House Design ProjectName: __________________________

You have been selected to design a house in the following city in China:

_________________________________________You need to research houses that are designed for your

climate region. Good luck. We will be testing your design in class to see how well it stands up to the

elements.

Engineers design different types of houses for different climates

US Dept. of Agriculture: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9815&pf=1&cg_id=0

China is a BIG country and has many different climates

Engineering Design ProcessEngineers design different types of houses for

different climates

Steps of the engineering design process: Ask

› Where is my house, what materials?

Imagine› Brainstorm different designs› Select a design

Plan Build Improve

© Abigail Watrous© Abigail Watrous

© Abigail Watrous © Abigail Watrous

Examples of homes in rural China. What materials do you see? What house features do you see?The two homes (and the wall) in these pictures are made of bricks, which can be nice and cool in the hot summer, but chilly in the cold winter.Lots of people in rural China use the small circular coal briquettes (in the lower left picture) to cook their dinners and heat their homes; this type of coal is cheap but the indoor air pollution it causes can have bad health effects on people’s lungs.

© Abigail Watrous © Abigail Watrous

© Abigail Watrous© Abigail Watrous

More examples of homes in rural China.Notice that not all homes in China are made of bricks. Some, like the two on the right side, are a mix of brick and concrete. The one in the top left, which is in southwestern China, has some beautiful woodwork in the kitchen. The one on the bottom left is made of mud bricks (adobe-like).

China

China

This map shows three cities in China that are located in three different climate zones. Urumqi is in far western China in a hot and dry climate. Harbin is in the far north of China and is quite cold and snowy.Guangzhou is located the south with a tropical climate (wet).

Engineering Design Process You are going to

design a house for one of three climates:› Very cold› Desert› Tropical

Then, you will build and test your house.

How do you think these houses should be

different from each other?

Things to know before you design

Latitude Altitude Number of rainy/snowy

days Average summer

temperature Average winter

temperature

Harbin: very cold climate

Test: Your house must be able to keep the roof from caving in when we put a lot of snow (weight) on top. We will use flour for our snow.

Guangzhou: hot and wet

Test: Your house must keep dry a piece of tissue paper inside when we pour water (rain) on top. We will use a watering can.

Urumqi: very dry

Test: Your house must be able to keep an ice cube from melting as we heat the house with a hairdryer

Your Drawing

Floorplan: rooms, doorways, windows…

Elevation: foundation, porch, roof shape and overhangs...

detailed plans

materials

sketches

dimensions

Top View(floor plan)

Side View

National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov/hdp/samples/HABS/coincoin/drawings.htm National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov/fiis/historyculture/old-mastic-house.htm

Your engineering instructions

1. Choose the climate you want to design for2. Fill out the information on part 1 –

Researching your climate region3. Fill out he information for part 2 –

designing and drawing your house4. When approved by your teacher, build,

test and improve your house (Remember the inside of your house needs to be accessible).

5. Turn in your final house design ready for testing!

Material Ideas

You may use what you have available: cardboard, poster board, foam board, sticks, straws, Popsicle sticks, toothpicks, golf tees, old cloth, foil, felt, straw, rocks, clay, wood, beans, Play-doh, string, duct tape, paper clips, tile, clay, hay or long grass for grass corkboard, saran wrap

You may use glue or tape to stick items together.

RubricRubric for Performance Assessment Activity Title: Grade Level:Construct and test roofs for different climates Grade Level:

1 2 3 4

Criteria Beginning Developing Proficient Advanced Subtotal

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Design and construction are incomplete.

House shows evidence of hasty construction.

House shows evidence of careful craftsmanship and appropriate use of materials and tools.

House shows evidence of very careful craftsmanship and the design is well thought out for the climate given.

PERFORMANCE OF HOUSE

Does not withstand given climate.

Able to withstand slight climate conditions.

Able to withstand the climate conditions.

Design creatively protects house from weather conditions.

DEMONSTRATES UNDERSTANDING

Does not use terms correctly. Is unable to answer questions about climate and/or house design.

Can answer questions about climate and/or house design, but uses terms incorrectly.

Can answer questions about climate and how the conditions dictate various house designs. Uses the terms correctly.

Can answer questions about climate and house designs. Uses terms correctly and offers suggestions for houses in area.

Teacher Comments:

Note on image sources

Image sources are usually noted on individual slide pages If not noted, source is Microsoft Clipart: 2004 Microsoft

Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.

Resources:http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.htmlhttp://www.primitiveways.com/igloo.htmlhttp://www.photovault.com/Link/Cities/Southwest/Teepee.htmlhttp://www.fastcompany.com/1751556/architect-di%C3%A9b%C3%A9do-francis-k%C3%A9r%C3%A9-repurposes-european-techniques-his-native-country