Month: April 2017

Michelle Obama for Architecture!

Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently spoke at the American Institute of Architects’ 2017 annual meeting. She urged that people who design and build in cities must think about all parts of the city, not just the “important” buildings downtown, but also the communities where children live and play. She also suggested that we – teachers, parents, adults […]

A Small ABC Book about Architecture

  A is for Architecture is a book by Eric Heuler. With a hand drawn image on each page and a single sentence describing the words from A to Z, the book is a nice introduction to the terms of architecture, from Dome, to Masonry, to Oculus. (An oculus, by the way, is a circular window […]

What is a Chicago Window?

There are all sorts of windows that an architect might select for a building. Chicago Window A grouping of 3 windows, where there are two double hung windows on the sides of a picture window. These windows were used way back when in Chicago, in buildings like The Marquette Building, one of the earliest skyscrapers built. […]

Z is for ZIGGURAT

Ziggurat. What a goofy sounding word, right? What is a ziggurat and how does it relate to architecture? A ziggurat is a a stepped pyramid. Usually a four-sided structure. There were ziggurats in ancient Mesopotamia and also in ancient pre-Columbian Meso-America, Asia and Europe. Ziggurats are built out of stone and although they are found all […]

Teaching Kids about Architecture in Spain

This program has it all – hands-on learning, skill-building, and FUN. Architecture for Kids, or Architectura Par Ninos, is the name of the program, and gives us another case of “darn I wish I lived in Spain” The program is spelled out on the website, where they build structures both big and small, they learn […]