Integrating Geometry and The Southwest:
The Natural, Cultural and Architectural Environment Around Us
Penny Fehringer
Introduction
This project will incorporate Geometry concepts with the architecture around us giving students a hands-on approach to learning, allowing them to experience the excitement and see the logic of learning Geometry in the context of the environment, in particular, Southwest Architecture.
Need
The students have difficulty comprehending formulas and seeing the practical uses for them. They will learn these skills through the drawing of two-dimensional designs and the building of three-dimensional scale models, and then will apply the formulas to these real-world applications.
Purpose
This project will combine the ideas of shape and measurement, encompassing both two and three-dimensional figures, with the concepts of Southwest architecture. The concepts of Geometry, beginning with points, moving on to lines, then on to two-dimensional shapes and then, finally, to three-dimensional solids, parallels the study of architecture. The study of Southwest Architecture provides the students with real-life examples within or very near their own community. Students will connect the principles of Geometry by following a common strand rather than chapter-by-chapter isolated topics.
Review of Literature
Students will learn to research materials needed, comparing and contrasting design ideas. They will also learn to present this information in a convincing format. This will meet the Content Standards for Mathematics in Communication which states that students will use drawings, discussion, reading, writing, and listening to access, learn, and communicate mathematical ideas. Library and Internet research will be expected from the students. The teacher will also provide activities to enhance their studies. This could include walking tours and videotapes that give the student access to a variety of designs not available in the neighborhood. Guest speakers will also be invited.
Approach
The project will be an ongoing concept using the design studio format (explained below). Students will begin by learning to transform bubble diagrams into scale drawings, continuing the strand with several class activities, and culminating in the actual building of a model of their own design during the second semester. Risk-taking will be encouraged.
Design Studio
The classroom will be set up as much as possible to mimic the architecture design studio. This will support the idea of a project-oriented curriculum and instruction based on self-expression and recognition of the multiple intelligences. The design studio involves a process that values the new and unknown, not "what was" or "what is" but what "can be." It encourages learning through visual thinking--so much a part of the Geometry curriculum, hands-on activities, problem solving, creative thought, group activities, and presentations, including the development of communication skills in the math classroom. The design studio concept promotes perceptual learning strategies, visual and verbal skills, kinesthetic skills, and technical skills. All ideas are prized. The presentations by the students allow them to share their own ideas before a peer group for teacher review, reflect on the process, give and receive constructive criticism and evaluate the work completed.
Ideally each group of two or three students will have a workstation complete with a laptop computer, a portfolio storage space, all the tools needed for the variety of projects planned and then display space on all walls for immediate posting of student work. Realistically, one area of the classroom will be set up with a large table, tools for all to share and some type of display space to post student work. Student desks will be moved to provide a flexible work environment. Hopefully, in time, the public school classroom will be more conducive to hands-on learning.
Individual tool kits that enhance the design studio format include a sketch book, clipboard, black markers, gray markers, compass, triangles (45-45/30-60), home planning template, french curve, lettering guide, metal ruler, scale ruler, glue, glue gun/glue sticks, tracing paper, oil pastels, colored markers, colored pencils, an x-acto knife, scissors, draft dots, invisible tape, masking tape, clay, and small binder clips. Also, equipment available in the classroom will include an overhead projector, a slide projector, a trace box, a light board, chipboard, clay, plastic knives, rolling pins, plastic bags, and drawing paper. Students will become familiar with many tools and learn the value of handling them with care.
Benefits/Results
The curriculum will be covered as a total concept allowing the students to understand
Geometry and it's place in their real world, now and in the future. The hands-on
experiences will enhance their learning and comprehension as well as excite them about
further study either in school or on their own. The final project will encourage
interdisciplinary learning as they research all the aspects necessary to complete their
design, including the historical background. Writing about their work will prepare them
for the real work world. Students will realize success in completing their models and
presenting them to the class. They will understand the concepts involved and be able to
talk about them. Hopefully the projects will be displayed for others to view, possibly in
the Spring Art Show. 
The Skills Learned Will Meet the Following Content Standards for Mathematics:
1 Students will understand and use mathematics in problem solving.
2 Students will understand and use mathematics in communication.
3 Students will understand and use mathematics in reasoning.
4 Students will understand and use mathematical connections.
5 Students will understand and use numbers and number relationships.
6 Students will understand and use number systems and number theory.
7 Students will understand and use computation and estimation.
8 Students will have a foundation in geometric concepts.
9 Students will understand and use measurement.
10 Students will understand and use statistics.
12 Students will understand and use patterns and functions.
13 Students will understand and apply algebraic concepts.
Students will utilize the following skills of architecture:
* Drawing
* Model Building - clay, chipboard
* Self-expressive behavior:
Tracing of projected images
Use of trace paper
Portfolio Assessment
* Appreciative Behavior:
Presentation of work
Critical aesthetic judgements
Lesson plans/handouts included in this curriculum:
My Room (Individual Project)
Sample Bubble Diagram
Arrows in Architecture
Multiple Views: How to show spatial relationships
Using an Architects Scale
Drawing a Floor Plan
Doors and Windows in Plan
Southwestern Vegetarian Fast Food Restaurant (Individual Project)
A Pueblo Model (Individual/Class Project)
Pueblo House Pattern (Run on cardstock)
Circles, Kivas and Pueblo Mythology (Group Project)
Origins of Southwest Architecture/History
Spanish Colonial Architecture (Individual Project)
Spanish Colonial Architecture/History
Visual Portfolio Evaluation (Teacher Assessment Tool)
My Room
Objective: The student will...
I. learn to sketch a bubble diagram;
II. learn the use of arrows in architecture;
III. learn the skill of drawing elevations;
IV. learn the skill of drawing scale models using a scale ruler;
V. learn the skill of drawing a floor plan, including doors and windows;
VI. transform a bubble diagram into an actual scale drawing.
Vocabulary:
bubble diagram...... closed curved forms or bubbles which represent spaces and spatial
relationships.
elevation........... a view of a room or house as seen from the side
floor plan.......... a view of a room or house as seen from above
scale model......... any model or drawing that is proportionately smaller/larger than the
original object
Materials needed:
* Black pens
* Drawing paper
* Tracing paper
* Scale rulers
* Overhead Projector
Background: Bubble Diagrams
Architects use several different visual means to organize their thoughts.
When they start with a dream or an idea of a space, they first draw circles or "bubbles" in order to see the space in their mind's eye. They want to imagine the spaces they will need and how those spaces, and the functions that take place within those spaces, should relate to each other.
A bubble diagram is composed of circles, arrows, and labels. Each bubble represents a space and has a label to describe the space and/or the function that will take place within that space. By drawing bubbles, the designer can determine which space should be next to another space. Arrows show the circulation of how people and creatures would move through these spaces. Tracing paper can be used as an overlay to rearrange bubbles/drawings.
A plan view converts the bubble diagram to a form that begins to resemble a building. A scale ruler is used to make a scale model of the building and the spaces within.
I. Bubble Diagram
* The teacher will introduce the concept of bubble diagrams and tracing paper using the classroom or school as an example. A sample handout is included.
II. Arrows in Architecture
* Students will practice arrows in architecture from a transparency on the overhead projector. A handout is included. For homework the students will sketch a bubble diagram of their room or any room in the house, using arrows to indicate traffic flow.
III. Elevations
* The teacher will introduce elevations and the drawing of front, side, and back
elevations, using the overhead projector. The students will practice drawing elevations
from slides of southwestern architecture.
IV. Drawing Scale Models
* Using the concepts of drawing scale models from a general mathematics text, the teacher will explain the concept of scale models and the use of a scale ruler.
Students will practice using items in the classroom. A handout on using an
architect’s scale is included.
V. Floor Plan/Doors and Windows
* The teacher will introduce floor plans and the drawing of doors and windows,
making copies of the handouts included for each student. Students will practice
these skills, using the classroom as an example.
VI. Bubble Diagram to Floor Plan
* For homework the students will transform their bubble diagram to an actual scale drawing. Students will turn in their bubble diagram and their scale drawing for assessment, including a list of vocabulary, actual and scale measurements and the area of the room studied.
Southwestern Vegetarian Fast Food Restaurant
Objective: The student will...
I. create a bubble diagram to effectively design a southwestern vegetarian fast food restaurant;
II. create a scale drawing floor plan and front elevation of the actual restaurant;
III. present the design on a poster board to a small group of students; and
IV. submit the poster and convincing statements to the teacher for assessment.
Vocabulary: Defined above.
Materials Needed:
* Black pens
* Drawing paper
* Tracing paper
* Ruler
* Scale ruler
* Poster Board
I. Bubble Diagram
* Students will create a bubble diagram to effectively design a southwestern vegetarian fast food restaurant, using tracing paper to prepare additional drafts or corrections. The restaurant will need a kitchen, bathroom, office and other possibilities, depending on design, may include more bathrooms, a dining area, a pick-up area, a drive-up window and parking. To meet city codes, doors must open out.
II. Scale Drawing and Front Elevation
* Students will create a scale drawing floor plan and front elevation of the restaurant. They will include measurements of the building and its spaces.
III. Group Presentation
* The student will present the design on a poster board to a small group of students in a convincing manner, explaining each space and why this design is most effective in meeting the needs of the owner, employees, and customers.
Assessment
* The student will submit the poster and convincing statements to the teacher for assessment. The teacher will lead a critique on the effectiveness of presenting to a small group.
A Pueblo Model
(This project will be completed during the geometric study of quadrilaterals, including the introduction of cubes.)
Objective: The student will...
I. learn the background of a Pueblo Village;
II. create a pueblo house from a cardstock pattern (included);
III. work as a class to create a pueblo village; and
IV. submit a final report including an explanation of the project, vocabulary,
measurements, drawings, and answers to questions.
Vocabulary:
plaza........... open space between the house clusters where public dances and ceremonies take place.
pueblo.......... from Spanish, "village, people"; refers to both the communal sandstone and adobe structures of Southwestern Indians, and to the people who inhabit them.
Materials needed:
* Drawing paper
* Tracing paper
* Ruler
* Cardstock pattern for each student
* Glue gun or glue stick
* Large platform for pueblo village base
* Slides/slide projector
I. Background: Pueblo Villages
The Pueblo people build their houses and their towns as living, breathing things. The east-west alignment of the buildings ensures that the northerly walls protect against cold and winter winds; the south-facing terraces and doorways trap the sun's heat, which is stored in the heavy massing of adobe walls. The use of natural building materials and environmental orientation reflect the unique efficiency of the Pueblo city plan. Because the buildings themselves are an organic and vital architecture, they are allowed to "die" when their lives are done. But, from the crumbled clay of a broken house, a new house is born. The building materials are recycled, transformed, and become a wall, an oven, or another building.
To shelter their growing population, second stories are added to the unit pueblo. Families sleep in the upper, front units where sunlight can peer through the smoke hole, and the passive-solar heating properties of adobe are most effective. During late fall and early spring the people work or socialize on the outdoor roof terraces. In the cooler, darkened interior rooms they process-dried corn, squash, and other produce. The interior rooms are used as storage for the food supply. A number of rooms are devoid of any sign of domestic life.
Several slides will be available for observation and sketching/tracing.
II. Create a Pueblo house
* The students will each create a Pueblo house out of cardstock.
* The students will measure the perimeter of the house, the area of each wall, the floor and roof, and the volume of the solid created. This information will be included in the final report.
III. Create a Pueblo village
* Each student will create a bubble diagram of a pueblo village following the guidelines of placement with regard to North, South, East and West. The village will include one or more plazas for dances and celebrations.
* As a class, the students will create a model of the village using their Pueblo houses and their bubble diagrams.
* The students will measure the perimeter and the area of the village as well as the perimeter and area of the plaza(s). This information will be included in the final report.
IV. Final Report
* A final report will be submitted for assessment. This report will consist of an explanation of the project, vocabulary, the measurements required from above, the student’s bubble diagram of the village and a final elevation drawing of the class village as assembled, including a key stating the position of the village regarding North, South, East and West. In addition, include answers to the following questions:
1. Was your bubble diagram consistent with the final design?
Explain.
2. Did the class work constructively as a whole in the design of the village? Who determined the decision-making process? Is the layout of the village consistent with the guidelines followed by the Pueblo people? Explain.
4. Did you feel comfortable working on this project with the class?
Explain. What suggestions do you have for grouping students in the most efficient way for further projects?
Extensions
* Visit a nearby Pueblo with your family and notice the layout of the village. Did they
follow the guidelines as you learned them? Determine North, South, East, and West. Take a
compass to verify the layout. How many plazas are there? See if you can find out when
their celebrations are held and if you can attend any of them.
Circles, Kivas and Pueblo Mythology
Objective: The student will...
I. learn the geometric concepts of circles, including
* naming parts of circles
* determining relationships between lines and circles
* writing equations of circles
* recognizing major and minor arcs and semicircles
* finding the measure of arcs and central angles, and
* defining a sphere;
II. learn and draw the architectural concepts of
* section drawings
* plan views, and
* elevation;
III. learn about the Pueblo cosmos as a contained spherical unit; work as a member of a community to design and build an adobe model of a Pueblo kiva; and prepare a report to include vocabulary, labeled geometric and architectural drawings, Pueblo cosmos drawings and symbolism, and an evaluation of the studio activity.
Geometry Vocabulary:
central angle........ an angle formed by two rays coplanar with the circle with the
vertex of the angle being the center of the circle.
chord................ a segment whose endpoints are points on the circle.
circle.............. the set of all points in a plane that are a given distance from a
given point in the plane, called the center.
diameter............. a chord that contains the center of the circle.
exterior of a circle.... a point is in the exterior of a circle if the measure of the
segment joining the point to the center of the circle is greater than the
measure of the radius.
interior of a circle.... a point is in the interior of a circle if the measure of the
segment joining the point to the center of the circle is less than the measure
of the radius.
major arc............ an unbroken part of a circle whose measure is greater than 180
degrees. Three letters are needed to name a major arc.
minor arc............ an unbroken part of a circle whose measure is less than 180 degrees.
Two letters are needed to name a minor arc.
radius............... a segment whose endpoints are the center of the circle and a point
on the circle.
semicircle........... an unbroken part of a circle whose measure is exactly 180 degrees.
The diameter divides a circle into two semicircles. Three
letters are needed to name a semicircle.
sphere............... the set of all points in space that are a given distance from a
given point, called the center.
Southwest Architecture and other vocabulary:
adobe................ a sun-dried brick made of mud, clay, and straw.
altar................ an elevated place or
structure before which religious ceremonies may be enacted.
architecture......... the integration of aesthetics, function, space and materials to
create a building.
cosmos............... universe, world.
fire pit............. a pit used both for
cooking meals and heating the room.
kiva................. a cylindrical Pueblo
structure, usually underground, used for ceremonies and men's religious meetings.
latilla.............. a sapling stripped of its
bark and laid perpendicular to the vigas on a Pueblo roof.
masonry.............. stonework.
mythology............ traditional stories about the history and origin of a people and
their ancestors and deities.
niche................ a recess in a wall.
pueblo............... from Spanish, "village;" refers to both the communal
sandstone and adobe structures of Southwestern Indians, and to the people
who
inhabit them.
rectilinear.......... bounded by straight lines
sipapu............... an opening in the kiva floor; place of emergence of the Pueblo
people from the underground.
viga................. a horizontal wooden beam used for roofing.
Materials Needed:
* Compass
* Black pens
* Drawing paper
* Tracing paper
* Slides/slide projector
* Overhead projector
* Additional materials listed under Studio Activity
I. Geometry
* Refer to the Geometry text to cover vocabulary and concepts. Students will practice
circle constructions using a compass.
* Homework will also be assigned from the Geometry text.
II. Architecture
* Study the history of Native American architectural forms. A handout entitled
"Origins of the Southwest/History" is included and research sources are listed
in the bibliography. Students are encouraged to search the Internet as well.
* Refer to the handouts explaining section drawings, plan views and elevation. Slides of
kivas will be displayed and the students will construct circles and then sketch the
drawings for their final report.
III. Pueblo Cosmos
* Refer to the Geometry text for an understanding of spheres and the construction of spheres using a compass.
* Refer to the bibliography for information on the pueblo cosmos mythology as a contained spherical unit. Display drawings on the overhead to enhance student understanding and as patterns for spherical cosmos units for their final report.
IV. Studio Activity: Build a model of a Pueblo kiva
(Adapted from The Pueblo: Architecture for a Natural World, Art in the School, Inc., Albuquerque, NM)
Materials needed for each group (suggest groups of 3 or 4)
* Clay
* Rolling pin
* Newspapers to work on
* Cup of vinegar/water
* Plastic knife
* Combs to score bricks
* Cardboard for base
* Sticks/dried grass for roof
Making the Adobe Bricks
* Role a slab of clay 1/2" thick, and approximately 8" x 11".
* Using "combs" made of 11" wood strips with nails placed at 1"
intervals on one, and 1/2" intervals on the second, score the clay. Draw the 1"
interval "comb" across the clay in one direction, and draw the 1/2"
interval "comb" across the clay at right angles to the first. Cut the adobes
apart with a plastic knife. Keep bricks moist under plastic or a damp towel until ready to
work.
Construction
* Using a compass, construct a circle with a radius of approximately 3" on the
cardboard base.
* To lay the first course of bricks, moisten and score with your finger nail the adobe
brick and place on the base circle. Continue to add adobes end to end around the base
being careful to moisten and score all adjoining sides.
* Lay the second layer of bricks over the first, but stagger the adobes over the joints of
the first layer. After completing the second layer, lay the third, fourth, etc. until the
wall stands approximately 4" high.
* To construct the layered roof, use sticks and twigs. Remember to leave a hole for an
entrance. First, place strong viga sticks across the width of the building and allow the
ends to protrude over the wall. Add latilla twigs perpendicular to the vigas. Next, cover
the twigs with a layer of brush, and finally smear a thin layer of adobe over the whole
roof. Dry earth and grasses may crown the structure.
* Construct a ladder from viga sticks. Glue latilla twigs for rungs.
* Remember to work cooperatively and make sure that everyone has a turn. Kivas may be
displayed for all to enjoy.
V. Evaluation
* Record in your individual project report the procedure you followed.
* Measure and record the radius and diameter of the completed kiva.
* Write a possible equation of the circle with the kiva center at (0,0).
* Write a possible equation of the circle with the kiva center at (-1,2).
* Answer the following questions:
1) How did you feel working on a group project?
2) What can we learn from the pueblo people about cooperation?
3) What can we learn about architecture that seeks to be at one with the environment?
4) Did you encounter any difficulties in your building? How did you deal with them?
Extensions
* Visit a nearby Pueblo with your family. You will not be able to enter the kiva, but see if you can determine where it may be located. Observe the construction of their houses. Are they made of adobe? Are they circular? Are they rectilinear? Remember to respect the people and their property. You may not be allowed to take pictures or may be charged a fee to do so.
* The Pueblo Indians were keen observers of the sun, moon, and stars. Their agricultural success depended on knowing when to plant their crops. You can measure the progression of the seasons by recording the angle of the sun as it climbs in the sky.
Cut a piece of board (15" x 20"). Erect a 4" high stick in the center of one of the longer sides, about 1" from the edge. Put the board in a south-facing window (stick side toward the window).
Each hour during daylight hours, make a mark at the end of the sticks shadow and record the time. Connect the dots and record the date. Repeat this procedure every two weeks and plot the curves. Does the length of the shadow change with the seasons? When is it longest? Shortest? What does this tell you?
Spanish Colonial Architecture
Objective: The student will...
I. conduct research to discover examples of Spanish Colonial casas;
II. design a Spanish Colonial casa;
III. execute plan and front elevation drawings of this casa;
IV. build a plan model of their design; prepare a report to include research, vocabulary, drawings and measurements; and
VI. present their project in front of the class and submit the report and model to the
teacher for assessment.
Vocabulary:
banco.......... bench built of adobe adjoining an exterior or interior wall; used for sitting and sleeping.
canale......... drains or troughs set in the roof to carry off excess rainwater; made of flat stones, hollowed gourds, or wood.
colonial....... period in history when the southwest was a colony of Spain, 1598-1821.
fogon.......... bell-shaped, corner fireplace built of adobe.
placita........ open patio or space within a house; plan in which single, adjoining rooms enclose an open patio.
portal......... porch extending the length of a building or side of a placita.
ristras........ string of chile peppers
zaguan......... gate; heavy wooden double entryway, often incorporating a smaller, pedestrian entrance.
Materials Needed:
* Drawing paper
* Tracing paper
* Black pens
* Chipboard/Clay/Gingerbread/Graham Crackers
* Scissors
* Glue/Glue gun
* Ruler
* X-acto knife
* Slides/slide projector
I. Conduct Research
* Refer to the handout entitled "Spanish Colonial Architecture/History" to learn about the Spanish settlers entering the Southwest. Students are expected to
* Conduct research on the Internet or in the library to add to this lesson. Drawings of examples will give the students ideas for their project as well as enhance their presentation. Students are encouraged to take photographs as well. Several slides will also be available for research and tracings.
II. Design a Spanish Colonial Casa
* The students will begin by creating a bubble diagram and working toward the drawing of a scale model. Measurements will be included. All work will be completed outside of class. The previous activities will have prepared the students for this individual project. All drawings will be labeled and become a part of the final project.
III. Plan and Front Elevation Drawings
* Students will prepare a plan drawing, including fogons, bancos, and a placita. The placita will be landscaped with trees, vegetable, and herb gardens and a well. The front elevation will include a portal and zaguan and perhaps some ristras by the door. The front elevation will include a traditional roof. Students are to label all drawings.
IV. Model-building
* The students will build a model from their drawings using any material that will represent a traditional Spanish Colonial casa. Some suggestions are chipboard, clay gingerbread, or graham crackers. The floor is part of the model. Be sure to include windows, doors, portals, roofs with vigas and latillas, and canales. Interior fogons and bancos do not have to be included in the model.
* To make a gingerbread adobe casa, a standard recipe should provide enough edible adobe for a small casa. Design your own pattern pieces and build a cardboard model first. Remember, the dough swells slightly during baking. Cement pieces together with Royal Glaze (Recipe: Gradually add 3 and 1/2 C sifted powdered sugar and juice of 1 lemon to 2 stiffly beaten egg whites. One or two drops of glycerin helps in spreading.) Use cinnamon sticks for vigas; bake red or orange hard candy at 300 degrees F until it melts and "glue onto window interior with Royal Glaze; hang red icing ristras beside the door; and sprinkle powdered sugar on the roof for snow. You may choose to use graham crackers instead of gingerbread.
V. Final Report
The final report will include a brief research-based explanation of the project, vocabulary, all drawings, measurements, and any visual aids used in the presentation. The answers to the following questions will also be included:
1. Did you enjoy working on this project? What part was particularly enjoyable? Explain.
2. How does Spanish Colonial architecture differ from Puebloarchitecture ? Are there any similarities? Give an example.
3. Where have you seen examples of the influence of Spanish Colonial architecture in this area? Give some examples.
VI. Presentation and Submission of Project
Students will present their project to the class and submit the model and final report to the teacher for assessment. The presentation will include explanations of the materials and methods of building construction. Correct Spanish vocabulary will be used to describe the model. Models will be displayed and returned to the students by the end of the school year.
Extensions:
* Visit the "Casa San Ysidro: The Gutierrez/Minge House" in nearby Corrales.
This home, an excellent example of traditional Spanish Colonial architecture,is part of
the Albuquerque Museum. One-hour public tours are offered by reservation for a fee.
Pueblo House Pattern
Origins of Southwest Architecture
History
A thousand years or more before Christopher Columbus set foot in the New World, Anasazi Basket Makers were excavating pit houses in the Southwest. When Viking explorer Leif Ericson sailed for America around A.D.1000, the Anasazi architects of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico had already built much of the spectacular Pueblo Bonito, a multi-storied structure. Today, modern Taos Indians dry chiles beside the same doors their ancestors had long before the founding of the Jamestown colony in 1607. Arid only in terms of rainfall, the Southwest provided fertile ground for the birth of American architecture.
The Anasazi ("the ancient ones"), who entered the Southwest about A.D.1, were the ancestors of modern Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona. These early Indians are referred to as "Basket Makers" as they had not yet learned to make pottery. Before A.D.500, they had begun building pit houses, partially underground dwellings with a circular plan. Early pit houses were saucer-shaped houses of sticks smeared with mud. Later ones had a framework of posts and crossbeams covered with brush to form the roof. A hole in the floor, the Sipapu, symbolized the place where the first Anasazi emerged into this world. Kivas, normally round stone structures used by later Pueblo Indians for religious ceremonies, are thought to be patterned after those early pit houses.
In time, the Anasazi built pit houses above ground with an entrance from a hole in the top. By around A.D.750, the Anasazi, now referred to as Pueblo, began building different types of dwellings, adapting materials in their environment. If stones were scarce, houses were built of adobe (a mud/clay mixture) with dried balls of adobe or terrones (square blocks cut from mud) used like stones. When possible, a framework of slender upright poles call jacal plastered with mud was also used.
When sandstone was plentiful, dwellings were built of stone masonry, often around a central plaza. Vigas or wooden beams formed the roof; small saplings or latillas were laid between, followed by layers of twigs, reeds, mud, and finally dry earth. Anasazi called Cliff Dwellers built multi-storied stone structures, reached by ladders, near or under overhanging cliffs at Mesa Verde and other sites. Examples of later, planned, terraced "apartment" type architecture can still be seen at the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico.
The modern day Pueblo people inherited the architectural viewpoint of their Anasazi forefathers:
1. Effective use of native materials
2. Energy conservation in transporting materials
3. Energy conservation in heating and cooling
4. Harmony with the environment
5. Design with a broader world-view
All space is sacred; each house is a small example of the larger world.
Sharing the region with the Anasazi were the Navajo. There are many lovely Origin Myths telling how the Navajos were created. Some say that First Man and First Woman picked four sacred mountains (of white shell, jet, turquoise, and abalone) from the underworld to mark the boundaries of the Navajo homeland. The Holy People taught these early Navajo how to make their hogans or homes with the doorway always facing the east to greet the rising sun.
Navajo hogans have taken several forms from the early "forked stick" hogans
with interlocking poles. Circular stone-walled dwellings with log roofs were also built.
Later hogans were often flat roofed, earth-covered square structures of four poles or the
roomier six-sided or even eight-sided hogan with notched logs forming the circular shape.
All have a smoke hole in the roof and a door facing to the east. A blessing rite is
performed for new hogans, or at least sacred corn pollen is smeared along the hogan poles
to assure that the place will be happy.
Architecture and Children, Southwest by Anne Taylor, Ph.D.,
University of New Mexico, School of Architecture & Planning
Spanish Colonial Architecture
History
Spanish settlers entered the Southwest, called New Spain, in 1598 under the leadership of Don Juan de Onate. Men, women, and children came on horseback and by caretta, a cottonwood wagon. They brought with them sheep, cattle, donkeys, farming tools, seeds for planting, and the vivid memories of Spanish culture. They were a brave, self-reliant and resourceful people. Large, close-kit families lived together helping each other and their neighbors to forge a new life in this inhospitable land. Supply trains traveled the Camino Real, the King's Highway from Mexico City twice a year bringing chocolate, paper, coffee, oranges, and yard goods to the isolated villagers.
The colonists tended sheep, wove the wool into blankets and coarsely woven rugs called jergas, maintained the acquias or ditches to irrigate their crops, ground their grain, hunted buffalo, held trade fairs, and built homes of adobe brick. They shaped the clay, sand and straw mix used by the Native Americans into bricks measuring 10" x 5" x 18" and weighing as much as 60 lbs. each. These building blocks dried in their wooden forms under the hot, southwestern sun.
The casa, or house, began as a single, square-sided, flat-topped room. As the economy and growing family needs dictated, additional rooms joined the first. Eventually, rooms in single file enclosed an open placita, or patio. Entrance to the compound was through a wooden zaguan, or gate, which was wide enough for wagons and herds of livestock. The thick, double gate often had a smaller pedestrian entrance. The placita or casa corral plan provided defense against Plains Indian attacks. The rooms opened out onto the placita and a narrow portal, or porch, provided shade and protection from rain and snow. The family well was located within the safety of this enclosed structure, and windows opened only onto the patio.
The interiors of the 26" adobe brick walls were plastered with adobe in the natural earth colorings of ochre, buff, pink, purple, red, and white. Bancos, benches adjoining the walls and built of adobe provided seating or sleeping space. Cupboards set into the walls served as closets or china cabinets. Every room had a fogon, a bell-shaped fireplace, flanked by two low shelves set into the corner. Exterior walls were also plastered to prevent erosion of the adobe bricks.
The floors were of packed earth. Roofs were constructed in the Pueblo fashion with vigas (wood beams) and latillas--slender saplings laid between the vigas. Canales, or drains, set into the roof carried off excess rainwater.
Furnishings were simple and sparse. Coarsely woven jergas covered the floor. Tables, chairs, and chests were carved from pine. Colorful colcha embroidery and santos, carved and painted images of the saints, were the only non-utilitarian objects.
The people of the southwest treasure their Spanish Colonial heritage. Details of centuries-old haciendas are authentically restored. Modern reproductions of colonial furniture grace contemporary homes. The utilitarian simplicity and handcrafted elegance of Spanish Colonial architecture silently testify to the enduring strength of these early settlers.
Architecture and Children, Southwest by Anne Taylor, Ph.D.,
University of New Mexico, School of Architecture & Planning
Bibliography
* Art in the School, Inc. (1992). The Pueblo: Architecture for a Natural World.
Albuquerque, NM:(author).
Burrill, Cummins, Kanold, Yunker (1993). Geometry, Applications and Connections.
Lake Forest,IL:Glencoe Division of Macmillan/McGraw- Hill.
Ching, Francis D.K. (1979). Architecture: Form, Space & Order. New York, NY:Van
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* Clark, Ann Nolan (1941). In My Mother's House. New York, NY:Viking Press
Lister, Robert H. & Florence C. (1987). Aztec Ruins on the Animas. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
Markovich, Nicholas C., Preiser, Wolfgang F.E., Sturm, Fred G., editors (1990).Pueblo Style and Regional Architecture. New York, NY:Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Mays, Buddy. (1985). Indian Villages of the Southwest. San Francisco, CA:Chronicle Books.
* Smith, MaryLou M. (1984). Grandma's Adobe Dollhouse. Santa Fe, NM: NewMexico Magazine.
* Taylor, Anne (1991). Architecture and Children, Southwest. Albuquerque, NM: School Zone Institute.
Taylor, Anne (1991). Architecture and Children, Teachers Guide. Seattle, WA: Architecture and Children Institute.
Wood, Nancy (1989). Taos Pueblo. New York, NY:Alfred A. Knopf
* Yue, Charlotte & David (1986). The Pueblo. Boston, MA:Houghton Mifflen Co.
* Suitable for children
Resources
Otto-Diniz, Sara, Founder/Director, Art in the School, Inc. Albuquerque, NM
Taylor, Anne, PhD., University of New Mexico School of Architecture & Planning, Albuquerque, NM.
Wilson, Chris, Architectural Historian, Albuquerque, NM
