Teaching Integrated Practice in a Cross-Disciplinary Curriculum

Fundamental shifts are occurring in the way we teach and build. The influence of digital tools, design-build frameworks, and multidisciplinary integrated project teams are affecting the way we design and deliver buildings. As the complexity and interactive communication between disciplines on projects increase it is necessary to introduce changes in the way we teach. This presentation of the Integrated Building Envelope class demonstrates methods for teaching a multidisciplinary professional elective course at Cal Poly. This elective explores how an integrated team approach can be utilized for the design and construction of sophisticated external building envelopes. The class is organized and team-taught by instructors from each of the following disciplines: architecture, architectural engineering and construction management. Choosing external building envelopes as the subject for this class allows students to focus their attention on one aspect of building design – a decision influenced by a 10 week teaching term. By focusing on the building envelope students were able to explore the design, engineering and constructability in greater detail. Lectures were given by instructors and invited guests from industry, including construction managers and cladding manufacturers, exposing the students to a variety of approaches related to the subject. The model for this class is inspired by what is happening in industry today, where there is the need for improved collaborative design, faster product delivery, and more efficient buildings combined with more effective, transparent communication across the entire project team. Currently, research into integrated practice is being supported by professional institutes, including the American Institute of Architects and other AEC related organizations. It is imperative that the curriculum in professional programs reflect these current practices by introducing students to multidisciplinary models and emerging technologies. The influence of pilot classes like this one are potentially far-reaching and create the opportunity of revising professional curricula, hybrid models of instruction and partnerships with industry to stay current with the needs of the real world. The single most devastating consequence of modernism has been the embrace of a process that segregates designers from makers. The architect has been separated from the contractor, and the materials scientist has been isolated from the product engineer. The automotive, shipbuilding and aircraft industries, however, have developed models of engagement that integrate all acts of design and production. Their design departments and production departments have ceased to exist as independent entities within large organizations. Designers and producers are members of a team that comes together to solve specific problems. Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake, “Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Technologies are Poised to Transform Building Construction.” (Kieran and Timberlake 2004:13)