stable Nourishment foundations, as communities cannot sustain ecological wisdom when people are struggling for basic survival.

SHELLS as Value Architecture

SHELLS function as the physical architecture of values—making abstract principles tangible through built form. When designed from extractive values, buildings and infrastructure reinforce dissociation through segregated zoning, car dependency, and resource-intensive construction. When designed from regenerative values, SHELLS become what the framework terms "boundary medicine"—physical expressions that heal the dissociation between human systems and natural systems.

Regenerative SHELLS design follows specific principles:

• Multi-Functionality where structures serve multiple purposes simultaneously (housing that generates energy, community spaces that grow food, infrastructure that manages water)
• Adaptive Capacity where buildings can be seasonally adapted or rapidly reconfigured during crises, responding to changing community needs
• Skill Accessibility where construction methods can be worked with locally available skills and tools, democratizing the building process
• Permeability Calibration where boundaries are designed with precisely calibrated permeability based on community needs and dialectical phase

The hexagonal pattern serves as a key design principle for regenerative SHELLS, reflecting honeycomb geometry's natural efficiency. This pattern creates natural flow paths for Nourishment, Cleansing, Restoration, and Movement through the system, while shared walls between hexagons visually represent the folded cubes where transformation occurs. This geometry isn't merely aesthetic—it embodies the values of connection, circulation, and reciprocity that define regenerative systems.

Integration Protocol for Triune Transformation

The framework provides a specific protocol for integrating ECONOMICS + ECOLOGY + SHELLS into a coherent axiological transformation:

Step 1: Foundation Assessment evaluates Nourishment stability across all three domains before proceeding with higher-dimensional work. This prevents bypassing and ensures transformation is grounded in physical reality.

Step 2: Dissociation Mapping identifies specific boundaries that need healing between economic, ecological, and built environment systems. This might include boundaries between monetary value and ecosystem health, between building materials and local ecology, or between labor systems and community wellbeing.

Step 3: Boundary Medicine Design creates specific practices to heal identified dissociations. For example, a community might design boundary medicine practices where economic decisions require ecological impact assessments, or where building materials are sourced from waste streams of other processes.

Step 4: Value Integration Testing implements small-scale experiments that integrate all three domains, measuring success through both quantitative metrics (resource flows, biodiversity indicators) and qualitative metrics (community trust, sense of belonging).

Step 5: Symbiotic Scaling expands successful experiments into larger systems while maintaining the integrity of integrated values. This prevents the common trap of scaling without integration—where regenerative practices become industrialized and lose their regenerative character.

This protocol ensures that axiological transformation remains practical while honoring complexity—creating systems that are both effective and ethical, both efficient and just. It recognizes that true regeneration requires transforming not just individual domains but the relationships between them, creating what the framework calls "symbiotic intelligence" where the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Bioregional Material Intelligence - The wisdom of selecting and working with materials that respond intelligently to local environmental conditions while serving multiple functions simultaneously. This intelligence is critical for creating boundaries that are permeable enough to allow circulation but defined enough to maintain integrity.

Power Circulation Criteria - Framework requirements that challenge power hoarding in all its forms and design for power circulation rather than redistribution. This includes recognizing that power includes knowledge, meaning, and resources, not just decision-making authority.

Ecological Intelligence - The capacity to read ecosystem relationships as conscious communications and align human systems with ecological rhythms. This intelligence is essential for authentic alignment between human values and ecological health.

Hexagonal Boundary Design - A biomimetic design principle using honeycomb geometry to create boundaries that allow circulation while maintaining integrity. This geometry creates natural flow paths for the four embodied foundations and represents the folded cubes where transformation occurs.

Symbiotic Intelligence - The emergent wisdom that arises when multiple domains (ECONOMICS, ECOLOGY, SHELLS) are integrated into a coherent system. This intelligence creates conditions for regeneration rather than extraction, belonging rather than isolation.