An Architectural Teaching and Learning Framework: Tackling the Implementation of SDGs in Architectural Education

Abstract

The paper presents the process underpinning the development of a framework for architectural teaching and learning aimed to facilitating the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in architectural teaching, with particular focus on design courses. It aims to offer a methodology of evaluation and self-assessment for architecture educators in higher education institutions. This study has been conducted in accordance with the principles set out at the international level by UNESCO and at a European level by the Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus initiative. The theoretical apparatus presented herewith in has been (and continues to be), formalised based on the experience gained teaching the course “Sustainability and the Built Environment” at the Politecnico di Milano (Mantua Campus) since 2018. The course has provided the academic framework to experiment with a multi-system approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The feedback collected and the results obtained have enabled the identification of three different perspectives to be considered when setting up a teaching programme, namely: the relationship between the teaching institution, the educators, and the students; the relationship between the students and their own agency within the learning context; and the teaching content. The general principles deduced from this experience, which is still ongoing, are transferable beyond the outlined disciplinary limits and are intended to provide students with valuable alternative perspectives to approach vital an ecological transition.