Touching The Sky With PS39

In eight weeks, students learn about,
design, and build skyscrapers.

By Patricia Shuford, Architect-Educator • For a PDF of this article, click here. • Posted June 29, 2007 • Click on pictures to enlarge them.

The Challenge

The Letter M arch was still a little cool as I made my way to Francis J. Murphy School in Staten Island (otherwise known as PS39) to do an eight-week course in what I was calling "Skyscrapers 101": an in-depth study of the who, what, where, when, how, and why of that most widespread of urban structures.

I felt a bit nervous about the "course" because I had never done this kind of work with third-graders, and it was important for me to design a path that was coherent, thoughtful, and (above all) exciting for their grade level. I had four things in mind that I wanted to achieve: 1) to get students excited about architecture and engineering, and the built environment; 2) have students see themselves as designers; 3) have students recognize the skyscraper and its characteristics as a unique building type; and 4) have the students design something they would be proud to exhibit.

But the students and the course weren't the only challenges. In my discussions with the teachers in preparation for the work, they were helpful but guarded in their conversations with me. For a third grade teacher, I concluded that it might be disarming to completely turn your class over to a perfect stranger.

The Course

Here is how I broke down the eight-week course:

Week 1 - Structure (Part 1): Students examine why buildings stand up and fall down, with a focus on column strengths and shapes.
Week 2 - Structure (Part 2): Students explore the structural grid of a building by constructing a building that allows them to see beams and columns in tension and compression.
Week 3 - Skyscrapers Around The World: Students are introduced to dozens of national and international examples. They then choose a design they like, make a sketch of it, cut it out, and paste it on a banner showing all of their building sketches. (See the first row, first picture below.) In this I wanted them to focus on the architectural design of skyscrapers and the articulated rooftop, if the skyscraper had one.
Week 4 - 2D to 3D: Students are introduced to floor plans to learn how building plans and elevations relate to one another. Using the floor plan, students construct a small house attaching elevations and a roof. This prepares them to understand concepts of folding (mountain & valley), cutting and scoring in preparation for building their skyscrapers out of paper and oaktag.

Week 5 - Designer The Skyscrapers (1): Using paper forms, students create shapes (squares, triangles, rectangles, pyramids, etc.) that they then assemble to create their unique skyscrapers.
Week 6 – Designing The Skyscraper (2): Students begin designing skyscrapers in groups with the hope that the best of each design will be incorporated in one group design, with an emphasis on thoughtful, free-hand expression.
Weeks 7 & 8 – Constructing The Skyscrapers

And To My Great Pleasure...

The Letter T he third graders were voracious learners. They remembered the vocabulary and articulated the language in their expressions. They were anxious about knowing how and when they would design and build their own skyscrapers. I conveyed to them that we would follow a thoughtful process that would lead us to our final goal. With each working sessions, I sensed their confidence in meeting the design/build challenge and in knowing that somehow I would make it happen.

After 8 weeks, I thought it was very important for the students to have a substantial product. Therefore, after the students designed their skyscrapers on paper, I interpreted their designs at home then made templates for the students to put together in class. It was likened to creating a pattern then cutting the pattern out. The material used was oaktag, so almost all of the cutting was done with a matt knife. A tool that could not have been used by 3rd graders. Although it was a great deal of work, I thought the students truly felt ownership of their designs.

On the day of my arrival, March 23, the Salvadori program was announced welcomed by name. I felt honored and respected. Mr. Corso, the principal visited the classroom several times during the 8-week period. On one occasion, he saw me taking a picture and volunteered to take the picture with me in it, then left the classroom to print the photo and deliver it to me in the teachers' room during lunch. I was impressed.

The teachers have to be given a round of applause as well. They were helpful and patient with this person who came into their classrooms from week to week. They participated in the activities and got back for their patience and good humor new resources and activities for their current and future classes.

Final Thoughts

The Letter T he skyscraper unit was a new learning experience for each of us. The students perhaps had never been so totally immersed in a hands-on, built environment focus where they were challenged to design and construct their skyscraper with so little knowledge and time to learn how. The students were attentive listeners, motivated learners, thoughtful and fun to teach. The students and teachers alike were complimentary and expressed a great deal of admiration about the work and learning that took place. The kids made me feel like a famous rock star or entertainer, but definitely someone who was admired and well-liked. Many of the students told me they would like to become architects and engineers.

This "atmosphere of good cheer" seemed to be part of the school's culture. The environment was cheerful, clean, accommodating, and well managed, with seemingly many supportive programs and services for students. The students were friendly, polite and very respectful of me, my time, my talent and the Salvadori supplies. The school has a strong parent association with a "get the job done" parent coördinator. In the mornings, the principal introduced students who led the pledge of allegiance and the singing of "America the Beautiful." Any student birthdays or special events were announced at that time. He concluded by wishing everyone a good weekend and reminding the students that the students of P.S. 39 were the best.

At the end of the program, each student was given a Salvadori certificate and a Salvadori mechanical pencil. Even though we had the "job" of building skyscrapers, we all felt that we had built something more as well -- joy, trust, and an excitement about future learning. A special thanks to Principal Robert Corso and the third-grade teachers Alexis Dorval, Nicole Arena, Stephanie Murphy, Grace Marotta, and Kathleen Falconer for a job well-done and a wonderful time.

The Builders

Mission of the Salvadori Center: Our founder, Mario Salvadori, a world-renowned structural engineer, believed that the built environment held all the knowledge that a person needed to be an intelligent and active member of the community. What teachers need to make this knowledge available to their students are tools with which they can “unpack” the knowledge embedded in the built environment.

The Salvadori Center gives these tools to teachers and students through a pedagogy grounded in what it calls “project-based, hands-on/minds-on activities” that employ the principles of architecture, engineering, and the design process. Through this method, teachers and their students can unlock the math, science, art, and humanities embodied in the structures and systems that surround them.