From Material Awareness to Structural Responsibility: The Role of Structural Education in Architecture for a Sustainable Built Environment

The materialization of architectural form hinges on the proper adoption of a structural system serving as its carrier, necessitating profound integration of artistic and engineering thought processes in design. Historically unified within the architect’s profession, these domains have been separated for over two centuries, rendering reintegration unlikely. Consequently, cultivating structural intuition in architects is essential to embed feasibility considerations deeply into form-generation. Contemporary non-linear pedagogical models, emphasizing interdisciplinarity and “learning by doing”, facilitate this through simulated full-cycle object creation—from inception and conceptual development to detailed design and realization. Direct material engagement in pre- and post-implementation phases fosters evaluation of design decisions’ environmental impacts and promotes circular material flow thinking. This paper presents the authors’ experiences implementing such an educational model.