Using Integrated Student Teams to Advance Education in Sustainable Design and Construction

This article describes a case study involving a Midwestern public university that incorporated an integrated, cross-disciplinary project delivery activity to create an effective framework for sustainable design and construction education. The article first provides an overview of sustainable construction and its advantages, describes how sustainable design and construction requires a modernized project delivery system to work effectively, and discusses the primary impacts of sustainable design and construction on the construction industry. The article then describes how one large Midwestern university has attempted to use integrated, multidisciplinary student teams to advance the concept of sustainable design and construction in the classroom environment. Curricula that include interdisciplinary courses on integrated delivery and leadership in construction, engineering and architecture could better prepare students for their future careers in the building industry and develop better managers and colleagues.This is the authors' final manuscript of an article from International Journal of Construction Education and Research 7 (2011): 22–40, doi:10.1080/15578771.2010.512034. Posted with permission.</p