Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.
Overview of Lesson Plan: In this lesson, students consider the two finalists in the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s contest for architectural designs for the site of the World Trade Center. Students then create their own designs for a meaningful public space, then critique each other’s designs.
Rachel Klein, The New York Times Learning Network
Yasmin Chin Eisenhauer, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City
Suggested Time Allowance: 45 minutes – 1 hour
1. Write about seven architectural proposals for the site of the World Trade Center.
2. Learn about the finalists in the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s contest by reading and discussing the article “Balancing Reason and Emotion in Twin Towers Void.”
3. Analyze Muschamp’s critique of the two proposals; brainstorm architectural projects for the school and choose one to design in groups; design proposals for project.
4. Write a critique of another group’s design.
1. WARM-UP/DO NOW: Prior to class, place a picture of the seven original designs proposed for the site of the World Trade Center on each student’s desk. Students respond to the following prompt (written on the board prior to class): “Look at the seven proposed designs for the World Trade Center site. Which do you think is best and why? Make sure to consider what you think the function of this space should be, and which design seems to fulfill this function best.”
2. As a class, read the article “Balancing Reason and Emotion in Twin Towers Void,” focusing on the following questions:
a. According to the article, what do the two finalists in the Lower Manhattan Development Coorporation project illustrate?
b. What does the Think Team’s project “accomplish”? How?
c. According to the article, in what competition would Libeskind’s proposal have won first place?
d. According to the article, what negative images does Libeskind’s proposal conjure up?
e. Why is Libeskind’s proposal popular?
f. According to the article, what is responsible for the emergence of memorial architecture as a leading genre in the public realm?
g. According to the article, why were the religious and civil spheres separated?
3. As a class, create a chart on the board. On the top, label two columns “aesthetic” and “conceptual.” Along the side, create two rows, “Think Team” and “Libeskind.” Students go through the article noting the author’s critiques in the two areas at the top of the chart and listing them on the board in the correct box. Then have students brainstorm a theoretical architectural project for their school. It might be a memorial to a former teacher or student, a memorial for a local, national, or international event that happened in their lifetime, a new gymnasium, or a student center. As a class, vote on which project students will create in groups. Divide students into groups of four. Each group creates a proposal for the project chosen by the class. Groups should be encouraged to be imaginative and creative, and to consider the following questions as they create their proposed design:
–For what will this space be used? How can this function be reflected in the design?
–What ideals fostered by the school should be represented in this space? How can these ideals be represented visually and spatially?
–Who will be using this space? How will this affect the form?
–If the space is memorializing a person or an event, how will you call this memory to mind without offending or upsetting people?
4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: After groups have finished their designs, have them exchange with another group. Each group now functions as an architectural critic (not as a competing designer) to determine whether this design successfully creates the right kind of environment for this project, and adequately addresses both form and function. Groups write a critique (using Muschamp’s article as a model) of the design proposal. Designs and critiques can be displayed in the classroom. They might also be displayed in the school hallway and voted on by fellow students.
Further Questions for Discussion:
–Why do you think the author is so adamant about the separation of the religious and civil spheres? Why is this an important foundation of the United States?
–Who are the “enemies” to which the article refers? Do you agree with Muschamp’s assessment that they are “mired in feudal superstition”? Explain.
–What is the most moving memorial site you have visited? What made this site particularly moving for you?
–What does the author mean by “perpetual war for perpetual peace”? Do you think this is an accurate description of the United States’ philosophy?
–What is the importance of political action being “held accountable to reason”?
Evaluation / Assessment:
Students will be evaluated on completion of Warm-Up assignment, participation in class discussions, participation in group creation of design proposal, and completion of group critique.
diptych, tour de force, pacifist, metamorphosis, affirmation, infrastructure, kitsch, demagogic, Orwellian, nostalgia, quasi-religious, susceptible, devoid, mired
1. Create your own design proposal to fill the void left by the Twin Towers. Make sure to consider Muschamp’s criticism of the two designs featured in the article. For more inspiration, look at the previously proposed designs in the New York Times’ December 19, 2002 article “VISIONS FOR GROUND ZERO: OVERVIEW; 7 Design Teams Offer New Ideas For Attack Site.”
2. Compare capitol or other government buildings in different cities or states. Create a poster with pictures of several such buildings, depicting their common architectural features. Write an analysis of why you think these buildings share these features.
3. Feng Shui, meaning “wind” and “water” in Chinese, feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of living in harmony with the natural world. Learn more about this art online at ( http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=36051). Then create a design concept for a learning space (such as your classroom or school library) that incorporates the ancient art of Feng Shui and inspires thinking and the acquisition of knowledge.
4. Another architectural design contest, which included a submission from Daniel Libeskind, was the competition to create a Holocaust memorial monument in Berlin, Germany. Research this competition, which was the focus of European and American media attention for much of the 1990s, and its surrounding controversies, and write a feature article for your local or school paper on the “politics of architecture.”
5. Explore the life and careers of two of America’s most inventive and pioneering architects: Frank Llyod Wright and Frank Gehry. What makes their work unique? What buildings and/ or works-of-art is each architect best known for? What philosophies and past architects have influenced their design? Refer to the following Web sites for information: Frank Llyod Wright (); Frank Gehry (). Write a short paper based on your findings.
Civics- Conduct a debate over the extent of separation of church and state required and desired in the United States. Make sure to consider issues of public religious worship, celebrations or decorations, and the relationship between religion and government (in such areas as public funding, government sponsored events, etc.).
Geography- Label a world map with pictures of historic architectural sites from around the world, such as the Great Wall of China or the Coliseum. Write a brief explanation of the significance and history of each site.
Global History- Learn more about the Enlightenment and how it shifted the Western world from religious to civil life. Write a short paper focusing on the famous people and events that shaped this important period in history.
Science- Learn about the environmental and social benefits of “green space,” in cities and towns. Propose a “green space” for your city or town. Create a blueprint for the space, illustrating its function and how it will fit in with the landscape around it. Write a one-page explanation of your design, explaining the benefits of green space in general and how your proposal will benefit your community in particular.
Language Arts Standard 1- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process. Benchmarks: Writes compositions that are focused for different audiences; Writes compositions that fulfill different purposes; Writes fictional, biographical, autobiographical, and observational narrative compositions; Writes descriptive compositions
(CTSS – ‘english’, ’9-12’, ’1’)
Visual Arts Standard 1- Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes related to the visual arts. Benchmarks: Applies media, techniques, and processes with sufficient skill, confidence, and sensitivity that one’s intentions are carried out in artworks; Understands how the communication of ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes one uses
Visual Arts Standard 2- Knows how to use structures and functions of art. Benchmarks: Understands how the characteristics and structures of art are used to accomplish commercial, personal, communal, or other artistic intentions; Understands the effectiveness of various artworks in terms of organizational structures and functions; Knows how organizational principles and functions can be used to solve specific visual arts problems
Visual Arts Standard 5- Understands the characteristics and merits of one’s own artwork and the artwork of others. Benchmarks: Identifies intentions of those creating artworks; Understands some of the implications of intention and purpose in particular works of art; Knows how specific works are created and relate to historical and cultural contexts; Understands how various interpretations can be used to understand and evaluate works of visual art
Geography Standard 6- Understands that culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions. Benchmarks: Understands why places and regions are important to individual human identity and as symbols for unifying or fragmenting society; Knows ways in which people’s changing views of places and regions reflect cultural change
(CTSS – ‘social’, ’9-12’, ‘geo2’)
Geography Standard 10- Understands the nature and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics. Benchmarks: Knows how cultures influence the characteristics of regions; Understands how human characteristics make specific regions of the world distinctive
(CTSS – ‘social’, ’9-12’, ‘geo4’)