Project-based Learning: Interdisciplinary Collaboration of Bio-facades in Urban Environment

Interdisciplinary collaboration has gained more importance in both academia and practice as a result of increasing demand on environmental agenda and building energy efficiency. Many building projects show the need for architects, engineers and building scientists with integrated backgrounds that span different disciplines. This integrated and collaborative design approach will prepare students to think critically in other design situations and real world problems. While it is clear that we do not currently integrate the important subjects of design, engineering, materials science, and fabrication/construction in architectural design, the advantage of doing so is apparent. The paper was developed based on an interdisciplinary class offered in the School of Architecture at University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2013 Spring term. The interdisciplinary class consisted of faculty and students from architecture, biology, and mechanical and civil engineering to develop a bio-façade system to enhance building sustainability under a NSF-EPA grant. Our overarching pedagogical goal was to give students a multidisciplinary experience in problem solving on a research project through integrating innovative technology into a broad spectrum of solutions. Twenty-four students from four departments initiated fundamental research in environmentally responsible design and provided a specific task that contributes to the research project goals and sustainable design pedagogy. Outcomes of this interdisciplinary class include new materials for use in teaching, faculty prepared to teach in new ways, and a student population able to benefit from this project-based interdisciplinary learning approach.

Volume Editors
Alice Kimm & Jaepil Choi

ISBN
978-0-935502-91-6