Pedagogy 2025

Abstract

The article examines the integration of sustainable development into architectural education. The year-long Wood Program at Aalto University is used as a case study, where teaching focuses on holistic understanding of wood as a material from the forest to the finished building project. Wood as a renewable, low-carbon material provides a context for studying sustainable development in theory and practice. The article evaluates the learning content, teaching methods, and the approaches and objectives related to sustainable construction in the courses. Four different types of courses are assessed: a lecture, a research, a design and a design-built course. The last one applies the learned knowledge to a practical design and construction task. The study highlights the challenges and limitations of integrating sustainability topics into students’ learning paths. It is based on a framework of educational theory and sustainable development and examines how course content, teaching methods and practical experiences influence students’ understanding of sustainable architecture and their readiness to apply knowledge to design tasks. The article is based on qualitative analysis, using course assignments, teaching methods, outputs, and learning outcomes as data. By analyzing and comparing the pedagogical strategies and practical experiences used in these courses, the article contributes to the discussion on sustainable construction education. It offers insights into how teaching based on building materials, design and experimentation can promote ecological literacy. The article identifies gaps, makes recommendations for improving sustainability education in architecture education and searches for tools to address current challenges in the built environment.