Gaps and Overlaps Between Vitruvian and Sustainability Triads: An Empirical Mapping from Ethiopian Architectural Education Experiences

This study empirically investigates the interplay between two foundational knowledge frameworks in architectural design education: the Vitruvian triad (Architectural Knowledge Traditions—AkT) and the Triple Bottom Line (Sustainability Knowledge Traditions—SkT). Focusing on Ethiopia as a case of non-industrial urbanization in the Global South, where socio-economic realities diverge from Global North contexts, the research examines how the six variables within these frameworks interact within pedagogical practice. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines questionnaires from senior architectural design instructors across 13 universities with a critical content analysis of university exit model-examinations. Analyzed through specific theoretical lenses, findings reveal a critical divergence: while instructors demonstrate strong theoretical awareness of complementarity between the two traditions, their model-assessment focuses contradict this stance. The analysis reveals a fundamental skew toward an inherited environmental doctrine, where the Venustas–Environment coupling dominates at the expense of social and economic survival imperatives. The study concludes that these “knowledge overlaps” do not inherently warrant successful integration but instead reflect a “design–reality gap” fueled by globalized doctrines and knowledge coloniality. The study concludes by providing the empirical grounding necessary to dismantle the often-universalized norms, arguing for a localized matrix that centers epistemological autonomy within architectural education in the Global South.