What's your idea of the perfect house? What do your pupils and students think? This question can lead to a host of great activities, encompassing a wide range of curriculum areas, as your class works to imagine their 'ideal home'...
The house you've just seen is Fallingwater, designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It's one of the twentieth century's most iconic houses, and it's easy to see why. The dramatic setting is equalled by the dramatic design - the house projects itself into the air just like the rocks and the waterfalls. It almost looks like a representation of the natural setting - human beings re-imagining nature. Now have a look at the view from inside another famous house from the twentieth century, the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe:
Here the house begins to merge with its surroundings. Thinking about the perfect house, you could begin with a discussion of this picture.
The perfect house?
Here are some thoughts about the picture above:
-Like the first picture, we can see that the house's relationship with its surroundings is very important. In this case, the house opens itself up completely to its immediate environment. It's going to be very important with your own perfect house to think about this relationship.
-It's an image of perfect tranquillity and peace. It looks like a space to be solitary and thoughtful in - but what are all the other activities and moods that your perfect house must accommodate?
-Most windows are two-way! How would you feel about the lack of privacy in a home like the Farnsworth House? This kind of design wouldn't work everywhere...
Both these pictures show how the design of houses encompasses two kinds of considerations: the functional, objective considerations, and the aesthetic or subjective considerations - all the things that make a house more than a 'machine for living'. Your perfect house will need to think about both of these areas, but also the relationship between them because every aspect of the design will have an impact in both areas. They can't really be separated.
Getting started
There are many ways to get started thinking about your perfect house - looking at pictures like the one above is a great way to open up some of the questions. For more pictures of houses from many different historical periods, why not have a look at the images in our own image bank here at Engaging Places?
With older students, deciding on the scope of the activity - what considerations to focus on - can be an initial stage. These can include:
-all the functions the house needs to perform
-its location
-its relationship with its surroundings
-its use of materials and energy
-other environmental considerations (such as access to public transport)
and many more!
Some other ideas that are worth focusing on initially:
You can't design a perfect house in the abstract - as if it's floating in space. The context is essential - as both Fallingwater and the Farnsworth House make very plain. A great design in one place might be a very bad design somewhere else. This is why traditional house designs vary all over the world according to climate, social conventions and other factors. So you need to know where it's going to be...
Environmental considerations are extremely important. What will happen if your design is replicated thousands of times? How can you reduce the energy use in your design? We live on a crowded island, and the perfect house needs to reflect all the realities of twenty-first century life.
Environmental factors are also a good illustration of the relationship between the functional aspects of your design and the more subjective, aesthetic qualities. Choosing a style for your perfect house becomes easier when you realise that you need to be idealistic about its 'performance' as well. This stops your aesthetic choices from becoming hollow or meaningless. It helps you decide what's beautiful - and makes your house a great design rather than just an interesting shape!
Subject-by-subject
English
The perfect house is really a story about its use: when someone thinks about their perfect house they often begin to describe a series of events, and perhaps what they end up describing is their perfect day! Think about the perfect house in this way and tell the story of a single day in its life.
What are the perfect houses in fiction? Often characters live in places that capture our imaginations - although this may be for unpleasant reasons! Think about the ideal places that have been created in stories. These places are one step away from imagining the perfect house with the intention of building it...
History
Look at house design in different historical periods. Follow the link above to view our image bank of houses that survive to inform all our ideas about the possibilities of house design.
Maths/D+T
In Japan there is a great tradition of building exquisite houses on very small plots of land, particularly in the larger cities like Tokyo. Do some online research to find examples - these are often very beautiful and inspiring homes, and they show what can be done without using a large amount of space or lots of materials.
Set your class a challenge to design their perfect house within a very small plot (limited vertically as well), and to measure out all the different rooms precisely to get the maximum use from the minimum space. It's like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Encourage them to think about the multiple functions that could be given to particular things. Which features can double as storage as well? Can rooms have different functions at different times of the day? And so on...
Art/D+T
Many architects have imagined designs for perfect houses which they have not been able to build - and there have been other perfect houses imagined that were always flights of fancy and could never have been built. Ask your class to research the most inspiring and outlandish examples.
The house you've just seen is Fallingwater, designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It's one of the twentieth century's most iconic houses, and it's easy to see why. The dramatic setting is equalled by the dramatic design - the house projects itself into the air just like the rocks and the waterfalls. It almost looks like a representation of the natural setting - human beings re-imagining nature. Now have a look at the view from inside another famous house from the twentieth century, the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe:
Inside the incredible Farnsworth House, by Mies van der Rohe. Copyright anneh632, flickr.com
The perfect house?
Here are some thoughts about the picture above:
-Like the first picture, we can see that the house's relationship with its surroundings is very important. In this case, the house opens itself up completely to its immediate environment. It's going to be very important with your own perfect house to think about this relationship.
-It's an image of perfect tranquillity and peace. It looks like a space to be solitary and thoughtful in - but what are all the other activities and moods that your perfect house must accommodate?
-Most windows are two-way! How would you feel about the lack of privacy in a home like the Farnsworth House? This kind of design wouldn't work everywhere...
Both these pictures show how the design of houses encompasses two kinds of considerations: the functional, objective considerations, and the aesthetic or subjective considerations - all the things that make a house more than a 'machine for living'. Your perfect house will need to think about both of these areas, but also the relationship between them because every aspect of the design will have an impact in both areas. They can't really be separated.
Getting started
There are many ways to get started thinking about your perfect house - looking at pictures like the one above is a great way to open up some of the questions. For more pictures of houses from many different historical periods, why not have a look at the images in our own image bank here at Engaging Places?
With older students, deciding on the scope of the activity - what considerations to focus on - can be an initial stage. These can include:
-all the functions the house needs to perform
-its location
-its relationship with its surroundings
-its use of materials and energy
-other environmental considerations (such as access to public transport)
and many more!
Some other ideas that are worth focusing on initially:
You can't design a perfect house in the abstract - as if it's floating in space. The context is essential - as both Fallingwater and the Farnsworth House make very plain. A great design in one place might be a very bad design somewhere else. This is why traditional house designs vary all over the world according to climate, social conventions and other factors. So you need to know where it's going to be...
Environmental considerations are extremely important. What will happen if your design is replicated thousands of times? How can you reduce the energy use in your design? We live on a crowded island, and the perfect house needs to reflect all the realities of twenty-first century life.
Environmental factors are also a good illustration of the relationship between the functional aspects of your design and the more subjective, aesthetic qualities. Choosing a style for your perfect house becomes easier when you realise that you need to be idealistic about its 'performance' as well. This stops your aesthetic choices from becoming hollow or meaningless. It helps you decide what's beautiful - and makes your house a great design rather than just an interesting shape!
Subject-by-subject
English
The perfect house is really a story about its use: when someone thinks about their perfect house they often begin to describe a series of events, and perhaps what they end up describing is their perfect day! Think about the perfect house in this way and tell the story of a single day in its life.
What are the perfect houses in fiction? Often characters live in places that capture our imaginations - although this may be for unpleasant reasons! Think about the ideal places that have been created in stories. These places are one step away from imagining the perfect house with the intention of building it...
History
Look at house design in different historical periods. Follow the link above to view our image bank of houses that survive to inform all our ideas about the possibilities of house design.
Maths/D+T
In Japan there is a great tradition of building exquisite houses on very small plots of land, particularly in the larger cities like Tokyo. Do some online research to find examples - these are often very beautiful and inspiring homes, and they show what can be done without using a large amount of space or lots of materials.
Set your class a challenge to design their perfect house within a very small plot (limited vertically as well), and to measure out all the different rooms precisely to get the maximum use from the minimum space. It's like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Encourage them to think about the multiple functions that could be given to particular things. Which features can double as storage as well? Can rooms have different functions at different times of the day? And so on...
Art/D+T
Many architects have imagined designs for perfect houses which they have not been able to build - and there have been other perfect houses imagined that were always flights of fancy and could never have been built. Ask your class to research the most inspiring and outlandish examples.
