Purpose and background for The Architecture
Handbook
How did this project come
together? Who was involved?
Why has the subject matter broadened to “architecture”
from “architectural drafting”?
Why do architecture firms and schools of architecture
think hand-drafting and sketching are still important for
students today?
Why do architecture firms and colleges think
problem solving, critical thinking skills, and solid math
and reading fundamentals are just as important as drafting
skills?
Why is sustainable design and green architecture
a focus of The Architecture Handbook?
What is the F10 House and why was it chosen as
the case study building?
What is the role of the design process in The
Architecture Handbook?
Using The Architecture Handbook
in the classroom
What is the role of drafting (CAD or hand) in
The Architecture Handbook?
Is special software required to use The Architecture
Handbook? What is the role of the computer in this curriculum?
Why are team activities included in the book,
in addition to individual architectural drafting projects?
Why does each chapter include readings and writing tasks?
What does each chapter include mathematics problems?
How will The Architecture Handbook
benefit students who don't plan to become architects?
How can I use this book if I am not an architecture teacher?
Purpose and background for The Architecture
Handbook
How
did this project come together? Who was involved?
This project is based on the successful relationship among
architectural drafting teachers, Chicago Public School (CPS)
administrators, and the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF)
as a result of the Newhouse Program
and Architecture Competition.
Beginning in August 2004, CAF developed curriculum content
with a team of teachers, architects,
and students. Forty members of the Chicago architecture
community guided content that reflects architectural industry
ideas and trends. Architectural drafting teachers in the CPS
Education to Careers department guided CAF staff to determine
appropriate lesson plans. Students from CPS drafting courses
helped determine graphic identity of the book, and tested
out several projects.
Why has the subject
matter broadened to “architecture” from “architectural
drafting”?
Students today need a wide variety of skills to help them
succeed in college or careers. Architectural drafting is just
one of the skills that will help them if they enter the field
of architecture, engineering, or the building trades. However,
all fields are changing and many require post-secondary education.
In addition to drafting, students need more advanced skills
in reading and mathematics. Today, colleges also desire students
who can work in teams and creatively address problems to generate
unique solutions while employers want skills more relevant
to an economy based on innovation, flexibility, and creativity.
The study of architecture provides this opportunity.
Why do architecture firms and schools of architecture
think hand-drafting and sketching are still important for
students today?
Technological advances, such as CAD, have radically transformed
the architectural industry, but there will always be a need
for basic skills. We still teach young children to both print
and type their name, because both skills are important methods
of communication. Likewise, the computer will never completely
take the place of sketching and hand-drafting. Sketching becomes
the way that architects think through ideas, and hand-drafting
help students understand scale and think spatially. These
abilities also help architects quickly relay their ideas to
clients.
Why do architecture
firms and colleges think problem solving, critical thinking
skills, and solid math and reading fundamentals are just as
important as drafting skills?
Colleges, in general, and schools of architecture in particular,
are looking for well-rounded students. As architecture requires
a broad base of skills in math, reading, writing, science,
social sciences, and art, a solid academic base will help
to ensure that students succeed in all of their courses.
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Why is sustainable
design and green architecture a focus of The Architecture
Handbook?
Architecture is a major contributor to environmental pollution.
The energy required to build and run residential, institutional
and commercial buildings combined, accounts for 48% of energy
consumed in the United States. Architects and consumers need
to be aware of the environmental impact of buildings. Introducing
students to the concepts of green building is an important
step in creating informed homeowners and designers.
What is the F10 House
and why was it chosen as the case study building?
The F10 House, designed by EHDD
Architecture, was one of the winning designs in the City of
Chicago’s Green Homes for Chicago competition in July
2000. The Department of Environment and the Department of
Housing opened this international architecture competition
for designs of affordable homes that would use innovative
and energy-efficient building methods. In addition to being
a great example of green design, the floor plans and elevations
are basic enough for students learning to draft. Although
the design of the home may appear more modern than many typical
new homes, the typology, lot size, and floor plan arrangement
is one that many students in urban areas will recognize and
relate to.
What is the role of
the design process in The Architecture Handbook?
Through the short and long hands-on activities in The
Architecture Handbook, students have many opportunities
to use the design process. Likewise, Project 6 brings together
everything they’ve learned in Projects 1 through 5,
uses the design process, and walks students through the steps
of designing a new home for a client.
Using The Architecture Handbook
in the classroom
What is the role of drafting (CAD or hand)
in The Architecture Handbook?
The first 5 projects in the book are structured around the
5 different types of architectural drawings of the F10 House:
the block plan, site plan, floor plan, elevation, and building
section. A full set of construction drawings is included in
the student edition, while the teacher edition includes PDFs
of the drawings at full scale. Students in a beginning architectural
drafting class will learn the basic skills of technical drawing
while replicating the drawings and working through small design
projects throughout the book.
Students not in an architectural drafting course can still
use the 5 types of drawings to learn about the built environment
through sketching, research projects, and design activities
included in the teacher edition.
Is special software
required to use The Architecture Handbook? What is
the role of the computer in this curriculum?
Because technological resources vary widely from school to
school, no special software is required. Drafting projects
outlined in the book can be completed by CAD or by hand drafting.
The computer is used for multiple purposes in this curriculum.
In addition to drafting, computer-based activities in the
teacher edition include web-based research, online mapping,
and aerial photographs.
Why are team activities
included in the book, in addition to individual architectural
drafting projects?
Many occupations that students will enter after high school
or college will require that they know how to work as part
of a team. In the field of architecture, this is especially
true.
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Why does each chapter
include readings and writing tasks?
Students need strong reading and writing skills to succeed
in life. School administrators have responded to this need
by making demands on the ‘non-core’ subject teachers
to incorporate reading and writing as part of the curriculum.
Because many teachers expressed frustration over the need
to meet these demands on top of all the other things they
are being asked to do, The Architecture Handbook
integrates a 500-700 word reading
in each chapter that ties directly to the architectural content
of the lesson.
What does each chapter
include mathematics problems?
In addition to reading and writing skills, many students need
to reinforce their basic mathematics skills.
Teaching mathematics in a way that is applied to larger concepts,
such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning,
and construction, helps students make these learning connections.
How will The Architecture
Handbook benefit students who don’t plan to become
architects?
We all participate in the process of making decisions about
architecture, whether we are homeowners choosing where to
live or what to build, citizens deciding how their community
looks, architects designing buildings, or workers constructing
buildings.
In addition to architectural concepts of design and technical
drawing, the textbook includes chapters that tie directly
to many other professions in the built environment: the construction
trades, structural engineering, landscape architecture, urban
planning, and architectural history. Each chapter of the teacher
edition lists those professions that will benefit from the
information and skills presented there.
How can I use this
book if I am not an architecture teacher?
Architecture and the built environment can easily be integrated
into the curriculum for core academic subjects. Each project
in The Architecture Handbook includes
a lesson plan for an integrated project.
These projects reinforce the academic standards and are designed
to help social sciences, life science, language arts, and
chemistry teachers connect architecture to the subjects they
already teach. Mathematics teachers will benefit from the
400+ math problems throughout the
book. Each 3- to 4-day lesson was developed with guidance
from an advisory team of teachers in that subject. These lessons,
included on the CD-ROM in the teacher edition, contain all
the images and handouts needed.
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