Architecture, Design & Construction Resources for Young Builders
The United States Capitol – Presented by the Architect of the Capitol, this Web site contains information about the design and construction history of one of the most widely recognized buildings in the world.
The Math Forum Student Center – How many square yards of carpet in your house? How much water do you need to fill up a swimming pool? Builders use math every day to do their work and this is the best math site around. Puzzles, tips & tricks, weekly math challenges, Dr. Math will even help you with those really tough problems.
International Space Station – This construction site is located about 250 miles above the surface of the earth. When completed, it will weigh about 1 million pounds, contain about 4,635 cubic feet of living space, and measure about 360 feet across and 290 feet long. Electrical power will be supplied by almost an acre of solar panels. The space station, the space shuttle and other spacecraft are sometimes visible from earth.
The Space Needle – The foundation of this famous tower in Seattle, Washington is so large that it took 467 concrete trucks an entire day to pour it. The revolving restaurant at the top of the tower is balanced so well, that a one horsepower electric motor is able to make it rotate. Originally built in 1961, for the 1962 World’s Fair, at a cost of 4.5 million dollars, the Space Needle was renovated in 2000 at a cost of 20 million dollars.
Building Big – This Web site was produced by the WGBH Science Unit for PBS Online in connection with a five-part miniseries hosted by author-illustrator David Macaulay. Visitors can explore large building projects and take on some of the challenges that face engineers as they design and build bridges, domes, skyscrapers, dams, and tunnels.
Books by David Macaulay:
Stiles Designs – Jeanie and David Stiles have written 14 different “how-to” building project books. Their articles have been published in well-known magazines and newspapers, and they have appeared on several popular television programs. Their newest project is a Web site that features their books, as well as, plans for storage projects, children’s furniture, garden projects and easy-to-build projects for kids.
Books by David and Jeanie Stiles:
The Great Picture Book of Construction Equipment – This site, sponsored by Komatsu Ltd. of Japan, has pictures and movies of dump trucks, bulldozers, hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders or front end loaders, scrapers, rollers, cranes, towing tractors, mobile trash crushers, and other heavy construction equipment.
Wooden Toys – This Web site and the toys shown on it have been built by John Michael Linck – a Toymaker who lives in Madison, Wisconsin. He is doing a good job building his Web site, and he does a great job building his fine handcrafted wooden toys.
Washington National Cathedral – Construction began in 1907 and the last stone was laid in 1990 on this English Gothic Cathedral. Located in Washington, DC, it is the 2nd largest Cathedral in the United States and the 6th largest in the world.
Virtual Sculpture Gallery – Walter S. Arnold is a very talented sculptor, stone carver, and web master from Chicago, Illinois. He worked on the Washington National Cathedral, he was the first sculptor to create a personal website (in 1994) and his Web site is full of pictures of his work. Check out the Sculpture section for pictures of gargoyles, grotesques and animal sculptures. Very impressive work!
The Construction of the Empire State Building – 47 pictures showing the construction of the Empire State Building in New York City, which began in March of 1930. It was completed 14 months later in May, 1931. At 102 stories tall, it was the tallest building in the world until 1972 when the first tower of the World Trade Center was completed.