architectural awareness

National Art Education Association

Architectural AwarenessAuthor(s): Marcia BaileySource: Art Education, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Mar., 1981), pp. 34-36Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3192537 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 03:14

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

National Art Education Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to ArtEducation.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.44.77.40 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 03:14:41 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=naea

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3192537?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


Architectural Awareness

Marcia Bailey

September arrived, and I walked in off the picket line to face a class

of twenty-five eager 8th and 9th graders. I have a grant in my pocket and lofty ideas in my mind about developing awareness and value in past and present architecture. My enthusiasm at this point was running far ahead of knowledge or experience in teaching either the history of the art form or the "how to" of building. My background was limited to undergraduate art history courses, although over the years I had grown to appreciate antique glassware and furniture, and the Vic- torian homes that lined the streets of my hometown. I favored restoration rather than the wrecking ball, and I hoped that this generation might also share that value.

The school district in which I teach, Wayne-Westland, is a study of con- trasts. Wayne is a community of older homes with a small downtown area, and Westland, a larger, much newer community which has literally grown up around, and takes its name from, a large modern shopping mall. People of the community are largely blue collar workers who have consistently sup- ported their schools in millage elec- tions. They are civic-minded folks who are willing to sacrifice now, in hopes of high paying jobs and nice homes for their children later. Both cities are lacking in buildings of great historical significance, and yet, each tells a great deal of the way people lived and live in growing urban America. Thirty miles to our east lies sprawling Detroit, now thriving in the midst of an exciting architectural re- naissance.

Our school, Stevenson Junior High, is made up of 1,400-1,600 7th, 8th, and 9th graders-all trying their wings, and powered by "raging hor- mones." The visual art department maintains a staff of three full-time teachers and two additional half-time personnel. We teach a one-semester art history and elements of design course

w

to 7th graders, and 8th and 9th grade students choose classes from among nine mini-courses, each 10 weeks in length. These are: Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Jewelry, Fibers, Printmaking, General Art, and Ar- chitectural Awareness. The program I have put together could easily be ex- panded for longer courses, or even adapted as short units in a General Art or Introduction course. It is a product of trial and error always in the process of evolving and growing. As an exam- ple, I recall the first class I tried to plan- "Architectural Awareness." I realized immediately how difficult it was going to be to gear the course for the junior high student who wasn't going to care a whole lot about flying buttresses or Corinthian columns. There just weren't suitable books in the library, or in our textbooks lists.

I began, a couple of weeks before school started, to put together a slide series from books, of the history of world architecture. Again my own background limited me: I just didn't know where to begin or what was im-

portant. I was beginning to sense that I would be hanging on by my finger- nails the first time through the course. I knew a creative approach was going to be needed, and I figured the only way to teach was to teach what I knew best. I'm a camper, own a couple of tents, and knew of others who did, too. Why not begin with nomadic dwellings and huts, and progress to vacation homes, year-round homes, and public buildings? The first day of class, I lugged in six tents and sets of poles and stakes. After a short spiel, I divided the class into groups. Each group had a tent which they were to erect without instructions, the win- ning group being the first one to cor- rectly create their "environment" (new term). "On your mark ... get set ... Go!"

The art supervisor for the district was visiting, since it was she who had arranged for the grant from the Michi- gan Society of Architects. She also lent me the two tents. I had my cam- era ready to document the beginning of a great new awakening and aware-

Art Education March 1981 34



ness about to be born in the hearts of Wayne-Westland students. Horrors! The kids were walking all over the canvas, building very strange free- form sorts of shapes, and one very creative young man had even man- aged to link together enough poles to balance a construction 17 feet in the air. One group did devise the correct set-up just before the bell, and as it rang, I was left with six wads of tent material and a pile of poles. These had to sit until after school while I trod more familiar art territory for the re- maining four periods of the day. While straightening, folding, and rolling the tents after school, I decided that even with the bizarre beginning to the day, I would have the students build some model nomadic dwellings. The students were more than enthusiastic, and we were able, in groups of two, to complete miniature campsites on styrofoam bases complete with tie- dye tents, rivers, and ponds of gel medium, campfires and sticks with orange and yellow feather blazes, train-board grass, trees, pebbles, and even a tiny carved ax set in a log in the woodpile. While the interest level re- mained high, and the work done was terrific, I have always felt guilty for the eight weeks it took to complete the project. This was about seven weeks longer than I had planned, and it left just two weeks for the "real world of architecture."

I had continued organizing a slide presentation, taking photos out of books, and touring the Wayne- Westland area for points of interest. We spent some concentrated effort those last two weeks, in an overview, and answering a question I assigned via research in the library and report- ing back to the class. The questions were very general, and allowed for different ability levels. The last couple of days were spent sharing answers

the students had researched. Who was Frank Lloyd Wright? What is the Bauhaus? What inventions allowed architects to design and build sky- scrapers? That was seven years ago, and while the grant money only per- mitted development of the first class, we have built "Architectural Aware- ness" into our regular curriculum as an elective in the art department. Each faculty member has taught the course from time to time. To assist each other in doing this, we keep a notebook for each of our courses with a recommended sequence of events. This is not a rigid program, but tried- and-true timelines to keep from teaching "Tent Class," as I did.

Each course notebook contains what is to be taught, available audio- visual material and sources, library books, and a sample project. The notebook is a great help in remember- ing those things that work in teaching, and an opportunity to discard those that seem less successful. It is not designed as the yellow-paged syllabus we saw many college professors pull out semester after semester, but as a constantly changing storehouse of only the most practical information pertinent to a particular class. The course has evolved over these seven years into three units of study. Since audio-visual availability is so varied, I won't mention names of particular books, films, and so forth, but rather, list some elements of the course.

"I Knew A Creative Approach Was Going To Be Needed, and I Figured the Only Way To Teach Was To Teach What I Knew Best."

Unit I: Architecture-the Art and Science of Building

*Why we have architects, the fun- damental craving for beauty as well as utility.

*Architecture as history, a record of activities and values. This unit is designed to get the ball rolling. It in- volves some background material I have condensed and simplified, typed on ditto sheets, and devised questions to answer. The information booklet is separate so that it may be reused.

*How an architect designs a building. I borrow the architect's rendering of the school which hangs in the prin- cipal's office. Students observe as- pects about the large framed painting which fit very well into the explana- tion of the architect's job. They usu- ally observe that the picture looks better than the building itself, with no lit- ter and green areas that don't really exist. I explain the sequence of events




that takes place when a school district, company, or private individual commissions a building. I have this material printed so that students become familiar with printed words which may be new to their vocabu- lary, such as: client, commission, specifications, rendering, elevation, section, etc. As a means of reviewing the terms, I have made a crossword puzzle using the given words.

Unit II: Your Environment *Places that are important to you:

Define environment (places, not things). What are the purposes of those places? Draw one place other than home that is important to you.

*Your school: An observation quiz. I have made up about 20 questions re- lating to the school environment- some with answers that can be checked easily: (How many class- rooms are there?); others not so easily: (How many acres make up the school property?); and some questions without right or wrong answers: (What name would you give the style of architecture of this building?) Fol- lowing the quiz, students are sent out in pairs to find the answer to one question and report back to the group.

*Real estate listings: What deter- mines the price of a home? I have col- lected several sources of advertised real estate, including catalogs, for farms and vacation properties, and free real estate circulars found in res- taurants and local retail stores. Real- tors in most areas now use a group listing service and publish thick books weekly of homes on the market. Some are willing to part with outdated copies when they are assured they will be used for educational purposes. Students especially enjoy finding homes that have been for sale in their neighborhoods. I have made up blanks as an assignment, where students are to "advertise" to sell the family home, condo, or apartment. They fill in as much information as possible at school, and finish at home, where presumably the entire family can enjoy developing a glorified de- scription of the homestead.

*Perspective drawing-this is a natural lead-in as they draw their own homes, and proceed to slide presenta- tions of local architecture and famous buildings around the world.

*Careers. In addition to reports about the career of realtor, students

may write short reports on such occu- pations as contractor, city planner, carpenter, drafter, and landscape architect.

Unit III: Model Construction While students are becoming famil-

iar with many noted buildings through slides, I point out the common basic shapes from which most structures are derived: the cube, cylinder, pyramid, cone, sphere, and free-form shapes. For their assignment, students first draw a small "Key" in the corner of the paper which lists these basic shapes by name, along with a tiny sketch of that shape. Students then find pictures of buildings in books and picture files I keep. The picture must show a clear use of each of the basic shapes.

Next, to help move smoothly from two to three dimensional forms, I ask students to tell me, one form at a time, what pattern I'd need to draw two- dimensionally in order to cut and roll a three-dimensional cylinder. Most students realize that a rectangle will make a cylinder. I have them use paper, pencils, and scissors to try their suggested shape in mini-form, just an inch or so tall, without measuring, and without details drawn. I've found that so many students struggle with measuring so much that they may lose all sense of the real task. We con- tinue, shape by shape, until I feel they can proceed on their own. I check through all of these three-dimensional basic shapes and require that any mis- takes be corrected before proceeding. They then become even more familiar with working in three dimensions by making a mini-model, no higher than six inches. Three of the "basic shapes" must be used, and they must

now use measurements. All of the aforementioned takes

place in a six-week time period, and leads up to the culminating activity: a complete model, on a base, with land- scaping and detail. Originality is stressed in making design plans, but certainly historic influences may be used. This project will take the re- maining four weeks of class. Drawings for the model are real working drawings, and while I check them for feasi- bility and correctness in terms of pro- portion and measurements, they are not criticized for neatness, or lack thereof. When plans have been ap- proved, building begins with poster- board and construction paper, white glue, and cellophane, sandpaper, cardboard, and balsa wood. As a quick addition, whenever it seems ap- propriate, I announce that each student is to bring in one item from home that has something to do with architecture. Most react uncertainly as to whether they have anything of this sort in their home, but each class has come through with a wonderful collec- tion of blueprints, small souvenirs of buildings, and postcards of places visited on vacation, magazine and newspaper articles, and a wealth of other information to be shared. In all, I have felt a great sense of satisfaction in developing this course through the years. I feel it has really given mind-expanding learning oppor- tunities for young people caught somewhere between childhood and adulthood. What better time to ex- plore and discover a creative pathway to architectural awareness.

Marcia Bailey is an art teacher at Stevenson Junior High School in Westland, Michigan.




architectural awareness

Documents