Frank Lloyd Wright said architecture was the mother art. Mother Nature has been called an architect there’s a connection here somewhere a circle.
When Wright was preparing to build a skyscraper he faced a dilemma. He believed in the structural forms of nature, especially seashells, as perfect architecture, but as Peter Blake quips “There are no really tall sea shells.”
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So Wright looked again to nature for inspiration. The tree was the answer. There, the deep roots spread out in the earth while limbs stretched out to keep the trunk in perfect vertical balance. Wright used this concept to design the Johnson Wax Building, Laboratory Tower in 1950.(17) Structure, form, shape and patter can be found everywhere in nature.
(figure available in print form)
ARCHITECTURE IN NATURE
Lesson
Objective:
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To observe structure, form, shape and pattern in nature.
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Goal
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To relate nature and architecture.
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Materials
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Found objects, paper, cardboard, microscope if available, pencils, markers, fabric.
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Procedure
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1. Students will collect some of natures creations such as leaves, mushrooms, flowers, stones, shells, vegetables.
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2. Draw and describe each item looking for structure, form, shape and pattern.
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3. Imagine a small building based on an idea from nature. First, make a drawing and describe it. Them make a small model using folded paper, cardboard, etc. Build up from a drawing. Last, build it big enough for one person.
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