INCORPORATING A DISASTER-RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN CONCEPT, SAFE-TO-FAIL, INTO CURRICULA

Abstract

With the increasing demands for resilient developments, Architecture/Engineering/ Construction (AEC) education shall be at the forefront of preparing future workforces with advanced knowledge about sustainable and resilient designs. Safe-to-Fail is a resilient urban design concept that anticipates failures during infrastructure systems planning, thus reducing the impact of natural disasters. This study aims to: (1) identify the factors influencing AEC students’ perceptions towards learning Safe-to-Fail; and (2) investigate students’ pedagogical preferences to incorporate Safe-to-Fail concepts in AEC curricula. To achieve this, the study implemented an intervention module including a comprehensive Safe-to-Fail lecture followed by an interactive discussion session and a survey to capture students’ experiences, expectations, and perceptions. The findings indicated that AEC students preferred to learn the Safe-to-Fail concept as a portion of an elective course and that the choice of learning such emerging concepts is significantly correlated to the student’s age, duration spent in the program, and prior knowledge of Safe-to-Fail. This study advocates incorporating Safe-to-Fail in AEC curricula, which provides an edge for future careers and contributes to developing resilient built environments.