Architectural education must evolve to equip students with the sustainability literacy and critical thinking needed to translate global goals into locally relevant design strategies. However, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) frameworks often originate in Global North contexts, overlooking Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and the specific learning needs of students in South Africa and the broader Global South. At the same time, current architectural cohorts seek digitally mediated, socially meaningful learning experiences that many studio pedagogies fail to provide.

This study documents the pre-implementation design process of a proof-of-concept digital knowledge hub for the third-year Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS) studio. The hub is grounded in a three-tier conceptual framework: IKS as the knowledge base, ESD as the mediating pedagogy, and the documented contemporary learning preferences (CLPs) of architectural cohorts as the delivery layer. Using the first four stages of Easterday et al.’s (2014) Design-Based Research (DBR) process – focusing the problem, understanding the problem, defining goals, and conceiving an outline of a solution – the study identifies curricular gaps, translates co-production principles into measurable design objectives, and develops low-fidelity wireframes and a storyboard. Design evaluation was conducted through a comparison matrix, assessing alignment with learner preferences, navigation and user experience, ESD competencies, and Norström et al.’s (2020) sustainability knowledge co-production principles. While the prototype met these criteria in conceptual form, no empirical classroom testing was undertaken at this stage.

The findings demonstrate how theoretical principles can be operationalised into a coherent, culturally grounded digital tool for sustainability education in architecture. By clearly documenting the design rationale and evaluation process, the study provides a replicable pathway for developing equitable, learner-centred digital spaces that embed Indigenous knowledge and sustainability principles which establishes a readiness baseline for future implementation and empirical validation.