Resilient Design Curricula Project Launch
TU Dublin, UCD, SETU, UL, MTU/UCC(CCAE) and ATU are delighted to launch the Human Capital Initiative Resilient Design Curricula projects, thanks to funding from the Higher Education Authority of Ireland.
On Wednesday, 25 May 2022, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris T.D joined all of Ireland’s Architecture students and educators to offer an opening address at the project launch online. The event was attended by students of architecture and educators from across the country of Ireland and over 40 enterprise partners from the architecture, engineering and construction industry, innovative private sector organisations, local authorities, and community climate action groups.
Introducing the project and its objectives were Ms Jennifer Boyer, Vice President for Sustainability at TU Dublin, Ms Emma Geoghegan, Assistant Head of School in Architecture at TU Dublin; Prof. Hugh Campbell, Head of Architecture at UCD; Ms Maire Henry, Head of Department in Architecture & Built Environment at South East Technological University, Prof Kevin McCartney, Director of the Centre for Architectural Education in Cork (a partnership between UCC and MTU), Mr Emmett O’Doherty, Head of Department of the Yeats Academy of Arts, Design, & Architecture, and Prof. Merritt Bucholz, Professor of Architecture at School of Architecture University of Limerick.
The project will pilot a radical revision in architectural education to create Resilient Design Curricula embedded with the principles of the UN SDGs with a focus on Climate Action and Housing for All. The project’s approach will adopt agile models of cooperation, collaboration, and co-learning to create an ecosystem of action and culture change. The six higher education partners delivering architectural education will work together collaboratively along with the profession and industry to engender the knowledge and skills necessary for architects to respond to the twin challenges of the climate and housing crises whilst demonstrating the societal value of inclusive, safe, and resilient design.
The project runs from April 2022 to April 2025, acting as a catalyst to trigger an accelerated transformation process transferable to the wider architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) education sector. This working template provides replicable processes for sharing across all HEIs to deliver entrepreneurial and globally responsible citizens. The Resilient Design Curricula consortium is unique, encompassing an entire discipline area demonstrating the potential for meaningful global impact through national collaboration. Nationally, The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) is an important project partner and is responsible for aligning European professional competencies with national standards and qualifications in architectural education. Additional industry and enterprise partners are drawn from the building design, construction, and development value chains to ensure holistic and wide-ranging output potential.
The project has two parallel strands: developing and implementing curriculum-change pilots for undergraduate students and upskilling of academic programme teams through a new shared suite of CPD modules. The scope of the project spans across all modules to deliver curriculum revision. The curriculum change pilots will utilise the Architectural Design Studio modules shared by all partners as ‘sites’ for education and enterprise exploration, focusing on the first three years of each undergraduate architecture programme.
A pilot will be generated locally to cultivate an ecosystem of impact unique to its institution and context using agile design processes for maximum exchange between students, education, citizens, local authorities, community groups, and industry. The CPD modules will also be developed collaboratively, with each partner developing and delivering at least one CPD module in response to the critical skills needs identified nationally. The modules will be designed and offered as a shared cross-institutional postgraduate award in Architecture for Climate Action.
The project launch video can be viewed here:
For more information or to become a project partner, please contact Jennifer Boyer, Vice President for Sustainability at TU Dublin, at vp.sustainability@tudublin.ie.