This paper argues the emerging needs of incorporating regional eco-material archive in design education from the
perspective of the constructivist point of view and active learning approaches. It is a critical reflection on the pedagogical
development on sustainable product design education in School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University since the 90’s. Action research method is carried out into the longitudinal reflective study in which the
continuous refinement of the educational approaches will be reviewed with the illustration of different types of cases
and initiatives of the teaching activities. The summary includes the recommendations of a framework to support
active learning with physical eco-materials archive and cases to enable the design exploration about the cycle of local
resources, local production, local consumption, and local recycling.

Authors: Lee Y.H. Brian, Leong, Ding Benny