A Methodology to Develop Judgment Skills in Sustainable Architectural Education

Students of sustainability, in particular architectural students, are faced with a vast body of
published work that forms an important part of their reference library. The idea of the precedent
study is, traditionally, central to the education of an architectural student, introducing them to
exemplary projects of all types. However many of the buildings published and purporting to be
‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ lack rigorous and impartial review. In the absence of such credible evidence
how is a student, or for that matter, their instructor, to know that a particular building is an authentic
exemplar upon which to base research or teaching.
This paper presents a project and the methodology used by second year architectural students in
University College Dublin designed to instil a strong sense of discernment in the student,
developing critical and research skills that enable them to differentiate between an authentic
sustainable exemplar and one over which there may be doubt.
The project first asked each student to arrive at their own definition of sustainable architecture.
This was then tested by applying it to three ‘sustainable’ projects of their own choice. They were
then asked to choose the most credible of those three and apply a specifically developed
environmental rating system, supplied to them, against which to assess their chosen exemplar.
The objective and result of the project was to develop within each student the ability to research
authoritative information online, in books and journals and to use this to support and argue for
authentic exemplars of sustainable practices in architectural design. The highest rated case
studies were then available to the whole class as genuine examples of the highest international
standard in sustainable architectural practice.
The best five exemplars of the class were then published in a national sustainable construction
magazine, Construct Ireland, along with the methodology developed for the project and used in
their assessment.