Foundations
for SEDE Curriculum
The basis for a sustainable environmental design curriculum incorporates
many pedagogical models but in particular should involve place-based,
problem-oriented, and participatory learning.
Place-based learning demands knowledge of site conditions
and their relationship to micro as well as macro scale. This pertains
to ecological
as well as socio-cultural, economic, and aesthetic conditions. Problem-oriented
learning sees the advantage of working with a real, concrete,
and complex set of circumstances rather than dealing in a pure,
abstract, and
simplified world. Participatory learning requires physical
and mental immersion in an educational setting of place-based, problem-oriented
study.
- Experiential Learning
- Precedent Studies
- Case Studies
- Field Trips/Field Studies
- Simulations
and Role Playing
- Internships
- Tools of the Trade
Teaching Methods for Sustainable
Design
Design
education involves preparing students for interaction with clients
and the general public through verbal, written, graphical, and spatial
skill sets. Modeling the behaviour of a professional in the various
roles of practice requires experience that can be acquired in school
through simulation and observation. Both analysis and sythesis skills
are required for all designers. Sustainable design goes a step further
in demanding that design performance be assessed in terms of social,
economic and environmental performance, not just formal or symbolic
gestures.
• Experiential
"Hands-on" Learning
Direct experience with the application of knowledge has long been
recognized as a superior teaching method to passive learning modes such
as lectures. Hands-on learning can take place in a laboratory setting
or in the field. This may include community service-based learning where
students perform real projects that serve an actual (typically local
or regional) community need.
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• Precedent
Studies
Analysis of historical buildings and landscapes by type
(e.g., libraries or Chinese gardens), is the basis of precedent
studies. A building is examined for its visual and spatial compositional
features as well as function and use. In sustainable design,
additional layers of environmental, social and economic performance
are added.
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• Case
Studies
The term case studies has been applied to
precedent and other building performance studies. Another type of case
study follows the business school model, where a project is fully documented
in terms of decision making steps and strategies. In sustainable environmental
design this would include examining a project through phases from pre-design
through occupancy by interviewing the project players and analyzing project
documentation to uncover important lessons for professionals. (Several
links and outline case studies are provided in this web site. See SEDE
Case Studies.)
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• Field
Trips
Direct observation with an interpretative
guide provides a means for analyzing and experiencing built environments.
Spatial as well as acoustical, thermal, luminous, and haptic elements
are conveyed through first hand experience in ways that even virtual
reality has been unable to produce. It is especially important that the
field trip is used as a way to broaden students' experience by introducing
them to unfamiliar settings (such as urban for students from rural campuses),
cultures, and technologies.
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• Simulations
and Role Playing
Role playing is also known as simulation.Through
this process students learn roles and responsibilities associated with
different aspects of design and construction fields.
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• Internships and
Co-operative Education
Internships (also
called, co-operative education) are one of the best ways for students
to experience real world attributes of design and construction fields
throguh observation and participation. Because internships are tied to
the academic experience (course credit is given), there is usually a
reflective component where students write and research some aspect of
their work experience. Internships can be in firms or in the field. Hands-on
experience in either case, especially with guided instruction, is one
of the best ways to learn practice or the trades.
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•
Tools of the Trade: LEED™ and Environmental Design Checklists
How do we
know if a design is "sustainable"? One method that has been
used in education and practice is in the form of guidelines or a checklist.
The best known examples is the LEED™ green building rating system
that provides points for environmental performance in the categories
of:
- Sustainable
sites
- Water
efficiency
- Energy & Atmosphere
- Materials & Resources
- Indoor
environmental quality
- Innovation & Design
process.
Another type of checklist was created by architect Malcom Wells and
appears in his book, Gentle Architecture (1981).
In this case, the scoring system is based on positive versus negative
aspects of design. He asks questions about the project, such as: Does
it create pure water or waste rainwater? Does it use solar energy or
waste it? The notion of buildings and landscapes as producers versus
consumers (or regenerators vs. polluters) is a powerful shift in the
way that we thing about changes to the built environment.
Checklists are useful to outline the broadest spectrum of considerations for
design but do not inform the client or designer about priorities for their
given building type, site, or user program. Therefore, a companion document
(or course work) and critical analysis of the project conditions must be used
in tandem for a truly sustainable project.
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