Art Lesson Plan: Paper Architecture

Submitted by: Mark Alan Anderson, Oak Park High School in Missouri.
UNIT: 3-D Design - Architecture
Lesson: Paper Architecture - Designing Human Spaces
Grade Level: Middle school

Objectives:

TLW design and construct an architectural structural model of a two-person dwelling.

MoSTEP Standards

FA1 Process and techniques for the production, exhibition or performance of one or more of the visual or performed arts.

FA2 The principles and elements of different art forms.

FA4 Interrelationships of visual and performing arts and the relationships of the arts to other disciplines.

Vocabulary:

Architecture, angle, volume, area, city planning, fin de siecle, traffic pattern

Materials:

6” x 9” white Drawing Paper, drawing media, X-acto Knives, cutting surface, Compass, metal straight edge, Calculator, drafting triangles, various colors of Construction Paper, White Glue.

Resources:

“Architecture” PowerPoint slide show; exemplars of the works of Gaudi, Horta, Wright, previous student designs; “Imaginary Cities” PowerPoint slide show

Prints

Procedures:

PREP Prior Knowledge: students have been studying Fin de Siecle and 20th Century architectural design.

Introduction: review and discuss “Architecture” PowerPoint; also Gaudi, Horta, Wright. Review previous examples of student architectural designs.

Review ”Imaginary Cities” PowerPoint. (Sorry folks- this was not submitted with the lesson.)

1. In journals, students locate and paste 10 examples of domicile design; include personal reflections about how each domicile makes the student feel (comfortable, claustrophobic, etc.)

2. On 6” x 9” sheets of paper, each student will plan out a series of two person dwellings that include three rooms (minimum), windows in each room, two exterior entries, and entries to each room. (High School)

Extension: Series of plans must be no fewer than five configurations, including a floor plan and an elevation for each.) Size of each structure must be to a .5” = 1’ scale.

3. Students will select one domicile design to construct in model form at the prescribed scale. Model must be constructed from construction paper provided. (High School extension: students may materials of choice for decoration or embellishment only – they may NOT add support materials.)

Construction paper and glue must be manipulated to provide all necessary support.

4. Exercise may be repeated for an additional commercial structure.

5. Working collaboratively, students will plan a city layout. Students elect a city planning committee with a City Planner to facilitate; a business committee to have a voice about placement and location of commercial properties; a citizen’s committee to represent homes and parkways.

6. AP Studio Art – 3-D Design Extension: Use this exercise as an introduction to an extended individual architectural project. Such a project should emphasize the development of a well-designed structure and consider how such a structure would fit into an existing environment and adjacent standing architectural structures from within the individual’s own community.

Closure: Working collaboratively, students will plan a city layout. Video camera, mounted on a small wheeled device, is rolled through the “city” and used to “peer” into various structures, providing viewers with an eye-level point-of-view tour of the paper-constructed city.

A local city planner and/or architect might be invited into the classroom for the “tour” and to comment upon the city plan and architectural content.

• Learners will construct a written personal reflection detailing their thoughts of what worked, what didn’t, what they might have done differently, how collaboration affected their individual designs.

• Did the learner calculate volume?

• Was the model structurally sound? What choices were made to accomplish this?

• Did the learner utilize appropriate design principles?

• Can the learner articulate how the space might be used, how design choices were reached?

Assessment: Form – Paper Architecture

1. Design and construct a model of a house made entirely from paper and glue. You may not use any form of drawing or painting media.

2. The size of the paper structure must be at least 216 cubic inches and no larger that 1,000 cubic inches.

3. The paper structure must be designed and engineered strong enough to support itself.

4. The paper structure must be designed for attractiveness. Braces, struts or any other form of support should either be hidden from view or designed to complement the attractiveness of the house.

5. The model must have at least one entrance. You must include at least three rooms; each room should have windows and a door into the room.

Enhancement

Students can review IAD's website on John Lloyd Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright's son. After viewing his school design, students can compare it to their own school's design. The could redesign their school as if designed by either Wright brothers.