In response to the pressing challenges of the housing crisis and the climate catastrophe, Building Change is a pioneering initiative to reshape the architectural curricula to prioritise sustainability. The radical transformation of how and what we teach is a collaborative undertaking by all six schools of architecture in Ireland and the new curricula is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Irish Government policies on climate and housing.

As part of this curricula transformation, staff at all six schools, as well as practicing architects, are undertaking a comprehensive continuing professional development (CPD) programme. Each school has committed to delivering at least one module which have been developed and tailored to address critical skills gaps, such as integrated architectural design, housing, embodied carbon calculations, material specification and practical sustainable design strategies.

TU Dublin has launched two modules – one on biodiversity and the other on ‘Whole Life Design’, which originated as a theoretical resource for the March Collaborative Studio at TU Dublin. Targeted at design educators in related disciplines, such as architectural technology and engineering, the Whole Life Design module aims to provide a pathway towards an integrated, holistic and sustainable architectural practice.

Spread over eight sessions covering theory, critical papers and case study analysis, the Whole Life Design programme concludes with a roundtable meeting where participants share their experiences. Over eight weeks the topics explored included:

  • Data – the importance of data for informing design decisions.
  • Flexibility/Adaptability – future-proofing the environment by being flexible and adaptable to unpredictable events.
  • POA/POE – the importance of Post Occupancy Analysis/Evaluation, the theory and practice of POAs/POEs.
  • Embodied Carbon/Energy – climate literacy, embodied carbon and energy theory, and the interrogation of data.
  • Operational Energy/Carbon – climate literacy, operational carbon and energy theory, and the interrogation of data.
  • Shearing Layers – the idea of demountability and resilient flexibility, and the idea of material circularity.
  • Focus on Durability – an examination of durability with an interrogation of service life and cost implications over time.
  • Building Environmental Assessment Methods, focused on BREEAM and LEED – an introductory tour of the main audit and quality accreditation programmes.

The Whole Life Design CPD training is not an end goal, but an ongoing process which will help educators to empower students so that they can fully understand their calculations and reflect on, critique and calibrate their own work.

Educators were asked to imagine which aspects of the training would be logical for students at different stages of their education. By teaching integrated design techniques and establishing a different numerical and conceptual literacy regarding use of data, techniques, and strategies, students can take ownership of their decisions about how we should build the future. Just as our students are encouraged to embrace uncertainty, it is the same for our professional colleagues.  The Whole Life Design module provides a foundation that fosters agility and resilience that promotes in turn adaptability and durable architectural responses.

Through meaningful engagement and collaboration with industry professionals and the wider architectural community, the Building Change CPD programme raises questions on critical issues regarding how architects practice.

Maroun Tabbal, Lecturer and Building Change Coordinator at CCAE, recently completed the Whole Life Design Course. He said:

“This is an exciting step in our radical transformation of the architecture curricula in Ireland. To equip students with the skills and knowledge and outlook they need to build differently, we need to start with how we teach. We are the first country in the world to do this on a nationwide level, to introduce such extensive transformation at such a scale.”

Building Change is funded by the Irish Government’s Human Capital Initiative Pillar 3. To keep up-to-date make sure to follow us on social media: