ARCHITECTURE Computer aided Design:
Using Sketchup
EXAMPLE Architecture/History Unit
*can replace physical models with CAD
*can replace physical models with CAD
UNit steps: Written Version
Our goal is to inspire wonder, enthusiasm, and understanding by integrating many intelligences and academic fields of study in the real-life context of architecture. For example, a 5th grade class might create and demonstrate understanding of Ancient Greek culture, measurement, geometry, and physics- all through the art form of architecture.
1. Students first explore/research life in Ancient Greece, including history, mythology, and culture (via internet, books, documentaries- pre-approved).
2. Next, we investigate Greece’s architecture, noting the types, parts, and historical periods of buildings in Ancient Greece.
3. (Connection) Explore how the Greeks applied a natural ratio called the ‘Golden Mean’ or ‘Fibonacci sequence’ to create beautiful architecture. Dividing their height by the golden mean, students may create personalized rulers that predict the location of their own joints, and facial structures.
4. Small groups synthesize their knowledge of mythology and architecture, to pair a favorite myth a with a type of Greek building- researching to find floor plans and elevations with labeled measurements (usually in meters).
*****Wikipedia, and Great Buildings are two great sources for plans and measurements, but a google search is often productive
5. Small groups or individuals then employed measurement and geometry to create first a floor-plan, and then an elevation up from that using Google SketchUp. Students construct 3-dimensional CAD models: by adding walls, columns, roofs, plinths, sculpture, pigments, and associated mythological details. Students endeavor to make their buildings adhere to the Golden Mean.
Analyze what each building reveals about its owners.
1. Students first explore/research life in Ancient Greece, including history, mythology, and culture (via internet, books, documentaries- pre-approved).
2. Next, we investigate Greece’s architecture, noting the types, parts, and historical periods of buildings in Ancient Greece.
3. (Connection) Explore how the Greeks applied a natural ratio called the ‘Golden Mean’ or ‘Fibonacci sequence’ to create beautiful architecture. Dividing their height by the golden mean, students may create personalized rulers that predict the location of their own joints, and facial structures.
4. Small groups synthesize their knowledge of mythology and architecture, to pair a favorite myth a with a type of Greek building- researching to find floor plans and elevations with labeled measurements (usually in meters).
*****Wikipedia, and Great Buildings are two great sources for plans and measurements, but a google search is often productive
5. Small groups or individuals then employed measurement and geometry to create first a floor-plan, and then an elevation up from that using Google SketchUp. Students construct 3-dimensional CAD models: by adding walls, columns, roofs, plinths, sculpture, pigments, and associated mythological details. Students endeavor to make their buildings adhere to the Golden Mean.
Analyze what each building reveals about its owners.
Virginia SOL INspired project ideas
3rd GRADE
Greece (Parthenon, tholos),
Rome (Pantheon, Colosseum, triumphal arch, aqueduct),
Mali (mud-brick mosque)
4th GRADE
Jamestown (fort, wattle & daub hut, church, Powhatan longhouse,
Algonquin palisade, Weremocómoco),
Indians (tipi, pueblo),
Civil War (Fort Sumpter)
5th GRADE
Stone Age (Stonehenge),
Mesopotamia (ziggurat, Ishtar Gate, hanging gardens),
Phoenicia (King Solomon's Temple, The Maabed, Temple of Paphos),
Egypt (Temple of Karnak, Obelisk, Pyramid, Temple of Horus at Edfu, papyrus column),
India (stupa, Taj Mahal, citadel, Khajuraho Temple, Konark Sun Temple),
China (pagoda, Great Wall),
Greece (Parthenon, Temple of Apollo at Delphi, tholos, Palace of Knossos, Troy,
Mycenae citadel, Trojan Horse [battering ram or mythological], labyrinth),
Rome (Pantheon, Forum, colosseum, triumphal arch, aqueduct),
Byzantine (Hagia Sophia, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Church of San Vitale),
Russia (St. Basil’s Cathedral),
Islamic (mosques: Quba, Mecca, Dome of the Rock),
Middle Ages (cathedral, castle),
Aztec (Templo Mayor)
Inca (Machu Picchu, Sachyuaman)
Maya (Chichen Itza pyramid, ballcourt)
Greece (Parthenon, tholos),
Rome (Pantheon, Colosseum, triumphal arch, aqueduct),
Mali (mud-brick mosque)
4th GRADE
Jamestown (fort, wattle & daub hut, church, Powhatan longhouse,
Algonquin palisade, Weremocómoco),
Indians (tipi, pueblo),
Civil War (Fort Sumpter)
5th GRADE
Stone Age (Stonehenge),
Mesopotamia (ziggurat, Ishtar Gate, hanging gardens),
Phoenicia (King Solomon's Temple, The Maabed, Temple of Paphos),
Egypt (Temple of Karnak, Obelisk, Pyramid, Temple of Horus at Edfu, papyrus column),
India (stupa, Taj Mahal, citadel, Khajuraho Temple, Konark Sun Temple),
China (pagoda, Great Wall),
Greece (Parthenon, Temple of Apollo at Delphi, tholos, Palace of Knossos, Troy,
Mycenae citadel, Trojan Horse [battering ram or mythological], labyrinth),
Rome (Pantheon, Forum, colosseum, triumphal arch, aqueduct),
Byzantine (Hagia Sophia, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Church of San Vitale),
Russia (St. Basil’s Cathedral),
Islamic (mosques: Quba, Mecca, Dome of the Rock),
Middle Ages (cathedral, castle),
Aztec (Templo Mayor)
Inca (Machu Picchu, Sachyuaman)
Maya (Chichen Itza pyramid, ballcourt)
gallery of skecthUp projects
Next step. . .
by David McDavitt, M.Ed.