Preparing CM Students for Design-Build Projects: Lessons from an Interdisciplinary Integrated Planning and Design Course

10 pages•Published: June 2, 2026

Abstract

Early collaboration is fundamental to integrated project delivery, yet undergraduate programs often isolate disciplines and provide limited opportunities for students to practice effective teamwork. This study reports lessons from an Interdisciplinary Mass Timber Studio that brought together students from Construction Management, Architecture, Architectural Engineering, and Landscape Architecture to work collaboratively on a shared conceptual building project. Using a mixed-methods approach - including pre- and post-course surveys and a faculty interview - the researchers examined changes in students’ collaboration behaviors and disciplinary awareness. Findings revealed that students shifted from viewing teamwork as task division and deadline management to engaging in criteria-based decision-making and role ownership. Persistent challenges included uneven participation and misaligned schedules across departments. Faculty reflection underscored both the benefits of interdisciplinary engagement and the logistical and pedagogical challenges of aligning content, time, and expectations across multiple programs. Overall, the studio advanced students’ collaboration from cooperation toward integration and broadened their understanding of project delivery as a reciprocal, multi-stakeholder process. The findings suggest that mass timber’s authentic design and construction constraints, combined with intentional interdisciplinary practice, accelerate collaborative learning and clarify construction management’s early-stage value. Practical insights are offered for educators seeking to implement interdisciplinary, project-based learning in construction education.

Keyphrases: collaboration, construction education, construction management, interdisciplinary curriculum, mass timber

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference, vol 7, pages 216-225.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/KQHw
	https://doi.org/10.29007/7svz

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2026:Preparing_CM_Students_Design,
  author    = {Maryam Kouhirostami and Kelsey Ginori},
  title     = {Preparing CM Students for Design-Build Projects: Lessons from an Interdisciplinary Integrated Planning and Design Course},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {7},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/KQHw},
  doi       = {10.29007/7svz},
  pages     = {216-225},
  year      = {2026}}

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