Architecture is Education

Architecture is Education - Global Award for Sustainable Architecture

Education in architecture is a driving force behind the sustainability principles endorsed by the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. This book illustrates how education—with the core element of knowledge transfer—aligns with the principles of the award through four key educational categories, and how the methodological approaches of the winners relate to these categories.

The volume at hand, Architecture Is Education, emphasizes the connection between the various topics of education and the principles of sustainability in architecture. How can education contribute to sustainability, among other things, and how does education positively influence the future outcome in the architectural field? Which practices and methods are promising, forward-looking, and necessary for the development of the discipline?

The publication is based on interviews with the five award-winning architects, with a focus placed on the four categories in the field of education outlined below and on selected underpinning projects by this year’s winners. It provides the reader with a framework for approaching education through the lens of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture.

Experimentation in architecture involves projects that try out new and creative ways to navigate toward innovation processes and new paths. Architects in this category approach projects as experiments by testing new technologies, materials, and designs. In doing so, they push the boundaries of traditional architecture and contribute to the transfer of knowledge through new experiences.

Dissemination, in the field of architectural education, refers to architects sharing sustainable knowledge with a wide audience. They do so by sharing good practices, conducting research, releasing publications, attending conferences, or creating easy-to-understand educational materials. These efforts contribute steadily to spreading awareness of the principles of sustainable architecture.

Consulting in architectural education is about practitioners sharing their knowledge and skills to guide others in the industry. This may involve advising individuals or institutions on a range of sustainable architecture topics. Guidance, as part of education, ensures that specialist know-how is passed on effectively. The advisors’ knowledge transfer should positively influence decision-makers, especially when such decisions are made by nonexperts or people not involved in the discipline.

Training in architectural education prepares students with the practical skills and hands-on knowledge needed for sustainable architecture. This process includes workshops, courses, and participation in initiatives that practice sustainability in construction and convey its importance. By educating the next generation of architects and students in related fields, training is becoming an increasingly important instrument for learning how to put theory into practice.

Architecture Is Education examines the methods, tools, and approaches within four educational categories, illustrating how architects act as catalysts for education in sustainable thinking and action. By presenting the different approaches of the five award-winning architects, the book provides a methodological tool kit demonstrating the importance of education in the context of sustainability.

By drawing insightful conclusions from the interviews and the presentation of the architectural projects, the volume facilitates the identification of parallel patterns in the architects’ working methods across continents. The practical discourse goes beyond mere documentation, creating a dialogue that draws further insights from the various concepts developed by the architects presented in this volume.

About the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture

The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture was founded in 2006 by the architect and scholar Jana Revedin, together with the Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine, the cultural partner of the award. The Global Award Community, which now consists of 80 contemporary architects from around the globe who have received the award, works towards a sustainable architectural ethics and fosters research, experimentation and transmission in the fields of sustainable architecture, urban renewal and academic social responsibility. It defines architecture as an agent of empowerment, self-development and civic rights.

The Global Award is under the patronage of UNESCO.

The scientific jury – chaired by Jana Revedin, founder and president of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture – is composed of :
Catherine Chevillot, President, Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Paris, France
Marie-Hélène Contal, architect, Dean of the Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture, Paris, France
Professor Dr. Jacopo Galli, architect, IUAV University, Venice, Italy
Professor Spela Hudnik, architect, Ljubljana University, Slovenia
Professor Dr. Deniz Incedayi, architect, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Jana Revedin, architect, founding president of the Global Award for Sustainable ArchitectureTM, Venice, Italy
Honorary member: Professor Chris Younès, psychosociologist, doctorate and HDR in philosophy, École Spéciale d’Architecture