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Eco-Friendly House Project Part 2

Visual Arts > Structures and Mechanisms: Systems in Action

Description

Students will take a walk around their neighborhood. On this walk the students will be encouraged to pay close attention to their surroundings. They have to really pay attention to their emotional responses to what they see and experience on their walk. This is called a psychogeographic walk.

Materials

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

Activity Notes

  • With a piece of paper or a sketchpad/notebook, record the walk by drawing, or writing about what captures our eye.
  • Some questions to consider:
    ○ What do you really like about this walk or route?
    ○ How do the buildings and pathways benefit or take away from your walk or route?
    ○ Are there things you do not like to see (e.g., trash, rundown buildings that aren’t being used)?
    ○ How is the city impacting the environment?
  • Students will be challenged to reflect on their findings from their walk and think about what they would like to see change in their city. How would they reconstruct their surroundings for the betterment of themselves and the environment? What kind of green technologies would they include? For example, windmills, solar panels or creating more bike lanes/better public transit, more green space such as parks and urban gardens.
  • Then students will take a second piece of paper to map out a city plan of what they would like to see in their neighbourhood. This sketch will act as a plan for the city they will build with found recyclable materials.

Artist Notes

  • Students will be encouraged to be extremely imaginative. They can make city buildings look however they want. They do not need to create typical rectangular buildings.