After the implementation of Green Building codes in 2013, Bandung in 2017 and Semarang in 2019, as well as the rolled out of Permen PU on green building nationally in 2015, people’s attention to and awareness of green building in Indonesia has improved considerably. However, after several years of implementing the mandatory green building regulations as one of the requirements for obtaining building permit, it became clear that architects as one of the leading actors in implementing green building designs are lacking in both understanding the issues and technical knowledge.
Therefore, it is very logical when International Finance Corporation (IFC) with support from State Secretariat for Economic Affairs – SECO, then run an educational program for architecture students. The pilot program was carried out in 2018 at the Department of Architecture and Planning UGM with teaching modules developed by IFC and supported by ETH Zurich University. Following the successful implementation of the pilot project, judged based on the positive responses from the students, the program is expanded in the following year involving five leading universities in Indonesia: University of Indonesia (UI), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS).
The “core” teaching modules called” Design for Greater Efficiency” was developed by IFC, covering the essential knowledge from the importance of Green Buildings, how to implement passive and active design strategies through developing compelling presentations.
The main objective of the course is to provide students with technical knowledge and design skills for greater efficiency. Unlike many similar courses offering more on conceptual and theoretical approaches, this course stresses more on applied design skills and quantitative approaches. Practical design exercises using EDGE are carried out throughout the course to familiarize the students to the impact of their designs on energy and water consumptions as well as building embodied energy efficiency. Moreover, teaching materials on how to create appealing presentation that will make their designs different from ordinary designs are also given.
At the moment, the implementation of “Design for Greater Efficiency” course is carried out at undergraduate or graduate levels, and as elective course or part of design studio courses depending on the available slots, which is different from one university to the others. Universitas Diponegoro has taken initiative to integrate the course with design studio. In this case, a group of students in their final year voluntarily implement the knowledge and design skills they acquired from the course into their final design studio. Overall, the group of students who developed their building designs using EDGE had showed greater confidence in presenting their project as they were able to back up their design decisions quantitatively.