Skip to Main Content
Building on Nature

Building on Nature

Create fanciful architecture with inspiration from nature à la the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí .

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Recycled Cardboard Box
  • Tape

Steps

  • Step 1

    Introduce students to the work of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí who designed fanciful buildings inspired by images from nature. Show students pictures of his work, such as "La Pedrera," "Parc Güell," and "La Sagrada Familia." Though written for young children, an excellent picture book resource that has intriguing illustrations relevant for all ages is "Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudí" by Rachel Rodriguez. Discuss the ways Gaudí's buildings differ from more traditional designs.

  • Step 2

    Divide students into teams and have each team design a different building in a community - a house, school, library, office building, etc. - in the style of Gaudí . Ask them to sketch their nature-inspired ideas and then create a 3-D version of it using recycled boxes, folded heavy paper, watercolor paints, markers, and any other basic materials. Suggest ways to create a textured feel, for example blending several shades of green to create leaves on a tree.

  • Step 3

    Invite the class to work together to create a small town of Gaudi type buildings. Consider the types of buildings most towns have: homes, offices buildings, a library, post office, schools, factories, hospitals, government buildings, etc. Then ask students to divide into architectural teams with each team designing a different building.

  • Step 4

    Have the teams assemble their works into a small town and discuss the process they went through to create them. How will the buildings be used and by whom? Why did they design them the way they did? What problems did they encounter and how did they resolve them? What effect do they feel elements of their designs will have on the people using the buildings?

Standards

ARTS: Analyze how the arts reflect changing times, traditions, resources, and cultural uses.

ARTS: Connect artistic ideas and works to/with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

ARTS: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

SS: People, Places, and Environments: Draw upon experiences in neighborhoods, towns and cities, states and nations, as well as peoples and places distant and unfamiliar to explore geographic similarities and differences.

SS: Understand various perspectives and examine changes in relationship between peoples, places, and environments.

Adaptations

Encourage students to research other unique architectural creations such as "Falling Water" by Frank Lloyd Wright, The Lotus Temple in India, The Sydney Opera House in Australia, Grandma Prisby's Bottle Village in California, or sod houses built by American pioneers.

Plan a field trip to see unique structures in your own area.

Read an excerpt from the opening chapters of "The Hobbit" that describes Bilbo Baggins' hobbit hole. Invite interested students to research some of the Hobbit-like homes that have been built around the world.