The ANCHOR Framework
A Holistic Approach to Transdisciplinary and Regenerative Built Environment Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54337/irspbl-11097Keywords:
Transdisciplinary education, Built environment education, Paradigm agility, Reflective practice, Regenerative futuresAbstract
This paper introduces the ANCHOR Framework, a transdisciplinary pedagogical model for Built Environment (BE) education, developed over a decade of iterative reflective practice (2020-2025). It addresses how conventional BE education, constrained by rigid, discipline-specific paradigms, leaves BE graduates ill- equipped for contemporary complex and systemic regenerative challenges. Utilising Schön’s reflective practices, the framework integrates ontological reframing (e.g., "waste" to "discards"), Lean practices, and systems thinking to cultivate paradigm agility. Data from practioner-led reflective cycles, student artefacts, and institutional feedback demonstrate enhanced student performance and disciplinary maturity. This pedagogy promotes cross-skilling, collaborative and transdisciplinary inquiry, and increase in student motivation for advanced, discipline-adjacent topics like circular economy or regenerative design. The ANCHOR Framework aims to prepare Built Environment graduates to move from siloed disciplinary thinking to actively navigating 'wicked problems' in interdisciplinary teams within transdisciplinary learning environments. This outcome of ANHOR aims to bridging the academic-industry gap by fostering collective adaptive reasoning and leadership for sustainable transformations. This practitioner-led reflection also highlights the need for broader applicability testing and further development.
References
Abam, F. I., Nwachukwu, C. O., Emodi, N. V., Okereke, C., Diemuodeke, O. E., Owolabi, A. B., Owebor, K., Suh, D., & Huh, J. S. (2023). A systematic literature review on the decarbonisation of the building sector—a case for Nigeria. Frontiers in Energy Research, 11(September), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1253825
Altomonte, S., Rutherford, P., & Wilson, R. (2014). Mapping the way forward: Education for sustainability in architecture and urban design. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 21(3), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1311
Antunes, A., Silvestre, J., Costa, H., Carmo, R. do, & Júlio, E. (2024). Reducing the environmental impact of the end-of-life of buildings depending on interrelated demolition strategies, transport distances and disposal scenarios. Journal of Building Engineering, 82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.108197
Brown, V. A., Harris, J. A., & Russell, J. Y. (2010). Tackling Wicked Problems: Through the Transdisciplinary Imagination. Routledge.
Choi, B. C. K., & Pak, A. W. P. (2007). Multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity in health research, services, education and policy: 2. Promotors, barriers, and strategies of enhancement. Clinical and Investigative Medicine, 30(6), 224–232. https://doi.org/10.25011/cim.v30i6.2950
Choi, T. H. (2013). Autobiographical reflections for teacher professional learning. Professional Development in Education, 39(5), 822–840. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2012.737355
Davey, C. (2024). Digital Twin Cities: An Instrument for Pedagogical Change. In S. Geyer (Ed.), Teaching Architecture(s) in the Post-Covid Era: The New Age of Digital Design (1st ed.). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003435396-3
Davey, C., & Macomber, H. (2017). Mastering Lean Leadership with 40 Katas (C. Davey (ed.); 1st ed.). Pemi River Media.
Department of Architecture. (2025). External examiner report: RFP714. University of Pretoria. Unpublished internal document.
Department of Architecture. (2023-2025). Student artifacts from RFP and RFS modules. University of Pretoria. Unpublished internal documents.
Dorst, K. (2018). Mixing Practices to Create Transdisciplinary Innovation: A Design-Based Approach. Technology Innovation Management Review, 8(8), 60–65. https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1179
du Plessis, C. (2024). The Sixth Industrial Revolution Should be Ecological. Buildings & Cities. https://www.buildingsandcities.org/insights/commentaries/sixth-industrial-revolution.html
Ellic, C., & Bochner, A. P. (1999). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), In Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd ed.). Sage.
Flores, F. (2012). Conversations for Action and Collected Essays (M. F. Letelier (ed.); 1st ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Fry, T. (2009). Design futuring : sustainability, ethics, and new practice (English ed). Berg. https://doi.org/LK. https://UnivofPretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/244177166
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The Circular Economy – A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
Goel, A. (2019). Sustainability in construction and built environment: a “wicked problem”? Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 8(1), 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-06-2018-0030
Huyen Nguyen, T., Take, K., & Take, K. (2024). Reviewing of the net-zero energy buildings and housings in Japan. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1402(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755- 1315/1402/1/012004
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow (S. and G. Farrar (ed.); 1st ed). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. https://doi.org/LK - https://UnivofPretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/706020998
Klein, J. T. (2010). Creating interdisciplinary campus cultures : a model for strength and sustainability (1st ed NV). Jossey-Bass/Association of American Colleges and Universities. https://doi.org/LK - https://UnivofPretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/593239769
Klein, J. T. (2021). Beyond Interdisciplinarity: Boundary Work, Communication, and Collaboration. Oxford University Press.
Liboiron, M., & Lepawsky, J. T. A.-T. T.-. (2022). Discard studies : wasting, systems, and power (NV-1 o). The MIT Press. https://doi.org/LK - https://UnivofPretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1287946136
Moen, R. (2009). Foundation and History of the PDSA Cycle. Associates in Process Improvement-Detroit (USA), 2–10. https://www.deming.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2015/PDSA_History_Ron_Moen.pdf
Oliveira, S., Olsen, L., Malki-Epshtein, L., Mumovic, D., & D’Ayala, D. (2022). Transcending disciplines in architecture, structural and building services engineering: a new multidisciplinary educational approach. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 32(2), 1247–1265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-020-09645-3
Purohit, A. (2021). The Zero Waste Strategy: Opportunities and Challenges in Indore city. 9(12), 202–210. www.ijcrt.org
Rittel, H. W. J., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences, 4(2), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01405730
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner : how professionals think in action. In Harper Torchbooks. Basic Books. http://www.gbv.de/dms/bowker/toc/9780465068746.pdf
Schützenhofer, S., Kovacic, I., Rechberger, H., & Mack, S. (2022). Improvement of Environmental Sustainability and Circular Economy through Construction Waste Management for Material Reuse. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su141711087
Spinosa, C., Flores, F., & Dreyfus, H. L. (1999). Disclosing New Worlds. Entrepreneurship, Democratic Action, and the Cultivation of Solidarity. MIT Press.
Wall, S. (2006). An Autoethnography on Learning About Autoethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(2), 146–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690600500205
Wardani, J., Bos, J. J. A., Ramirez-Lovering, D., & Capon, A. G. (2024). Towards a practice framework for transdisciplinary collaboration in planetary health. Global Sustainability, 7. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2024.6
Webster, H. (2008). Architectural Education after Schön: Cracks, Blurs, Boundaries and Beyond. Journal for Education in the Built Environment, 3(2), 63–74. https://doi.org/10.11120/jebe.2008.03020063
Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. L. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6(2), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0132-6
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
