As architectural education evolves, integrating sustainability demands more than technological solutions; it requires an experiential understanding of physical and spatial design qualities. However, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in architecture has often been shaped by Global North-centric technical approaches, promoting one-size-fits-all solutions. A more holistic understanding, incorporating the cultural and environmental realities of the Global South, remains underexplored. This research investigates how sensory perception, informed by Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and phenomenology, can enhance architectural ESD by fostering contextually grounded design approaches.

This paper explores learning experience design as an iterative, reflective, and inclusive praxis through the development and application of the African Abacus, a visual taxonomy designed to map and evaluate inclusive learning design processes. Responding to gaps in the literature on collaborative reflection within non-formal learning contexts in the Global South, the study examines how multidisciplinary design teams conceptualised and created online short courses for a newly established architecture school in South Africa. Anchored in Freirean praxis and ecosystem-of-learning theory, the research adopts an autoethnographic approach in which seven contributors reflected on their roles, decisions, and projected student experiences.

This research reflects on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and Pattern Theory in architectural and design education and how it may inform the design process, projects, assessments, and research in this space. We are increasingly bombarded by new technologies and an abundance of information. The rapid evolvement of AI has created many uncertainties. Might AI take away our jobs? Will AI kill creativity? How will we know who has produced the work? How do we as educators and students make sense of these technologies and use it (or not) in our education and practice? Can we possibly discover through AI new tools and possibilities and ways of working that contribute positively to what we do?