Built Environment Education Conference Opportunities and Challenges for Students and Tutors in Integrating Sustainability into Design Studio Teaching

Sustainability as an issue has a long history in UK architectural education. Studio-based design teaching, and learning commonly representing half of programme content, is characterized by approaches and ambitions which significantly overlap with pedagogy suggested within Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) discussions in higher education. However the 2003 Report of the Centre for Education in the Built Environment Sustainability Special Interest Group identified that students of Architecture often learn about the concepts and issues of sustainability in lecture settings (historically through expert led taught technical subjects) rather than studio-based projects. Integrating developing design skills; addressing concepts and issues of sustainability; and encouraging students to internalize sustainability concepts and apply them to practice, is not always straightforward. This paper describes a Stage 1 five week live ‘ecological education centre ’ project which raised a range of sustainability issues in the design studio. It explores the experience of both learners and teachers at the University of Plymouth School of Architecture and Design and reviews the responses to the project elicited through student and design tutor interviews. Opportunities and challenges related to integrating sustainability into design studio teaching and learning are highlighted