A building in progress at the Earthships in northern New Mexico |
At first glance, it may be difficult to
say if the building pictured here is being constructed or taken down. It is an
on-going construction project, part of an Earthship Biotecture community north
and west of Taos, New Mexico. An Earthship is a type of off-the-grid house
built partially below ground with natural and recycled materials to produce its
own water, energy, and food. The main construction materials are adobe, old
tires, and empty cans and glass bottles. There is a community here of these
houses, a visitor center, and a school to learn how to make Earthships. You can
also spend the night in one.
We visit here quite often to watch the
construction of this and other new buildings on the site. I find the playfully curvaceous
lines and forms of these handmade structures very appealing. They seem to grow
right out of the ground and remind me of Antoni Gaudi’s similar architectural forms in Barcelona such as the Sagrada Família and
Güell Park.
Because such designs and materials are so
appealing, they offer an engaging introduction to the art of construction for
your students. You could have your students build with similar recycled
materials in either collaborative or individual projects. In such projects,
students can experiment with structure, engineering, and construction as they
work.
Deconstruction, the flip side of construction,
is also worthy of experimentation. In broad terms, deconstruction is the
selective taking apart of an object or idea to better understand its meaning or
how it works. Art criticism is basically a form of deconstruction that can lead
to a better understanding of an artwork.
In architecture, deconstruction is the selective taking apart and reusing of
building components, described by Wikipedia as a kind of “construction in reverse.”
Deconstruction is necessary before materials can be reused in Earthships.
Whether you focus on construction or
deconstruction, it is invaluable to include three-dimensional concepts and
projects in your curriculum as much as possible. Oftentimes students who may
not be confident in their drawing skills may excel at working in three
dimensions.
Expensive materials are not required for
construction. Paper sculpture can be made from construction paper, file
folders, tag board, cardboard, mat board, Styrofoam, toothpicks, and paper
straws or struts. Clay and other modeling materials or found objects or pieces
of wood also offer avenues for your students to explore. If you use centers,
you could set up a “construction zone,” and have all these types of materials
available there.
Construction/deconstruction projects work well
for collaborative projects, where students can help and learn from each other,
whether they are building a structure or analyzing a work of art.
As comedian Lily Tomlin has said, “The road to
success is always under construction.” Help your students follow that road.
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Your editor letter reminded me of learning about the Russian Constructivist movement in art history class. Here is a great movie on it: https://youtu.be/3P18XmwRKgM
ReplyDeleteYou also made me think about this artist:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/HSKyHmjyrkA
Theo Jansen and his Strandbeests. I was fortunate enough to see one in person at Mass MOCA a few years ago. They are huge.