Making it Real

The form of building you design will depend on how you think it

should touch the ground.

Will your building touch the ground lightly?

Will your building honour the ground on which it is built?

The Houses of Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was a Midwesterner (whose family had emigrated from Wales); he was familiar with the flatlands of the Great Plains.

Given the word, flatland, how do you think his houses looked?

Wright's houses are known for being long, horizontal, and often one story tall -- in other words, fairly flat. They are called "prairie" houses, after the flat expanses of land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

Which approach works for You?

• You need to decide which approach you identify most closely with and consider which you believe is the most sustainable?–The building that touches the ground as lightly

as possible–The building that honours the ground it sits

upon and ‘begins on the ground not in it’.

What if neither approach appeals to you?

• Sketch and/or mind map alternative ideas that occur to you and only when you have some original ideas noted down do some research into sustainable building techniques and the work of original/creative designers and their thinking in this area.

The Famous Writing Hutof George Bernard Shaw.It was built on a turn tableso he could turn it as the sun moved and always keep the sunon the front of the hut.

This is called Edge House and it appears to be a simple idea. It looks as though it has been folded rather like a piece of card.