Practices contributing to building sustainability: Investigating opinions of architecture students using partial least squares structural equation modeling

Owing to the significant contribution of the architecture profession towards a more sustainable built environment, architecture students need to possess sound knowledge of building sustainability. Identifying gaps in the sustainability understanding of these students is critical to recommend improvements in course curriculum. Even though sustainability related awareness of architecture students has been determined previously, the earlier studies have been limited in terms of their focus on individual institutions and their reliance on simplistic analysis approaches. Accordingly, this study investigates the viewpoint of architecture degree students regarding key sustainability practices in buildings. A questionnaire survey is conducted primarily among undergraduate students of architecture, across eight institutions in six countries, resulting in 203 responses. Survey responses indicate that students find 'Energy', 'Passive and Biophilic', and 'Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)' practices highly relevant to building sustainability. For investigating relationship of various building practices with building sustainability, quantitative modelling is conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Significant relationships are found between building sustainability and 'building materials', 'health interventions', 'energy', 'safety and security' and 'passive and biophilic' constructs. This implies that for these building practices having significant relationships with sustainability, students have better understanding and clarity. However, for other building attributes, their understanding may be lacking and needs attention. Based on these findings, recommendations for the enhancement of architecture curriculum design are proposed. The study findings are expected to support the sustainability learning outcomes for architecture degree students and their agency to contribute to a more sustainable built environment.