Project Details
Description
In 2019, the architecture profession declared a biodiversity and climate emergency across eighteen countries, garnering over four thousand signatures. This led to "Architecture Education Declares," attracting over two thousand two hundred educators and student supporters globally. They called for a curriculum change to address the climatic and ecological challenges that current architectural education does not adequately equip students to tackle.
The design and construction of buildings accounted for about forty percent of the EU's energy use and thirty-six percent of CO2 emissions, significantly contributing to the climate crisis. With the EU and Finland making ambitious commitments to carbon neutrality by 2050 and 2035 respectively, there was a need for new buildings to adhere to nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) standards from 2020 onwards. However, there was a notable gap in skills among educators and students to meet these goals.
ARCH4CHANGE addressed this gap by developing new pedagogical methods and a "climate change curriculum" across all five years of architectural education. The focus was on applying holistic knowledge in architectural design. A teacher training toolkit was co-created to support flexible and innovative pedagogical methods, ensuring applicability across different contexts. Student and teacher perspectives were shared via short video presentations, hosted on a new digital platform designed to connect this learning community.
The project objectives aligned with the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership's call for innovation, promoting environmental and climate goals. ARCH4CHANGE focused on:
1. Increasing knowledge among students and educators about responding to climate emergencies beyond basic sustainability.
2. Tackling skills gaps through a revised climate emergency curriculum and co-developing a teacher training toolkit.
3. Testing new pedagogies and collaborative e-learning methods to enhance teaching approaches.
4. Broadening access to knowledge and tools to transform architectural education beyond the consortium.
The project involved a transnational approach with significant contributions from several universities:
- **Tampere University (Finland):** Coordinated the project, offering expertise in ecological, technological, and human-centric design.
- **Arkitektskolen Aarhus (Denmark):** Brought expertise in embedding sustainability in design and holistic design processes.
- **Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia):** Contributed knowledge in sustainable architecture and education.
- **University of Bologna (Italy):** Provided insights into heritage conservation and risk management in a warmer climate.
- **Technological University Dublin (Ireland):** Focused on integrating arts and technology in online learning.
ARCH4CHANGE evaluated and mapped existing curricula and pedagogical methods, facilitating transnational knowledge exchange. This supported the iterative co-creation of climate change curricula and pedagogical innovations, culminating in a teacher training toolkit. These outputs were piloted and refined, and the digital platform helped disseminate these tools, contributing to carbon neutrality efforts beyond the consortium.
The design and construction of buildings accounted for about forty percent of the EU's energy use and thirty-six percent of CO2 emissions, significantly contributing to the climate crisis. With the EU and Finland making ambitious commitments to carbon neutrality by 2050 and 2035 respectively, there was a need for new buildings to adhere to nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) standards from 2020 onwards. However, there was a notable gap in skills among educators and students to meet these goals.
ARCH4CHANGE addressed this gap by developing new pedagogical methods and a "climate change curriculum" across all five years of architectural education. The focus was on applying holistic knowledge in architectural design. A teacher training toolkit was co-created to support flexible and innovative pedagogical methods, ensuring applicability across different contexts. Student and teacher perspectives were shared via short video presentations, hosted on a new digital platform designed to connect this learning community.
The project objectives aligned with the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership's call for innovation, promoting environmental and climate goals. ARCH4CHANGE focused on:
1. Increasing knowledge among students and educators about responding to climate emergencies beyond basic sustainability.
2. Tackling skills gaps through a revised climate emergency curriculum and co-developing a teacher training toolkit.
3. Testing new pedagogies and collaborative e-learning methods to enhance teaching approaches.
4. Broadening access to knowledge and tools to transform architectural education beyond the consortium.
The project involved a transnational approach with significant contributions from several universities:
- **Tampere University (Finland):** Coordinated the project, offering expertise in ecological, technological, and human-centric design.
- **Arkitektskolen Aarhus (Denmark):** Brought expertise in embedding sustainability in design and holistic design processes.
- **Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia):** Contributed knowledge in sustainable architecture and education.
- **University of Bologna (Italy):** Provided insights into heritage conservation and risk management in a warmer climate.
- **Technological University Dublin (Ireland):** Focused on integrating arts and technology in online learning.
ARCH4CHANGE evaluated and mapped existing curricula and pedagogical methods, facilitating transnational knowledge exchange. This supported the iterative co-creation of climate change curricula and pedagogical innovations, culminating in a teacher training toolkit. These outputs were piloted and refined, and the digital platform helped disseminate these tools, contributing to carbon neutrality efforts beyond the consortium.
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 5/10/20 → 31/08/23 |
Fingerprint
Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.