Architectural education has paid very little attention to the vulnerability of the built heritage to climate change and has overlooked the contribution of heritage to the development of climate-adaptive strategies for a resilient society. Heritage contributes to social cohesion, sustainable development and psychological well-being. Thus, protecting heritage means promoting resilience. In the architecture curriculum, the little importance of heritage has pointed out two important needs: the introduction of innovative learning methods to ease the understanding of heritage; 2. the adoption of an interdisciplinary educational approach as the most appropriate framework for studying the complexity of climate change and to overcome the current divide between research and education. To achieve these goals, education should adopt methods that create a high level of interactivity and adjustability to changing environment and an education directed towards critical thinking. In short, an education able to build a new set of skills, enhanced with ICT-based technologies, that allows a comprehensive climate-sensitive and environmentally friendly professional action. To enhance the relevance, qualities and impact of heritage in architectural design education/research, e-CREHA (education for Climate Resilient European Architectural Heritage) aims to provide an innovative e-learning course and methodology based upon blending learning that focuses on developing climate-resilience for built heritage across Europe. e_CREHA overcomes time-related, geographical and economical limitations. It provides innovative input of new approaches and renewed interpretations of content and methods regarding resilient architectural heritage and climate change in education; it expands students’ intellectual resources and build a new climate-sensitive set of skills. Finally, it enhances students’ qualifications in the face of competitiveness in the economy and job creation through societal challenge-based learning. Bringing together the multiple disciplines of architecture and built environment, heritage studies, engineering, design, climate science, and software technologies and informatics, e-CREHA aims to innovate education and to develop a multi-disciplinary knowledge for building a culture of prevention and mitigation (culture of preparedness) to address climate change. e-CREHA project activities create a joint platform of collaboration, co-learning and cooperation among six partners universities, departments and research institutions extending across Europe. They pursue the following four strategic actions: i. Promote an international accredited course on climate resilient architectural heritage as incubator of innovation and backbone for experimentation of new curriculum courses; ii. Provide pedagogical training for new tutors through peer teaching method; iii. Nurture a collaborative and interactive flexible learning environment for tutors and learners, and strengthen interactive dialogue between partner universities and the wider community; iv. Structure an interactive knowledge, research and experience exchange through e-CREHA e-learning course that will draw a wider readership on climate resilient European heritage as a core subject of a discursive collaboration. These objectives are incorporated into the project activities that include: i. Cross-cultural pedagogies that maps and analyses existing courses and best practices; ii. Learning modules (8 modules) that addresses one of the key aspects of climate resilience as a theme each semester; ii. Training through tutors’ workshops (2) for pedagogical exchange and knowledge sharing through peer teaching method; iv. Research labs that test the learning modules through 3 Intensive Programs (ISPs) in different higher education institutions (partners) and based on “research by design” methodology. The e-CREHA consortium consists of: - Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), NL (coordinator) - University of Economics and Technology (TOBB ETU), TR - Università degli Studi del Molise (UNIMOL), I - Institut National des Sciences Appliqués Strasbourg (INSA), F - Sofiiski Universitet Sveti Kliment Ohridski (SU), BG - Norsk Institutt for Kulturminneforskning (NIKU), N The expected outcome for the participating partners is to develop the e-CREHA learning course to raise students’ awareness on heritage contribution to climate change and to acquire new knowledge and a new set of skills that will foster students’ scope and responsibility towards the development of a climate-resilient European heritage. Finally, this course binds innovative approaches developed in educational settings with professional practice.
This project has created a joint platform of collaboration, co-learning and cooperation among seven partners, and has successfully achieved the following four objectives: 1. Promote an international course on climate resilient architectural heritage as incubator of innovation and backbone for experimentation of new curriculum courses; 2. Provide pedagogical training for new tutors through peer teaching methods; 3. Nurture a collaborative and interactive flexible learning environment for tutors and learners, and strengthen interactive dialogue between partner universities and the wider community; 4. Structure an interactive knowledge, research and experience exchange through e-CREHA learning course that will draw a wider readership on climate resilient European heritage as a core subject of a discursive collaboration.
This project aims to innovate education in the field of architecture, planning and spatial studies through the development and delivery of a multi-disciplinary innovation-based knowledge, and for building a culture of prevention and mitigation for built heritage to cope with climate change. The project has developed and delivered an innovative e-learning course and methodology based upon blending learning targeting students and young professionals coming from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, concentrated on developing climate-resilience for built heritage across Europe. The higher education within the field of the built environment has so far paid little attention to the vulnerability of the built heritage to climatic impacts, and how heritage can contribute to climate-adaptive strategies for a resilient society. Heritage education can play an important role in developing climate adaptation competencies to foster positive climate change dialogues, shift attitude and inspire actions. The e-CREHA project thus addresses two important needs: 1) To deliver an inter- and multi-disciplinary e-learning course to tackle the interdisciplinary knowledge gap; 2) To introduce innovative teaching and learning methods.