Shaping Sustainability in Architectural Education: The Integrated Design as a Tool

Climate change is bringing new challenges for architectural education and calls for a new paradigm in the way we teach architecture and urban design. Therefore, a shift has become crucial to enhance the implementation of sustainability within university programs. This paper is, an experimental study taking place, in the first year of master's degree in civil engineering and architecture at the University of Liège, and within the context of an integrated design. The interconnection between design studio and theoretical course on sustainability allows students to develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of sustainability issues by integrating the environmental quality of the building into their designs. During this studio, and to respond to their architectural choices, several tools are applied within the design process to help students develop their building designs, such as interdisciplinary contributions. Our study is constituted of data collected via questionnaires and interviews as well as examining learning activities, teaching methods, 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 collaborative approach that calls for more involvement from students, and that puts into practice their theoretical bases within the design studio.