Smart Environments for assisted living: a multidisciplinary collaboration in engineering and architecture educationAbstractThis paper presents a description of a collaborative project-based on the integration oftechnology development in the built environment for assisted living. The multidisciplinarycollaboration is developed as a cooperative commitment to provide support for cross-border,collective projects. It was initiated as a project based learning setting between undergraduateengineering students, and four years later the program shifted to include undergraduatearchitecture students and engineering master’s students. The learning experience opens the gateto a completely new collaborative setting, yet to be established
instead exhibited non-cooperative behavior.The author asserted that these individuals thought that collaborative behavior indicatedweakness. As these convictions revealed themselves on projects, expectations were diminished,and distrust then ensued. Consequently, this distrust among project participants eventually led topoor communication, unfruitful conflict, and reduced performance. Many members of theconstruction industry understand this dilemma and attribute the problem to an unwillingness onthe part of the project participants to behave in a collaborative manner and this gives a startingpoint for research regarding how to promote more collaborative attitudes among constructionparticipants within the construction industry.25BackgroundIn 1607
process that involves participatory practice (Emam et al.2019). It requires teams of individuals working together to achieve a singular vision and a predefined setof goals (Crosbie 1995). In a learning environment, students and faculty need to cooperate to achievecommon goals in a highly collaborative nature consistent with the industry the designed building will serve(Daniels 2002). To equip students with the skills for interdisciplinary collaboration, many accreditingboards of different disciplines require collaboration as a learning criterion, although they do not dictatewhich disciplines should collaborate or in what setting (e.g., studio, seminar or lecture) collaboration shouldbe achieved (ABET 2019; NAAB 2020). Although the Landscape
Council (SSRC). From 2004-2007, Professor Sudarshan served on the faculty of the School of Architecture and ENSAV- Versailles Study Abroad Program in France. He has been a recipient of the ”Excellence in Teaching Award” and has been consistently listed on the ”UIUC List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent/Outstanding by their Students” for architecture and civil engineering courses.Ms. Yaxin Li, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Ms. Yaxin Li is currently a Ph.D. student (Building Structures) in the School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her Ph.D. research focuses on the geometric and structural design of deployable structures. She obtained her M.Arch degree from UIUC and B.Arch