Building ideas with the junior high.

Building ideas with the junior high

I WAS APPREHENSIVE WHEN I FIRST introduced the problem of designing future habitats to my junior high school students. Our town is currently experiencing a building boom-large expensive dwellings, as well as lower income condominiums. I very soon discovered that my students were indeed aware and interested in the architecture around them.

We began by focusing on specific neighborhoods in towns; students were anxious to analyze at length these manmade environments. We discussed solar homes, the impact on nature, basic design and overall structure. Students were asked to bring to class relevant articles about subdivisions of vacant land, access to public roads, overextending water supplies, and other pertinent land-use issues reported in the local paper. They also scanned real estate sections of newspapers, and clipped and shared architectural plans.

Next, we talked about current trends, using our clippings as a springboard for our own ideas. Would we add more wood, stone, glass or steel? How could we make our designs unique? Could we adapt our designs to become an integral part of a specific space? Can we design for energy efficiency?

I had recently visited Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Water" in Pennsylvania. I showed students photographs of this architectural masterpiece and distributed notes on Wright's other works and his theories of "form follows function." We discussed the compatability with environment and the variety of new materials used by this master architect. Then we embarked on a field trip around town to view new homes in various stages of construction.

I asked my students to consider both overall design and surroundings when constructing their models. They were to adapt their designs to their own specific future needs and desires. Each chose an imaginary site and picked building materials from a variety of work stations around the room. Some students asked to work in pairs and to work at home while others brought materials into class to share. Tools and materials offered were: wood scraps, nails and hammers, scraps of roofing shingles, metal foils, cellophane or plastic wrap, packaging materials such as corrugated cardboards and assorted foams, white glue, cutting tools, coffee stirrers, paints and brushes and Plexiglas. Every student gathered equipment and went to work. I made suggestions and encouraged each youngster as their work progressed, stressing the importance of personalized, individualized strategies to suit proposed functions.

It was quite exciting to watch each young person bring ideas into three-dimensional form. Our completed models were displayed in the school lobby so they could be enjoyed by all the students. I was confident that my seventh graders were becoming more aware of what "humanity hath wrought," and that the wheels were set in motion to control their own environmental future.