A Modest Proposal for a Transdisciplinary Curriculum for the Design, Construction, Management and Maintenance of Architecture

To date date , there is an impressive body of literature—studies, essays, reports, manifestos, blogs, etc.—that have attempted to analyze and propose solutions to the existing pedagogic issues in architectural education. Historically, most departmental-based courses of study at the university level (graduate or undergraduate) have emphasized a narrow curriculum. typically, each department owns and teaches a separate knowledge set and each member of that department owns and teaches an even more narrow knowledge subset.Yet, real-life architecture demands that practitioners have a more multifaceted knowledge-base and ability—not just in design, but also in fields such as engineering, energy management, economics/finance, technology/information systems, construction management, building maintenance, and environmental science. Unfortunately, the standard of narrow and separate precludes practitioners leaving the university with the complex skills necessary to meet the current and future job requirements in architecture.