The Mom I Want to Be

Vocabulary Words: Art in the Making of Architecture

 

Arch: Noun, a curved structure that spans an opening or supports a bridge or roof

 

Dome: Noun, a rounded roof built on a circular base

 

Column: Noun, an upright pillar usually having a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital                 

 

Capital: Noun. Architecture the top part of a pillar or column that is often decorated with elaborate ornament

 

Rendering: Noun a perspective drawing of an architect’s design and is usually a view of the outside of the finished building  Renderings are often in color, making them beautiful pieces of art.

 

Floor Plan: Noun a scale drawing of the interior layout of a building

 

Section: Noun a view through the middle of a building, as though the building was cut in half

 

Elevation: Noun a scale drawing of one side of a building, exterior elevation is a view of the outside of a building from one side

 

Eave: Noun the underside of a roof that extends beyond the outside wall of a building

 

 

I-beam: Noun  a steel joist with short flanges and a cross section formed like the letter I used in the structural part of a building

 

Joist: Noun a beam made of timber, steel, or concrete, used as a  support in the construction of floors and roofs

 

  Perspective: Noun a method of drawing that gives the effect of solidity and relative distances and sizes

 

Skelton Frame: Noun  freestanding frame of iron or steel supporting the weight of a building, on which the floors and outer walls are hung

 

Balcony: Noun  a platform accessible from a door or a window that projects from the face of a building

 

Façade: Noun the front or face of a building

 

Scale: Noun ratio between the size of something and a representation of it; “the scale of  the map”; “the scale of the model”

 

Proportion: Noun adjust in size relative to other things

 

 

Design a House with Frank Lloyd Wright

 

 

Divide into groups of five.  Each group will have a long piece of paper with which they will draw murals.  Each group will draw different murals:  ie: school neighborhood, castles, business neighborhood, and neighborhood of the 1800’s.   They will write an accompanying list, naming the buildings and what their functions are within the neighborhood.  Students will also identify the differences of the structures of the buildings according to their intended purpose. 

 

Write a story about living in a structure that is not ordinarily thought of as a home.  This could be a bakery, police station, movie theatre, garden center.

 

Closely observe and study the inside of the school.  Identify the various components that make up the structure of the school ie: doors, windows, ceiling, duct work, vents, and beams.  Draw a floor plan of the school.  Identify and label each of the rooms, offices, and surrounding grounds.

 

Measure the classroom using a tape measure.  Use graph paper to draw the room to scale, making each square equaling one foot.  Indicate the windows, doors, and other identifying items in the room and complete a floor plan of the classroom.

 

Discuss the job of an architect.  Create a list of questions an architect might ask their clients before building them a home.  Students will divide into pairs.  One student will be the architect and the other student the client.  Provide the architect student the list of questions he needs to ask his client to get the information he needs to build/draw a house structure for him.  Once the architect obtains the needed information he will draw a house plan for the client.  The architect will also draw and color on another paper the interior of a room the client chooses.  Students then reverse roles and do the same activity. 

 

Read the book The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett. In this architectural mystery, destruction threatens Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and the characters piece together the puzzle that will lead to the building’s rescue. Obtain pentominoes and have students create designs with them.

 

Take photos of buildings such as houses, churches, stores, banks, libraries, in the neighborhood (or bring in pictures of various shaped buildings).  Sketch the buildings reducing them to basic geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, cylinders, triangles.  Discuss how shapes influence the way buildings look.

 

Art Activity Option # 1: Design a New School Classroom

An architect designed your school classroom years ago.  Today you are going to design a new school room for your class. Plan your design first by thinking about what the room will be used for, who will be in the room, what is the shape and color of the room, what building materials will be used, what are the dimensions/size, what furniture will be in it.  Be sure to consider lightening, desks, windows, flooring, wall coverings, bulletin boards, and computers. What other special features will it have? What would the students see, touch or experience in the room? Using a pencil, sketch a floor plan of the room and indicate the dimensions and structural features such as the windows, doors, beams, and arches.   Indicate where furniture would be placed and keep in mind the proportion of the furniture to the room space. Color the designed classroom with crayons and add details.  Show your drawing to the class and discuss what is unique about your new classroom space.

 

Art Activity Option # 2:  My Home

Today you will draw a special building that you know more about than anyone else – your home.  If you live in an apartment, you will draw the picture of the building your apartment is in.  Draw your home the way it looks from the front.  Include any windows, doors, porch, lamps, driveway, garage, posts or columns, bricks, tiles, roof, shingles, chimney.  Think of all the special features that make your house unique from all the other houses.  Think about the size of the window in relation to the door, the angle of the roof, the color of the house, and the material your house is made of.  Think about the structures you saw in the Architecture Exhibit.  Does your house have any of those same features? Using a pencil, sketch your home.  After the sketch is a completed, use crayon to add color and detail to your drawing.   Discuss with the class the one feature of your home that makes it unique such as house numbers, shutters, columns, arches,

 

Art Activity Option # 3: My Dream Room

If you could have your own bedroom and have anything in it that you wanted, what would this room look like?  What shape would your dream room be?  What color would it be?  What furniture, windows, rugs, pictures, lighting, would the room have?  What would you see, touch or experience in your room?  How many people do you want the room to accommodate?   After planning your Dream Room, use a pencil to sketch the room, using lines and shapes.  Then complete the drawing using crayon to add color and details.   Discuss your drawing with the class and share why you used certain colors in your dream bedroom.