Building to Succeed: Architectural Aesthetics & Structural Engineering
Kathy L. Braunschweig Black Middle School
Architectural detailing and design, the art of architecture, must never hide the larger structural forms. ~ Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Principles of Architecture
Figure 1, Highway 59 Bridge, Houston, TX (Photo by K. Braunschweig)
INTRODUCTION Why would a fairly new bridge in Houston be adorned with four big, brightly red, and completely superfluous, balls at its entrance? Traveling over miles of other more conservatively designed concrete and steel bridges, students in most any major city can also see an impressive downtown skylines filled with imposing and recognizable corporate skyscrapers. Why don’t big buildings have big red balls? Looking at bridges and skyscrapers worldwide, what accounts for their similarities and their differences? Architectural design blends form and structure and aesthetics along with those elements contributing to structural integrity. A work of architecture, whether a bridge or building, satisfies both the criteria of function and form, constructive strength and aesthetic effect (Zannos 9). For example, an American design for twin towers, like the World Trade Center, offers an aesthetically different form from its Asian counterpart, the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, though both incorporate similar function structures of load-bearing walls, beams, cores, and columns. Built not only to meet functional and structural considerations, both these buildings become iconic architectural works of art by blending form and function into their design. In a larger sense, the construction of buildings and bridges define the landscape of cultures, time periods, and directly impacts the quality of life. A shifting background of human growth and expansion reflects both technological and architectural changes of particular cultural expectations. Classic and romantic philosophies merge to create a concrete reality. How does that reality, manifested through surroundings of specific building shapes, impact the life experiences of the people living in those constructs? How does architectural setting affect students arriving at
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school each day? Environment matters. The milieu of culture expressed through architectural elements directly impact life experiences. How does architecture positively or negatively impact the learning experiences of children? Perhaps students’ perception of the world, how successfully they relate to and create the world they live in, like magnificent architecture, can be built. Analyzing and evaluating the romantic perspective of aesthetics and the classical perspective of engineering, students build their own academic success. More importantly, taking responsibility for their own learning and actively engaging in building their academic success, can lead students to building more functional societies changing both the shape of cultural and physical landscapes.
Figure 2, Houston Skyline, 2005 (Photo by K. Braunschweig) Crossing bridges, seeing superlative skylines and beautiful buildings in a plethora of geometric shapes can open students to an understanding of how math and structural engineering impacts their daily lives and how they can become involved in the building of their own lives and their own community. Simultaneously, students explore the separation of classical and romantic understanding, the art of architecture juxtaposed with the scientific underlying forms of structural engineering. As creating the application of abstract concepts is an expected extension of learning, students may begin to grasp the notion that the substance and subject of learning is not isolated in time or space but has a direct relationship to their lives in which their own investment in caring and attention must be paid. Too often students are passive in their own learning, seeing school primarily as a tool for social interaction rather than an opportunity for intellectual growth and as a period of time to be passed with the least amount of effort, completing assignments from which they are disconnected and focusing on the earning of grades rather than meaningful sense- making. Students can take a more active role in building their own learning through hands-on applications and problem solving, replacing the attitude of spectator with that of attentive participant crafting understanding. Structural engineering is a process, at its core an application of math and science. Students can be taught to think like structural engineers: asking questions, becoming problem-solvers, learning from the past, designing within constraints, applying math and science, and working as effective team members to turn ideas into reality (Space Center Houston Exhibit, 2005). Asking students to apply math and science concepts in a constructivist fashion, building their own bridges, experimenting with their own designs, examining possibilities for new applications rather than passively listening to lectures and coming away with only a vague understanding of basic math and science concepts can ignite passion for the sciences and build success.
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Figure 3, World Trade Center, New York Architecture and structural engineering invites students to make a connection to society offering the challenge of real life application of shapes and math. As a doorway to new designs, students can explore the larger questions underlying the construction of culture, make alternate models, and begin contributing in a tangible way. Teaching quality and providing an authentic learning experience through the exploration of concrete applications of math and science enables students to make the discoveries necessary before applying their newly acquired knowledge. Requiring active participation and direct contact with materials and the creative process, students can take ownership of their learning, becoming more responsible. Ultimately grasping their role as a member of a larger community, students can begin to realize the inter-connectedness of what they are learning, or not learning, builds not only an individual life but also a larger society. Surroundings count. What students value directly contributes to how the world appears. Culture changes based upon value systems. The physical environment is directly impacted by cultural changes and shifts in values. Without building success and a strong foundation in math and science, what will their world look like? Through building architectural constructs, engaging in problem solving, examining the creative process and experimenting and testing design and the underlying structural engineering creating it, students discover what can be important. If students take an active role in building their community, will society look differently than it does now? The educational landscape of students’ lives can be built more effectively not only by inviting students to engage as active participants in their own learning but designing curriculum requiring mindful attention to meaningful sense-making. Students become aware through hands-on learning that they can create and make meaningful contributions often having a direct and immediate impact in their lives.
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Figure 4, Petronas Towers, Malaysia (BootsnAll Travel Network. Posted by Pearce) Without requiring students to have a basic understanding of math and science though, in the context of an invigorating and rigorous academic curriculum, how will bridges and buildings continue to be built in America? The educational missteps of social promotion, “teaching to the test,” and focusing on student bonding and self-esteem rather than academic rigor incur a higher cost to society than simply undereducated kids. Math and science are the underpinnings of buildings and bridges. However, in 2005, the National Science Foundation published data indicating the United States now produces far fewer engineers than ever before (Herbold 1). Currently, China produces three times the number of engineers as the U.S. and overall, students graduating with a bachelor’s degree in the fields of engineering and science have dropped dramatically. Dr. R.E. Smalley, the Nobel winning scientist said, “By 2010, 90 percent of all Ph.D. physical scientists and engineers in the world will be Asian and living in Asia” (Quoted in Herbold 1). The underlying problem further exacerbating the decline of the education of future scientists in the United States is the abysmal academic performance of K-12 students within science subjects. For example, only two percent (2%) of all 12th graders are ranked as “advanced” in science by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) while only sixteen percent (16%) were even ranked as being “proficient.” How is it that eighty-four (84%) of all graduating high school seniors in America are not proficient in science and have failed to learn even the basics? Further, in math, the language of science, a full ninety percent (90%) of students in all other countries ranked higher than students in the United States (Herbold 2). Clearly, students have not actually constructed a meaningful understanding in math or science, despite the rationalizations of the educational community, and need to start building to succeed. Seeing physical differences in the world around them, students can learn from the external aesthetics of architecture and begin to apply the unseen engineering principles creating each particular structure. Examining the cultural base and value systems associated with architecture constructs and evaluating the impact of architecture on society invites students to contribute in their community. While embracing the diversity of buildings and bridges, students may also come to appreciate the cultural impact of architecture on societies. Ideally, students will begin to evaluate the external differences and the complex similarities comprising architecture as an analogy to apply to the people inhabiting the buildings and crossing the bridges.
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ACADEMIC SETTING Building to Succeed will be taught in “The Academy” at F. M. Black Middle School located in the Northwest District of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in Houston, Texas. The Academy is housed on the campus serving as a credit remediation program offered to at-risk and over-age students who have failed one or more academic grades. The population is minority- majority comprised completely of Hispanic and African American students. Students manifest moderate to severe behavior problems, are defiant toward authority, and often appear disengaged with the mainstream American value system. The majority of students arrive as emergent readers (most being assessed with a 2nd to 3rd grade reading level), and are oftentimes violent and reluctant learners. Truancy, vandalism, physical assaults and profanity are commonplace at Black Middle School making teaching and learning more challenging than is the case within more affluent or disciplined academic settings. Currently, Black Middle School has not met Texas State Standards for proficiency in math or science; student academic achievement within the Academy is lower than the general school population. Building to Succeed has been designed to be successfully implemented within 6th through 8th grade language arts classes with a literature base and within the context of science classes. As this unit does require a modicum of materials for experiments as well as regular access to online resources, computer and digital technology, all of which F.M. Black Middle School currently does not provide, the need for adequate supplies may be mitigated through technology grants. Though designed to be taught at a low-performing inner-city school, Building to Succeed can be easily differentiated and adapted to meet the needs of diverse student populations from At-Risk to Gifted & Talented ranging from elementary through high school grade levels. As an interdisciplinary unit, components of Building to Succeed may be emphasized for inclusion in language arts classes rather than solely for implementation in science or social studies curriculum. UNIT OBJECTIVES Building to Succeed is an interdisciplinary curriculum unit aligned with Texas state science and language arts curriculum objectives and is comprised of two main components: Component One: Structural Engineering; a discovery of basic structural engineering principles coupled with student experimental construction. Component Two: Architectural Design; an overview of architectural design and anthropological exploration of buildings, skyscrapers, and bridges focusing on the 20th century North American and European traditions. The overarching goal, however, is engaging students to become active participants in their own learning. Focusing on critical thinking skills, problem-solving, and student analysis and evaluation, objectives will be met through center-based discovery learning, interactive on-line labs, team construction projects, partner research, peer teaching, and cooperative learning groups. Specific student-generated products will include: · architectural periods timeline · architect study with tri-fold presentation · building diorama comparing and contrasting two architectural designs · PowerPoint presentation of a student-selected architectural period · structural engineering experiments · tri-fold building brochure · construction of one sound physical structure—bridge or skyscraper · class dictionary of structural engineering and architectural terms
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Methodology Both Component One: Structural Engineering and Component Two: Architectural Design adhere to critical pedagogy as the philosophical foundation for instruction. Each lesson will begin with an open-ended question posited, such as “What is Architecture?” or “How does design impact culture?,” to engage students in critical thinking and begin the process of becoming actively engaged in their own learning rather than passively awaiting the delivery of information. Many of the assignments use a skilled-based approach and pre-AP strategies as opposed to focusing solely on content acquisition. A key element used throughout the entire unit is organized around higher-order thinking skills. Walking on their path toward meaningful learning through imitation and modeling, “all students should begin to practice higher-level thinking immediately…and [higher-level thinking] should be practiced not only as school skills but also as life skills” (Brandon 18). During the unit, students will engage in six different levels of cognition skills: (modified from Bloom’s Taxonomy) remember, understand, demonstrate, analyze, evaluate, and create. Students will generate and respond to three different types of questions: Level One Questions: Remember and Understand Examples: What is a column? What happens when a load is too heavy for a bridge? How can a cantilever bridge be described? What is ductility? Level Two Questions: Apply and Analyze Examples: In what ways are bridges similar? What is the relationship between form and function? What values motivate the architect or structural engineer to design as they do? What can we learn from structural failures? Level Three Questions: Evaluate and Create Examples: What are the connections between the architectural elements of skyscrapers in America and Malaysia? How does this structure impact society? What is good architecture? The focus of the assignments will not simply be problem-solving activities, (the finding of a solution with which to resolve a difficulty), but will instead focus on critical thinking skills, that process which demands students find a choice from alternatives and create new ideas or products (Brandon 27). As students explore the content of architecture and structural engineering, they will be focusing on close reading, grammar, and composition. Students will be required to complete assignments independently, as a member of small cooperative learning group, and within a whole class discussion setting. Heterogeneous collaborative grouping will also be utilized, though not as the primary instructional strategy. As cooperative learning groups are frequently overused in education and fail to provide students with sufficient time to practice skills independently (Marzano 88), this type of group work will be limited to weekly systematic implementation. Opportunities for each cooperative learning group to peer teach, make presentations, and evaluate other groups’ work are entwined into each component’s lessons. Discovery learning centers will be the primary instructional strategy. These constructs are designed for small groups of students to work interdependently with other students with the teacher acting as facilitator. Each center has information presented as a foundational support for further research and completion of assignments along with study guides and review. Though not assigned to a specific heterogeneous learning group, students move through the center activities with other students helping one another to learn and developing interpersonal and small group skills.
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Classroom management of learning centers is met through the use of student tickets, teacher- generated half-sheets of paper identifying each center and providing completion verification for students to move from one center to another upon completion of the center activity. At least five, but no more than seven, centers have been constructed for each component. Each learning center provides a foundational introduction to a particular subject and assignments for student discovery. For example, on a teacher-generated tri-fold, the background of truss design for bridges may be presented, terms introduced, mathematical concepts discussed providing the student group with a brief study guide and review and an assignment for the student group to research a specific bridge and conduct an experiment using materials at the center for the construction and testing of a truss. Finally, each center is specifically designed to provide a similar amount of research and experiment activity time so students remain evenly spread through the classroom rather than herding en mass to one or two centers to the exclusion of others. The centers for both the architectural study and the structural engineering principles will be teacher-generated using display boards, materials for experimentation and computer resources. Students will examine the relationships of architecture and culture, form and function, and discover the reasons for the inclusion of particular structural elements. Students will be able, through a systemic use of critical thinking skills, to examine architecture and discern the reason for the design, its elements, underlying cultural value system supporting the aesthetic effect and its economic, social or political impact on communities. Vocabulary At the outset of the unit, an introduction to commonly used words of architecture and structural engineering will be explored using literature and student group work in the context of word webs, as reinforcement parts of speech review, and incorporating the online resources and labs (Carver). The basic list of terms to be addressed will include, but are not limited to: Abutment, Aluminum, Anchorage, Aqueduct, Arch, Architect, Balustrade, Baroque, Beam, Bridge, Brace, Brittle, Buckle, Buttress, Cable, Cable -Stayed Bridge, Cantilever, Cement, Classicism, Coffer, Cofferdam, Column, Compression, Concrete, Continuous Span Beam Bridge, Core, Culture, Deck, Dome, Ductile, Engineering, Expressionism, Force, Functionalism, Girder, Gothic, Load, Masonry, Modernism, Palladian, Perimeter, Pillar, Pressure, Neoclassicism, Reinforced Concrete, Rigid, Shear, Span, Spire, Skyscraper, Stable, Steel, Strong, Suspension Bridge, Tension, Torsion, Tower, Truss, Unstable, Values, Vault. Differentiated vocabulary lists for specific classes or truss noun learning groups may present as emergent curriculum and A supporting structural framework will be included as students focus on individualized usually made from wooden beams, areas of study. Collaborative groups will be responsible steel, or reinforced concrete. for researching a specific group of vocabulary words so that in jigsaw fashion, combined together with the research from other groups, create a whole dictionary of terms. All terms will be presented as vocabulary squares identifying each term, its definition, part of speech,
Trains rumbled over an old truss sentence, and visual graphic. Each group will peer teach bridge before heading into the valley. their group of words to the whole class using a PowerPoint presentation and combine their vocabulary cartoons into a class dictionary. Students will have access to the database of vocabulary terms along with the dictionary as they work through the requirements of the unit.
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COMPONENT ONE: STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING Through hands-on experimentation and problem-solving, students will begin to discover the underlying principles of structural engineering to understand the forces a bridge must withstand: dead load (the bridge’s own weight), live load (the traffic crossing the bridge), environmental loads (wind, water, earthquakes, etc.), and the types of forces that can stress bridges: tension (pulls apart), compression (pushes together), shear (cutting through), and torsion (twisting). Certain building materials have strengths to cope with these forces: tensile strength, compression strength, etc. For example, stone has good compression strength but not tensile strength, while ropes and vines have good tensile strength but lack compression strength; many natural materials are more vulnerable to shear and iron and steel possess all four strengths. Stone has good compression strength but not tensile strength. Ropes and vines just the opposite. All natural materials are vulnerable to shear. Through the experimentation with materials, students will discover concepts such as brittleness and ductility and begin to understand the engineer’s choice of materials and design. Students will be exploring two bridges types—beam and cantilever—as well as three types of arches: corbelled, (example 1500 BC Mycenae, Greece), voussoir (wedge-shaped blocks forming true arch) and suspension. The suspension principle is similar to a catenary, a single rope or cable hanging freely between two points and is a primitive suspension bridge. More famous steel suspension bridges include the George Washington Bridge in New York over the Hudson River; The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, designed by Joseph Strauss in 1917 and described as the “world’s largest art deco sculpture;” Galloping Gertie in Washington State, a 1940 torsion destroyed; Mackinac Bridge or “Big Mac” in Michigan, 1957, designed by David Steinman, the longest suspension bridge; the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York; and the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland.
Figure 5, John Hancock Center, Chicago. Experimental Construction As an introduction to buildings and bridges, students will be provided with an array of visuals using a PowerPoint presentation showcasing the more famous buildings in America, bridge designs, and skyscrapers. Students will explore videos, books, and online sources in a scavenger hunt of architectural time periods. Before structural engineering principles are discussed as a whole class, students will be given the opportunity to discover them individually through center
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activities. Students will be encouraged to develop their own building designs. Centers can be constructed to encourage the discovery of basic design requirements (determining structural design based on load carrying requirements), material behavior (examining the differences between steel and reinforced concrete and experimenting with ductility), types of members and failure mechanisms (columns, beams, cables, and their stressors), and structural shapes and structural forms and systems (angles, tubes, and I-beams). As each cohort of students completes centers in the construction of replica bridges, testing the design and strength of corbelled arches, trusses, beams, cantilevers and structural frameworks, each group will peer teach their findings in a whole class setting. Center 1: Bracing The objective at this center is for students to build a four-story building that will be able to remain standing during a simulated earthquake. Students construct an edifice of their own design using columns and floor pieces to create visible cross bracing to reinforce their structure with triangles or crosses. On completion, the table on which the structure sits is shaken vigorously to test the strength of their design. Through trial and error, students will be able to improve their design to withstand destruction. Center 2: Tower Tank Students begin to understand that engineers must design architecture within constraints or limits to a building project such as time or budget limitations. Using Duplo blocks and a small playground ball, students are challenged to build a tower 18 inches tall that will support the dead load of a water tank. Quality structural engineering design meets all building constraints at the lowest cost so the design constraint students must apply during the construction will be to use the fewest blocks possible.
Figure 6, Sears Tower, New York Center 3: Tower Core To improve the understanding of the structural design problem, engineers ask questions. In designing a building, engineers not only work with a budget asking how much will it cost but must also address the quality of design. What are the stresses the building will have to endure? What materials should be used to withstand the stressors? Students will have a limited number of Lincoln logs to construct a structurally sound building of 18 inches in height with both an inner core and an outer core.
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Center 4: Cantilever Bridge Students use as few blocks as possible to span a small three-inch wide “river.” Learning that engineers search for solutions to meet design constraints, this center’s constraint is material cost and challenges students to design a bridge strong enough to hold a certain dead load while conserving materials. Center 5: Basic Bridge Building Students will use one sheet of paper to span the distance across two different sized rivers and then test their design by stacking wooden blocks on the paper bridge. Students must design a bridge that will not only span the river using the least amount of paper possible, but also be strong enough to support the heaviest load possible. The constraint for this center will be on river number two in which the bridge span will exceed the length of the paper provided for the center (Space Center Houston Exhibit). COMPONENT TWO: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN Structural engineers learn from the past. Using technology since the beginning of time from cutting down a log to cross a stream, bridges have been made from rope, wood, stone, iron, steel, and concrete. The construction of bridges has changed cultures. Architecture of Bridges Within ancient cultures, Romans, led by engineer Vitrivius, were the first to design and construct bridges with the construction of the Pons Sublicius bridge in 6BC. Their discovery of waterproof cement, the use of the cofferdam, and the design of the Voussoir arch, allowing greater span lengths, replacing the simple unsupported beam bridge, are still used in modern construction, and it is from their expertise modern architectural design stems. Once freed from the limitations of vine and rope bridges, replaced by cantilevers and arch spans; followed by steel suspension, cable -stayed and concrete bridges, entire cultures changed. During the 16th century, Andrea Palladio, author of the Four Books of Architecture and recognized as the world’s first architect, is credited with truss design; a structural framework supporting weight to balance tensile and compressive forces using heavy wooden verticals and light diagonals. “Palladian Style” of bridges originated with Roman bridge. In 1577, Palladio who competed to build the Rialto Bridge but lost to Antonio da Ponte, reflected that, “beauty will result from the form and correspondence of the whole” intimating that architectural design must be more than simply an application of math and science but a combination of form and function, a bridging of both classical and romantic thought. Centuries later the new London Bridge design, John Rennie would echo this sentiment saying “great bridges demonstrate technology and art fusion.”
Figure 7, Truss Bridge, San Francisco,CA (Photo by Todd Helwig)
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Students will compare and evaluate famous arch bridges: “Sur Le Pont d’Avignon, France (1179); The Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy; The Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic, (1380); The Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy, (1591); Charles River Bridge, Boston, (2001) and well-known steel suspension bridges: George Washington Bridge, New York; The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco; Mackinac Bridge, Michigan; Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Washington; the cantilever bridge, The Firth of Forth Bridge, Scotland (1890); and the Mialua Viaduct, France (2004). Architecture of Buildings As with bridges, examining the great buildings and skyscrapers of the world offers an opportunity to examine the blending of structure and form and examine the cultural influences supporting the designs. Students can begin to explore the questions: How is structural design mitigated by culture? What values are evident in architecture? What is the creative process? How are scientific principles tested? Which materials and structural elements are best for skyscrapers? What economical, social, religious, and political influences impact building design in communities? How does architecture frame our lives? Why is the study of other cultures meaningful? Similarly, German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the first functionalist and renowned architect of the Greek Revival period, said buildings should be “proud monuments but also well- mannered companions of their neighbors” (Glancey 130), suggesting the principles of structural engineering and architectural design should not be separate entities but rather complimentary principles used to enhance the quality of lives for whom they’re created. Moreover, architecture and the buildings architects and structural engineers create shows how “we have chosen to frame our lives” said Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). For example, the principle of the Panopotican was a central rotunda and in the case of prisons, a circle of cells facing inwards that could be constantly surveyed. This model influenced buildings in which surveillance was a purpose such as in schools, hospitals and prisons. Students can begin to question how the architecture of specific cultures contribute or hinder the academic and economic development of its community members. For instance, how do European skyscrapers in an urban setting provide greater interdependence and economic viability than the architecture constructs in third world countries? Students may also begin to evaluate their personal environment’s impact on their ability to achieve and their own potential academic and economic success. Students will evaluate these well-known skyscrapers and buildings such as the Home Insurance Building, (Chicago); Capitol Dome, (Washington D.C.); Chrysler Building, (New York); Citicorp Center, (New York); Empire State Building, (New York); Petronas Towers, (Malaysia); National Cathedral, (Washington, D.C.); RCA Building, (New York); World Trade Center, (New York); Sears Tower, (New York); the Guggenheim Museums, (New York and Brazil); and the Sydney Opera House, (Australia). Architect Study Structures enhance and define each culture and time. In every culture, these buildings and bridges attempt to improve the quality of individual communities. The most important element to understanding why particular architecture is built during a specific time period is the cultural values of the society itself (Rapoport 42). Specific architecture design lends themselves to specific ways of life. Physical manifestations of reality change with cultural shifts. Both architecture and the structural engineering principles supporting the structures have also evolved. Architects such as David Steinman, Taddeo Gaddi, Frank O. Gehry, Antonio da Ponte, Richard Morris Hunt, Le Corbusier, Charles McKim, Adolk Loos, Henry Bacon, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Bruno Taut, and Oscar Niemeyer all have easily recognizable styles. These architects would be likely choices for student learning centers, though an emergent curriculum will permit the flexibility of students initiating their own course for architect study. Through
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journaling and role play, students will explore as a mini-anthropological study of the major architectural design periods covering the Renaissance to Enlightenment, The Industrial Revolution, Victorian Achievement, New Worlds, and Shapes of the 20th Century. Upon completion, students will create designs for buildings, skyscrapers and cities of the future imitating their architect of choice that may be drawings or three-dimensional dioramas and replicas. LESSON PLANS Each sample lesson plan is literature-based using “America the Beautiful” and is introduced in a whole -class setting with the use of a critical thinking open-ended questions. After the mini- introduction by the teacher, students will work collaboratively in groups brainstorming before assignments begin and/or writing individually. All lesson plans presented, though exceeding several one block class periods, are relatively simple and offered as an overview encompassing the larger student product and project which necessarily must be broken into smaller components. Assessment of each sample lesson plan should include a rubric of expectations prior to specific assignments along with student self-assessment and team evaluations upon completion of cooperative projects. Sample Lesson Plan One: Aesthetics of Design Objective Recognize the form and function of specific architectural elements and understand the context of diverse architectural design Materials butcher paper, markers, Internet, poster board Procedure Read the book America the Beautiful by Robert Sabuda showing the pop-up architecture to the class and encouraging students to identify each structure. Assignments As a small group, brainstorm possible answers to the question “Why do certain places have specific architecture?” Identify architectural elements of arches, vaults, domes, fanlight, dormer and transom windows, double lancet, round arch, pointed arch, window shapes, window tracery, pediments, hoods, column shapes, and roofs. Draw one door type and one window type labeling ornamental features. Produce a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting two divergent constructs modeled in America the Beautiful on butcher paper. Students will make a presentation of their diagrams followed by whole class discussion of group storms of the initial opening question. Extension Students will individually create a timeline using an 8 x 24 inch poster board folding into four sections. Each will represent four of the major architectural periods dating from Baroque through Modernism in America and Europe. Each student-selected time period will present a synopsis/summary of the period, major architects influencing the period and visuals and graphics of the designs. Sample Lesson Plan Two: Bridge Design Read America the Beautiful by Robert Sabuda showing the pop-up architecture of the Golden Gate Bridge. Display a PowerPoint presentation of famous American and European bridges from 1400 to present day. Open a whole class discussion with questions: How have bridges changed
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cultures? What is a cable -stayed bridge? Why are some bridge designs better than others? How does each bridge design fail? As an introduction, students may draw three different bridge designs (arch, truss, and suspension) using the library and Internet to conduct basic research. Students work in small groups to conduct destructive testing: Test A: same design/different material and Test B: different design /same material constructions. Test A compares three different truss designs: Warren trusses, Pratt trusses and Verendale trusses. Build two halves of each truss design using a template covered with waxed paper. Examine the geometry of the trusses using tangrams. Trusses are testing by hanging weights loaded at the joints while reminding students that dead loads are generally greater than live loads in many bridges. Tests of truss designs are made of similar materials; toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, spaghetti, etc. Students will discover several concepts: imperfections in materials differ; stress concentration causes break and failure; beams yielding is ductility; and beams yielding in connection to failure is brittle material. Further ductility testing will give student the opportunity to discover when certain materials will fail immediately without giving a failure warning. For example, testing steel or aluminum will demonstrate ductility, the warning of failure like bending. Aluminum alloy tensile tests will show a 16% elongation before failure. With a very brittle material like concrete, students will discover no sign of distress, deformations, or yield prior to failure. Each student group may create a Venn diagram and graphs for presenting their test results along with a written summary. As an extension of testing truss strength and design, students may explore the University of Florida Truss Bridge Laboratory online as an extension to classroom experiments. For a culminating inquiry project and presentation, each cooperative group may choose one iconic architectural construct from America the Beautiful: the Washington Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, the Chrysler Building, World Trade Center, or the Empire State Building, and research the time period of construction, design, and its cultural impact on American society. Sample Lesson Plan Three: Annotation Objective Identify literary devices and construct literary analysis. Materials Copies of the poem “America the Beautiful” for each student Butcher paper Markers Post-it notes Procedure Read the first stanza of the poem “America the Beautiful” by Katherine Bates aloud to the whole class. Ask student volunteers to re-read the stanza. Model annotation. “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates, 1895 Line 1. O beautiful for spacious skies, 2. For amber waves of grain, 3. For purple mountain majesties 4. Above the fruited plain! 5. America! America! 6. God shed his grace on thee 7. And crown thy good with brotherhood 8. From sea to shining sea! (Quoted in Sabuda 1)
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Assignments Each student will annotate the first stanza with a small group; create an entry in their dialectical journal; and compose a literary analysis paragraph. Annotation will include: the literary elements of diction, imagery, mood, theme, repetition for effect; the sound devices of alliteration, rhyme, rhythm; and the reading strategies of inference and paraphrasing. The dialectical journal will be two columns; on the left hand side of the page (column one) the students will copy a phrase or passage from the poem, and on the right hand side of the page (column two), the student will identify a literary element such as figurative language and explain its purpose. Once the individual dialectical journals are complete, students will extend their analysis with the composition of a literary analysis paragraph consisting of an assertion sentence, an introduction to the quotation from the poem, documentation, and commentary on the quotation. After students complete their composition, one to three students may be asked to share their work with the class. The remaining stanzas may be annotated as time allows. Each cooperative group may make a presentation of their annotation and generate level one, two and three questions on butcher paper. NOTE: Teacher modeling of annotation and basic introduction of figurative language and literary devices are a prerequisite for this activity. Extension Students may generate level one, level two and level three questions to ask one another as part of a two concentric ring literature circle. Teacher may generate level questions for assessment such as: Level One Questions What country is mentioned? Give a brief description of the grain. Who is receiving grace? Level Two Questions What do you think the author means by “thy good”? What do the adje ctives suggest about America? What does Bates mean by “grace” in Line 6? Level Three Questions: How can you relate “brotherhood” to your classmates? Describe your perception of America. What is the importance of goodness? CONCLUSION Architecture offers a unique perspective for students to connect the external world with their own life experiences. Examining the function, the structural engineering principles supporting buildings and bridges, and the aesthetic effect of architectural works, students begin to understand the blending of classic and romantic schools of philosophical thought. Students can also explore the cultural value systems giving rise to specific environmental constructs. How can architecture serve the greater good? Why does architecture in America and Europe look different than in other countries? Whether bridges have red balls at their entrance or are devoid of ornament, students can begin to begin to question architectural aesthetics and discover applications of structural engineering taking their new knowledge of math and science into their own communities. Further, as students evaluate the architectural forms, they may begin to ask questions about environment and the role of architecture in societies and cultures. They may come to understand that environment matters. And that the value systems they embrace will
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have a concrete impact on the communities in which they live. A technical work of architecture focusing solely upon function and structural considerations lacking an aesthetic approach may be difficult to quantify importance but each category is necessary for architectural design. (Zannos 12) The craftsman isn’t ever following a single line of instruction. He’s making decisions as he goes along. For that reason he’ll be absorbed and attentive to what he’s doing even though he doesn’t deliberately contrive this. The material and his thoughts are changing together in a progression of changes until his mind’s at rest at the same time the material’s at rest. (Pirsig 148) Blending a skills-based curriculum focusing on critical thinking and problem-solving experiences invites students to become absorbed and attentive to the construction of their learning. Students can begin to move from a spectator attitude toward their education and become attentive to the building of their own knowledge and success. Reinforcement of basic math and science concepts is vital in public education and critical for the continued economic vitality of the United States. Requiring meticulous attention to higher-order thinking skills, teaching students to move from the concrete and explicit to the abstract and implicit can lead to exploration of universal themes. With critical thinking skills solidly in their repertoire, students are more capable of becoming active and democratic participants in their communities, making thoughtful judgments and good decisions. Students can and must become more active in building their academic success.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Works Cited Brandon, Ronda, et.al. Laying the Foundation: A Resource and Planning Guide for Pre-AP English Grade Seven. Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc., Dallas, Texas, 2004. A resource providing instructional strategies for a skill-based English classroom. Carver, Liz. Building Big. WGBH Interactive, Public Broadcasting System. 02 February 2005.
Glancey, Jonathon. The Story of Architecture. Verona, Italy: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. A history of contemporary architectural design and famous architects.
Helwig, Todd A. Seminar Leader. Structural Engineering: Bridges and Buildings. Houston Teachers Institute. Spring 2005.
John Hancock Building. Chicago. Photograph.
Herbold, Robert J. K-12 Establishment is Putting America’s Industrial Leadership at Risk. Imprimus: Volume 34, Number 2, February 2005.
Marzano, Robert, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollack. Classroom Instruction That Works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. Outlines best practices for cooperative grouping and other instructional strategies.
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Pirsig, Robert M. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. New York: Bantam, 1974. This inquiry into values explores the teaching of quality and examines classical and romantic philosophy of aesthetics. Petronas Towers. BootsnAll Travel Network. Photograph posted by Pearce. 10 April 2005.
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Houston Independent School District. Project CLEAR Curriculum. Science, 6th Grade. Houston, Texas, Houston Independent School District, 2004. A curriculum guide describing best practices and lessons for teaching basic scientific principles. Johmann, Carol & Rieth, Elizabeth, Bridges! Amazing Structures to Build and Test, Vermont: Williamson Publishing, 1999. An elementary overview of basic structural engineering principles. Johnson, Stephen, and Roberto T. Leon. Encyclopedia of Bridges and Tunnels. New York: Checkmark Books, 2002. Describes famous bridges and tunnels around the world and includes a basic glossary of structural engineering terms. Kaufmann, Emil. Architecture in the Age of Reason: Baroque and Post-Baroque in England, Italy, and France. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1955. An exploration of the origins of architectural designs of eighteenth century England, Italy and France. Maliszewski-Pickart, Margaret. Architecture and Ornament. London: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1998. A field guide providing the names of basic architectural terms using visuals as the source for primary identification. Official Website for the Mackinac Bridge. 05 February 2005.
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