Neighborhood-oriented and regenerative programming in teaching

Abstract

The Interdisciplinary Project (IDP) is a central teaching format of the master’s degree program “Resource-efficient and Sustainable Building” at the Technical University of Munich. The paper presents the IDP design studio as a case study for a transformative approach to sustainable building design. It introduces the “neighborhood-oriented and regenerative programming” approach: First, students analyze sustainability aspects at the neighborhood level and develop an urban vision. Then, they combine it with the building analysis of an existing building to develop a building transformation concept. This forms the basis for creating mixed-use, resilient building designs with added value for the neighborhood.

The paper demonstrates the pivotal role of programming in the design process, linking urban-scale issues to building design. This way, collaborative programming can incorporate considerations of human well-being and planetary boundaries to address global challenges. A systemic approach supports dealing with high complexity. To recognize interdependencies for building concepts and design, skills of interdisciplinary collaboration such as communication and conflict management are crucial.