Author(s): Emma Geoghegan
This paper describes co-designed curriculum change initia¬tives over the last five years at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) leading to a government funded national Critical Skills and Curriculum Change project led by TU Dublin in part¬nership with the five other professionally accredited Irish Schools of Architecture, practice and industry stakeholders and the national Professional Registration body. Launched in 2022 the project aims to collectively revise architecture education in Ireland to embed a contextualised approach to climate literacy and advanced technological knowledge and knowhow, underpinned by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve this the project has been structured around three key strands: 1) a dynamic critical needs analysis across all project partners, 2) an ‘Educating the Educator’ programme addressing both practical skills and pedagogical principles and 3) pilot projects in Architectural Design Studio modules acting as testbeds for a new curriculum. The project uses transformative pedagogy and agile design processes to develop maximum exchange between citizens, local authorities, community groups, industry, and students with this methodology being adapted to generate local ecosystems of impact unique to each School of Architecture. This approach builds on the rich range of skills and research areas available across the six schools which are geographi¬cally spread across the island of Ireland. Thus, unique regional contexts and characters: from Atlantic-facing rural environ¬ments, special landscape designations, just transitions, farming, forestry, tourism, shrinking and expanding rural settlements, through to larger urban cities with significant building stock and heritage in need of creative adaptive re-use, have all influenced the approach to curricular change. Each school also brings with it an existing culture and set of values, influencing its own distinct priorities for curricular change. The critical needs analysis with stakeholders (students, lecturers, industry, professional body, local community) has been identifying the key skills & knowledge needs of each of the universities in order to deliver graduates with capabilities in meeting the challenges of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, national strategic objectives around Climate Action, Zero Carbon targets and Sustainable Housing models, new models of practice and construction delivery and para¬digm shifting technologies such as AI. The Architectural Design Studio modules, which account for more than half the learning hours in each programme are the primary site of innovation and the initial focus for curricular change. These modules are inherently suited to the introduc¬tion of new knowledge, and to the investigation of complex emerging social issues and real-world challenges. In parallel with this academic staff have been engaging in cross- institu¬tional reflexive processes, knowledge sharing and dedicated upskilling to trial new pedagogical approaches. This unique national project recognises that a values-based approach to curriculum (re)design is necessary to ensure the future architects we are educating are equipped to confidently and creatively engage with changing societal, technological and ecological contexts.
Volume Editors
ISBN
978-1-944214-49-4