Objective

The team’s vision is to promote educational excellence for undergraduate students studying the built environment (Building Science, Construction Management, Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering, and Civil Engineering Students) through the development and adoption of an unconventional approach to teaching and learning. This project develops a pilot program within the existing Building Science curriculum that replaces the conventional lecture-format course with a project-based (undergraduate) Integrative Design Experience Laboratory (IDEXlab), an integrative design-fabrication-and-assembly studio with the objective of more profound learning as well as more effective and creative teaching. Teaching and learning in the IDEXlab will rely heavily on integrative design approaches, applied research, a wide variety of problem solving activities and approaches, the study of relevant precedents, the design and development of solution prototypes, testing and assessment, and whole-system thinking; the program seeks to promote peer discussion and instruction, effective collaboration, critical thinking, an interest in design and research in Building Science, and the celebration of breakthroughs and discoveries. Program success is directly related to the establishment of an effective pedagogical model that harnesses the abundant energy, innate curiosity, and creative potential of our students and faculty.