Abstract :
[en] Climate crises and energy transition are bringing new challenges and responsibilities for architectural education and call for a new paradigm in the way we teach architecture and urban design. Therefore, a shift in pedagogical methodologies has become a crucial and urgent need to enhance the implementation of sustainability within university programs.
Different pedagogical methods and new teaching and learning models have emerged to introduce sustainability in the university curriculum. This will result in a new way of thinking and producing that will, in turn, lead to a better understanding of the complexity of these environmental issues such as the integrated design approach.
This paper is, an experimental study taking place, during the first semester of the first year of master's degree in civil engineering and architecture at the University of Liège, and within the context of an integrated building design project.
The interconnection between the design studio and theoretical course on sustainable architecture and urban planning allows 21 students to develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of sustainability issues through integrating the environmental quality of the building into their design reflections.
The challenge is to work together in several teams through a collaborative learning process and to be able to design a sustainable contemporary building while respecting a complex architectural program.
During this studio, and to respond to their architectural intentions and choices, several tools are applied within the design process to help students develop their building designs, such as interdisciplinary contributions provided by different experts from several fields in architecture, building envelope, and environmental quality, structure, fire safety, accessibility standards, fluids, and HVAC, etc...
Our exploratory study is constituted of data collected via questionnaires and interview surveys and is based mainly on examining learning activities, teaching methods, and pedagogical strategies as well as the students¿ outcomes and their interactions with their instructors.
The analysis reveals that sustainability and environmental quality criteria were developed in a holistic way of design thinking in coherence with all the functional, aesthetic, and technological aspects in the design process while respecting the specific contextual requirements¿
The findings provide evidence that integrated design plays an important role in shaping sustainability in architectural education. This can be achieved through an interdisciplinary design process and a collaborative approach that calls for much more involvement from students, and that puts into practice their theoretical bases within the design studio.
This paper argues for a more environmental responsibility that provides students with the ability to develop creative architectural solutions and technical environmental skills necessary for a new generation of conscious architects and aware of environmental challenges and issues.
