In this Introduction for Teachers:
Before you begin | Learning the Language | Structure is only part of a building | How to use these teaching materials | How to tell if your students are "getting it" | The "Basic Basics": The Vocabulary of Structural Principles | Structure is intertwined with other factors | You're surrounded

For Teachers:
Before you begin

Read through this material before you approach the topic with your students. It's probably a learning experience for you, too. See if you can fall in love with the subject -- as a teacher, you know the difference that your own enthusiasm will make.

Societies express themselves through their buildings as much as through their food, their clothing, their religions and their family organizations. The teachers we've worked with over the years have been amazed and delighted to get the new perspective that architecture gives them on world history and culture.

There are hundreds of great books about architecture; some of our favorites are listed in the bibliography. Call a local architect's office -- if your questions are specific and clear, you'll surely get a response and possibly even a visit. Check our Web site and ask our Webmaster for help.

Learning the language

As to definitions: No definitions are perfect, because each of these structural elements has its own long history, and they've all been used in different contexts of culture, climate and materials around the world. Each system and subsystem -- column, beam, cantilever, arch, vault, dome, and the rest -- is a Ph.D. topic by itself, and can be used in combination with the others in an infinite variety of ways. No one book has the room or the budget to show all the endless versions of, say, a column through time and around the world. And as new technologies and materials emerge, distinctions that were once clear sometimes blur or shift. Once you're comfortable with the traditional -- and ancient -- principles in this slide set, you'll be able to understand the incredible new possibilities that continue to open up in this field.

Be aware that talking about "structure" sometimes gets semantically confusing. A single column isn't really a structure by itself if it's not holding anything up. Trajan's Column in Rome, for example, is carved all around the outside with relief sculptures showing the Emperor's exploits and triumphs; it's more of a newspaper than a structure. So a column is really a structural component, used with other components -- a beam, a cantilever, or a tensile cable -- to create a structural system.

Sometimes people refer to a "building" as a "structure," and this usage, too, can be confusing. There are many buildings that are almost nothing but structure -- you couldn't take much of the Parthenon, The Great Wall of China, or the Eiffel Tower away without deforming or collapsing the whole thing -- but even in these cases the "building" includes materials, color, texture, ornament, spatial organization, site placement, historical context and other non-structural elements that are integral to the building's identity. So help your students distinguish between the two words -- they're not interchangeable.

Structure is only part of a building

Architecture is truly an interdisciplinary topic, interweaving science and technology with art and the humanities. It's virtually impossible to describe a building without connecting many diverse subject areas. Structural principles are important aspects of architecture, but by no means the whole story or even half of it. Buildings are also shaped by the culture, location and technology of their builders. Building materials, for example, create unique shapes, colors, patterns and textures, and often describe the local climate and geography.

We recommend that your students take one of the buildings or building types in the slides and do an extended research project on it that goes beyond its structural qualities. Since architecture is so visual and tactile, such projects naturally include artwork and a three-dimensional model. They can begin their research using the following guidelines. Additional issues will emerge as they learn about the powerful human personalities -- both heroes and villains -- that lurk behind the design and creation of architectural monuments.

Who created this building?
Rarely is this a single individual! More likely the answer will be a team that can include engineers as well as architects on the design side, and an individual, a couple, a group, or a corporation on the client side. In the case of vernacular, or folk, architecture indigenous to a particular region, the whole community carried out architectural traditions handed down for generations.

What is the original function (purpose) of this building?
Why was it built?
Is it still used in this way?
Has it changed, collapsed, been destroyed?
Has it been reconstructed or preserved?

What materials were used to make it?
Were they local, or brought from far away?
What do they express about the local climate, vegetation or geology?
Are they naturally occurring, synthetic, or a combination?
How have they affected the appearance of the building?
Did the architect use the color or texture of the building materials as part of the design, or cover them with paint or cladding?

What available technology was used to build it (tools, transportation systems, construction methods, and fuel)?

What cultural needs or values are expressed through this building?
Does the building express power, national pride, governmental organization, religious beliefs, family and clan structure, a need for safety, respect for the natural environment, other societal values?

What is the physical context of the building?
Is it in the country, a small town or a large city?
Is it in, on, or near a large body of water, a forest, a desert, or mountains?
Why was it placed (sited) in this location?

Does the building's design reflect the natural environment, or seem to defy or ignore it?
What other buildings are nearby? How are these buildings organized in relationship to each other?
Does this building resemble other buildings near it, or is it purposely different?

What is the historical context of the building?
What world events were occurring when the building was created?
Does the building reflect any of these events through its function, construction, or style?

How much did it cost?
The price tag for a colossal building may be as colossal as the building itself, with the cost including animal and human labor or environmental destruction, as well as money. Battles over construction costs and overruns aren't modern. Pericles, for example, had to fight hard with the other officials of ancient Athens to have the Parthenon built on the scale he envisioned.

In this Introduction for Teachers:
Before you begin | Learning the Language | Structure is only part of a building | How to use these teaching materials | How to tell if your students are "getting it" | The "Basic Basics": The Vocabulary of Structural Principles | Structure is intertwined with other factors | You're surrounded