A Pedagogical Approach to Incorporating the Concept of Sustainability into Design-to-Physical-Construction Teaching in Introductory Architectural Design Courses: A Case Study on a Bamboo Construction Project

Sustainable architectural education is offered in colleges and universities all over the world. Studies have emphasized the importance of sustainable architectural education in introductory courses of architecture major programs, but methods and strategies for teaching sustainable architecture at lower levels are scarce. This study focuses on the design-to-physical-construction process and creates a teaching framework that incorporates the concept of sustainable development from the perspectives of sustainable economy, environment and society. Based on the teaching method of learning through the design-to-physical-construction process and referring to the grounded theory, a case study on a bamboo construction project was conducted to explore approaches and strategies of sustainable architectural education in introductory courses. Results reveal that five systems, including the system of sustainable development, consist of a framework that illustrated the teaching effects. Based on the framework, we discovered five factors that should be considered in incorporating the concept of sustainable development into architectural design teaching, including the necessity of conducting sustainable architectural education in introductory courses. This study helps explore the potential role sustainability plays in incorporating interdisciplinary knowledge, connecting specialized knowledge across different program levels, and motivating student learning. It also provides a reference for the practice of sustainable architectural education.

[1]  M. Olweny.  Introducing sustainability into an architectural curriculum in East Africa , 2018, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.

[2]  Iñaki Navarro,et al.  Experiences and methodology in a multidisciplinary energy and architecture competition: Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 , 2014 .

[3]  Karen Allacker,et al.  Design for the Ecological Age: Rethinking the Role of Sustainability in Architectural Education , 2013 .

[4]  Francesco Leccese,et al.  Solar Decathlon ME18 competition as a "learning by doing" experience for students: The case of the team HAAB , 2018, 2018 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).

[5]  Reijo Miettinen,et al.  Epistemology of Transformative Material Activity: John Dewey's Pragmatism and Cultural‐Historical Activity Theory , 2006 .

[6]  A. Clarke.  Situational Analyses: Grounded Theory Mapping After the Postmodern Turn , 2003 .

[7]  María A. Martínez,et al.  Metaphors as Blueprints of Thinking about Teaching and Learning. , 2001 .

[8]  Lazaros Mavromatidis.  Coupling architectural synthesis to applied thermal engineering, constructal thermodynamics and fractal analysis: An original pedagogic method to incorporate “sustainability” into architectural education during the initial conceptual stages , 2018 .

[9]  Jlm Jan Hensen,et al.  Climate adaptive building shells: state-of-the-art and future challenges , 2013 .

[10]  Robin Wilson,et al.  Mapping the Way Forward: Education for Sustainability in Architecture and Urban Design , 2014 .

[11]  Mine Özkar,et al.  Learning by Doing in the Age of Design Computation , 2007 .

[12]  Ana Jiménez-Rivero,et al.  Sustainable management of the building stock: A Delphi study as a decision-support tool for improved inspections , 2020 .

[13]  John Dewey.  The Need for a Philosophy of Education (1934)* , 2010, Schools.

[14]  I. Dincer.  Renewable energy and sustainable development: a crucial review , 2000 .

[15]  Joost G. Vogtländer,et al.  The sustainability of bamboo products for local and Western European applications. LCAs and land-use , 2010 .

[16]  İzzet Yüksek.  The Evaluation of Architectural Education in the Scope of Sustainable Architecture , 2013 .

[17]  E. Z. Escamilla,et al.  Industrial or Traditional Bamboo Construction? Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Bamboo-Based Buildings , 2018, Sustainability.

[18]  Jiyoung Park,et al.  A Comparative Study on Sustainability in Architectural Education in Asia—With a Focus on Professional Degree Curricula , 2016 .

[19]  P. Luisi,et al.  The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision , 2014 .

[20]  Shelby Doyle,et al.  Between Design and Digital: Bridging the Gaps in Architectural Education , 2016 .

[21]  Eray Bozkurt.  Integration of theory courses and design studio in architectural education using sustainable development , 2016 .

[22]  Benjamin Kromoser,et al.  Design Concept for a Greened Timber Truss Bridge in City Area , 2020, Sustainability.

[23]  Paola Boarin,et al.  Understanding students’ perception of sustainability in architecture education: A comparison among universities in three different continents , 2020 .

[24]  Qian Chen,et al.  Construction automation: Research areas, industry concerns and suggestions for advancement , 2018, Automation in Construction.

[25]  K. Kellens,et al.  Sustainability of additive manufacturing: An overview on its energy demand and environmental impact , 2018 .

[26]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Resilience and Sustainable Development: Building Adaptive Capacity in a World of Transformations , 2002, Ambio.

[27]  J. Dewey.  The need for a philosophy of education , 2008 .

[28]  Vincent Koenig,et al.  Concept maps: A useful and usable tool for computer-based knowledge assessment? A literature review with a focus on usability , 2014, Comput. Educ..

[29]  Steffen Schaal.  Cognitive and motivational effects of digital concept maps in pre-service science teacher training , 2010 .

[30]  Jorge Roa-Fernández,et al.  Student Competitions as a Learning Method with a Sustainable Focus in Higher Education: The University of Seville “Aura Projects” in the “Solar Decathlon 2019” , 2020, Sustainability.

[31]  John Robinson.  Squaring the circle? Some thoughts on the idea of sustainable development , 2004 .

[32]  S. Emmitt,et al.  Critical learning for sustainable architecture: Opportunities for design studio pedagogy , 2020 .

[33]  L. Splitter.  Authenticity and Constructivism in Education , 2009 .

[34]  Loukas N. Kalisperis,et al.  Environmentally conscious design – educating future architects , 2013 .

[35]  Rafael Herrera-Limones,et al.  Health and Habitability in the Solar Decathlon University Competitions: Statistical Quantification and Real Influence on Comfort Conditions , 2020, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[36]  Stephen J. Macekura.  Of Limits and Growth: The Rise of Global Sustainable Development in the Twentieth Century , 2015 .

[37]  O. Kivinen,et al.  From Constructivism to a Pragmatist Conception of Learning , 2003 .

[38]  J. Creswell.  Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches, 2nd ed. , 2007 .

[39]  Alexander Lidgren,et al.  A systemic approach to incorporate sustainability into university courses and curricula , 2006 .

[40]  J. Rockström,et al.  Policy: Sustainable development goals for people and planet , 2013, Nature.

[41]  T. Popkewitz.  Dewey, Vygotsky, and the Social Administration of the Individual: Constructivist Pedagogy as Systems of Ideas in Historical Spaces , 1998 .

[42]  Nila Keumala,et al.  Review on integrating sustainability knowledge into architectural education: Practice in the UK and the USA , 2017 .

[43]  Lukumon O. Oyedele,et al.  Salvaging building materials in a circular economy: A BIM-based whole-life performance estimator , 2018 .

[44]  Hiroatsu Fukuda,et al.  A Didactic Pedagogical Approach toward Sustainable Architectural Education through Robotic Tectonics , 2020, Sustainability.

[45]  A.A.J.F. Van den Dobbelsteen,et al.  An environmental, economic and practical assessment of bamboo as a building material for supporting structures , 2006 .

[46]  Lisa Tsui.  Effects of Campus Culture on Students' Critical Thinking , 2000 .

[47]  Marie-Pierre Chevron,et al.  A metacognitive tool: Theoretical and operational analysis of skills exercised in structured concept maps ☆ , 2014 .

[48]  Rivka Oxman,et al.  Think-maps: teaching design thinking in design education , 2004 .

[49]  Doris C. C. K. Kowaltowski,et al.  Action research and architectural sustainable design education: a case study in Brazil , 2020, International Journal of Technology and Design Education.