A CDIO APPROACH TO TEACH SUSTAINABILITY IN ARCHITECTURE

The CDIO initiative, an educational framework that comprises 12 standards for evaluating and reforming engineering programs. The framework has become a guiding principle for program leaders to reform and evaluate curriculums, create benchmarks, and align learning goals with worldwide application, making it a framework for continuous improvement. The School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE) at Singapore Polytechnic adopted the CDIO framework to guide non-engineering diploma programs towards continuous improvement. A professional development course was designed by the ABE Teaching & Learning (T&L) unit to coach program leaders on evaluating their programs.  Their initial task after completing part 1 coaching was to map their diploma program to CDIO standards.

This paper focuses on how one of the non-engineering programs, a three-year Diploma in Architecture from the Singapore Polytechnic, maps itself to CDIO (Conceive, Design Implement, Operate) standards, specifically CDIO 3.0, with a specific emphasis on sustainability. This paper first discusses how sustainability knowledge has been incorporated in the program (vertical integration), levelling up progressively over the three years of the program. It then describes the mapping of CDIO standards in the program via three threads: 1) the process of architectural practice; 2) Skills framework for the Architecture sector; 3) Green Mark 2021.  The program addresses 10 out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implements them through a horizontal integrated year two curriculum.   The selected course, Design Studio I (Architecture) (DS1(A)) is centered on an integrated design project that provides students with the opportunities to apply and contextualize sustainability knowledge, skills, and attitudes with technological advances. This paper also presents the findings from students’ feedback and learning reflections of DS1(A) as well as the teaching team’s perspectives. It then concludes with considerations of incorporating sustainability and the challenges of teaching sustainability in DS1(A).