Pedagogy and professional practice of architecture in the context of a climate crisis in Mexico

Abstract

Globalization as well as the exchange and assimilation of traditions and customs through speech such that they involve multicultural approaches in relation to physical and social reality are referential for the academic training of critical-reflexive students. Desirables are study plans and programs focusing on sustainability, interculturality, and interdisciplinarity, which consider ecological skills, expecting transformations to coexist in the context of climate change on various dimensions: political, economic, social, and cultural. Thus, "[...] Cooperate or die", the phrase with which the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, opened COP 27 (2022). The implicit state of emergency is the reason for the exchange of productive/disruptive educational and disciplinary proposals and to find practices, educational and disciplinary wise to act based on theoretical and methodological argumentation hence enriching others worldwide. So, what structure and contents need to characterize a productive/disruptive study plan in architecture, at the Faculty of Architecture and Design (Autonomous University of the State of Mexico) in terms of sustainability, considering dialogue and argumentation? In this sense, the document´s aim is to share the process and procedure needed to update the Bachelor of Architecture study plan at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. The Case Study will consider a mixed approach. For this, a review and analysis of the programs of the learning units that make up the study plan of the degree in question will be carried out and the physical, social and cultural context will be established in which the professional practice of the architect is developed in Mexico in order to establish correlations that can respond to best practices in architectural design and construction that can minimize the impact on the environment and therefore improve the living conditions of the inhabitant of the architectural space.About the latter it is based on Habermas’ communicative action theory, considering the peculiar sociohistorical and material context, to specify the correlations that may respond to desirable practices in architectural design and construction, in terms of sustainability. Architecture education and practice, uncritical (sustainability), stands for another global risk element thus the validity of this collaboration. For the event’s purpose it will consider a global approach that could be replicated internationally. How one learns is figured out by the respective why (meaning) and what (content), alludes to pedagogies for social coexistence and towards the Planet, based on an ethic of aid and reciprocity (human rights) to expand the possibilities of achieving student engagement about disciplinary learning for sustainability’s sake: The 21st century architecture pedagogy requires critical-reflexive students and faculty.