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Eco-Friendly House Project Part 1

Visual Arts > Structures and Mechanisms: Systems in Action

Description

Students will explore their own home and think about how it positively or negatively impacts the environment.

Materials

  • Paper.
  • Pencil.
  • Ruler.
  • Coloured pencils.
  • Markers.
  • Any recyclable materials (e.g., cereal boxes, plastic containers, old fabric, egg cartons, newspaper).

Activity Notes

  • Take a piece of paper and a pencil with you as you walk around your home. Really take the time to think about how each room in your home or the external structure of your home could impact the environment. Enter each room that you use on a daily basis. What is this room used for and how can you change it to be environmentally friendly?
  • Draw or write down the things that you would like to redesign. For example, how could you redesign your garbage bin? Is there a better way to dispose of the things we no longer need?
  • When students are done exploring their home and taking note of the things they would like to redesign, take another piece of paper and draw a picture of the new environmentally friendly home. This drawing will act as a blueprint of your new home design. In this blueprint can include drawings of new technologies that you would put in place of outdated appliances that might negatively impact the environment. For example, replacing the roof shingles with solar panels, using rainwater runoff from the eavestroughs to water a garden.
  • After drawing a blueprint of their new home students will take recyclable materials to build a three dimensional layout of their new eco-friendly home.

Artist Notes

  • This activity is meant to encourage students to connect with their environment inside their home to then learn how to connect with the world outside their home in a similar way. Designs can be inspired by current eco-friendly systems/structures OR students can invent a new technology using their imagination.
  • Think about the different types of renewable energies that could be used. For example, wind, rain, and solar.
  • Their model eco home should be made out of only recyclable materials so when it’s time to dispose of their sculpture it can be recycled.
  • Also, BE CREATIVE! This is your home and it can look however you like. If you want to change the colour, shape, form and look of the house go for it!