PBL 2.0. Interdisciplinary, multicultural transformative sustainable education for design students

This paper will explore the pedagogical implications of a multicultural and interdisciplinary sustainable design workshop organized in two geographically distant but vibrant cities of the world. Students and faculty from four design disciplines came together over seven days to explore sustainability index and design intervention process within dense urban communities in their socio-cultural-economic context. The workshop took place simultaneously in both countries to enable continuous knowledge sharing. Lecturers encouraged integration of practices and knowledge from different disciplines in order to develop design solutions for micro living spaces under a human-based design process. Participants experienced a multicultural and dynamic learning environment where ‘learning from the community’ was paramount. The workshop produced solutions that transcended disciplines. Participants appreciated the process of design and the way of approaching a problem as well as the self-learning process of understanding sustainability, closely linked to lifestyle and culture. The understanding of sustainability is no longer static but dynamic–placed in context.