Unit D Lesson D4 Structures Around the World
Completion requirements
Lesson D4: Structures around the World
Video Lesson
Watch the following video to learn how various structures for transportation have changed over time.
Lesson D4: Structures around the World
Figure D.1.4.1 – North American Indigenous structures have designs to suit the climate.
Figure D.1.4.2 – Indigenous structures made efficient use of natural materials.
Structures for Various Climates: First Nations Traditional Homes
First Nations people in various areas of what has become Canada built various types of structures in which to live. The design of structures was influenced by the climate as well as the function of the home.
Reading and Materials for This Lesson
Science in Action 7
Materials:
Science in Action 7
Reading: Pages 276–279
Materials:
No other materials are required for this lesson.
Figure D.1.4.3 – Ojibwe wigwam (right) and Dakota-style tipis (left).
Figure D.1.4.4 – The frame of a sweat lodge was built from bent saplings.
Haudenosaunee Homes
The Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois First Nations, lived along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River in what is modern-day Ontario and Quebec. Because the people farmed as well as hunted and fished, a group would stay in one place for a long time.
The Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois First Nations, lived along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River in what is modern-day Ontario and Quebec. Because the people farmed as well as hunted and fished, a group would stay in one place for a long time.
In villages, the Iroquois built longhouses (figure D.1.4.5), which were sturdy shell structures woven together with wooden poles and materials from nearby forests. Iroquoian longhouses had high ceilings from which they could hang food to dry for winter.
Figure D.1.4.5 – A replica of an Iroquoian longhouse,.
Figure D.1.4.6 – An igloo in the Canadian Arctic.
Inuit Homes
The Inuit live in the Arctic, which is very cold during much of the year. The ground in the Arctic is frozen for most of the year, and some is frozen permanently. Trees do not grow and, thus, are not available as building material. In the past, Inuit were nomadic, moving about to hunt animals such as caribou, seals, and whales.
In summer, the Inuit made tents using driftwood and animal skins. In winter, they lived in shell structures called igloos (figure D.1.4.6), made from thick blocks of ice. Igloos could be built quickly and of various sizes, which was important because the Inuit moved from place to place frequently.
The Inuit live in the Arctic, which is very cold during much of the year. The ground in the Arctic is frozen for most of the year, and some is frozen permanently. Trees do not grow and, thus, are not available as building material. In the past, Inuit were nomadic, moving about to hunt animals such as caribou, seals, and whales.
In summer, the Inuit made tents using driftwood and animal skins. In winter, they lived in shell structures called igloos (figure D.1.4.6), made from thick blocks of ice. Igloos could be built quickly and of various sizes, which was important because the Inuit moved from place to place frequently.
Plains First Nations Homes
The Plains First Nations lived in the southern Prairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. They were nomadic, following buffalo herds as their source of meat and skins.
The Plains First Nations needed structures that they could move easily to follow the buffalo herds. Their tipis (or teepees) (figure D.1.4.7), were made from wooden poles and buffalo skins. With the cooking fire smoke escaping out the top, the cone shape of a tipi also resisted strong winds that whip across the prairies.
West Coast First Nations Homes
First Nations on the west coast of British Columbia lived in sturdy Big Houses (figure D.1.4.8) made from tall cedar trees in coastal forests. These people were not nomadic because they had a steady source of food. They could fish from the ocean and hunt in the forest.
In villages, they built their Big Houses of cedar wood planks fitted tightly together for protection from the rainy coastal climate.
The Plains First Nations lived in the southern Prairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. They were nomadic, following buffalo herds as their source of meat and skins.
The Plains First Nations needed structures that they could move easily to follow the buffalo herds. Their tipis (or teepees) (figure D.1.4.7), were made from wooden poles and buffalo skins. With the cooking fire smoke escaping out the top, the cone shape of a tipi also resisted strong winds that whip across the prairies.
West Coast First Nations Homes
First Nations on the west coast of British Columbia lived in sturdy Big Houses (figure D.1.4.8) made from tall cedar trees in coastal forests. These people were not nomadic because they had a steady source of food. They could fish from the ocean and hunt in the forest.
In villages, they built their Big Houses of cedar wood planks fitted tightly together for protection from the rainy coastal climate.
Figure D.1.4.7 – A First Nations tipi.
Aesthetics around the World
Humans like things to look beautiful. Aesthetics is the concept that things are attractive to the onlooker. Aesthetics often differ for various cultures or various generations. The features that people think are pleasing to the eye can depend on their environments, cultures, and beliefs. As well, they change over time.
Antoni Gaudi: A Unique Architect
Antoni Gaudi was an architect from Barcelona, Spain, with a creative sense of aesthetics. He designed unique buildings in Barcelona that are very colourful, covered in mosaic tiles, and look cartoon-like!
People still travel from all over the world to see Gaudi's unique designs (see Figures D.1.4.8 and D.1.4.9 as examples of Gaudi's work.)
Humans like things to look beautiful. Aesthetics is the concept that things are attractive to the onlooker. Aesthetics often differ for various cultures or various generations. The features that people think are pleasing to the eye can depend on their environments, cultures, and beliefs. As well, they change over time.
Antoni Gaudi: A Unique Architect
Antoni Gaudi was an architect from Barcelona, Spain, with a creative sense of aesthetics. He designed unique buildings in Barcelona that are very colourful, covered in mosaic tiles, and look cartoon-like!
People still travel from all over the world to see Gaudi's unique designs (see Figures D.1.4.8 and D.1.4.9 as examples of Gaudi's work.)
Figure D.1.4.8 – Parc Guell is a public park in Barcelona. It has winding benches covered with broken tile mosaics.
Figure D.1.4.9 – Casa Batllo is an apartment building designed by Gaudi.
Aesthethics in China
A cultural value in China is balance.
The Chinese thought balance was important and beautiful, and so they designed their buildings to be symmetrical, or balanced. An example of symmetry in historic Chinese structures is provided in Figure D.1.4.10.
A cultural value in China is balance.
The Chinese thought balance was important and beautiful, and so they designed their buildings to be symmetrical, or balanced. An example of symmetry in historic Chinese structures is provided in Figure D.1.4.10.
Figure D.1.4.10 – The Forbidden City was the palace for emperors in Beijing, China.
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Current and Future Design: Solar Airplanes
The Wright Brothers flew the first airplane in 1903. People living in that time probably thought it was unbelievable that, just a century later, millions of humans would fly every day throughout the world!
Do you think airplanes might fly using solar power rather than jet fuel? At present, scientists are building and testing new solar-powered airplanes.
Watch these videos to learn more about the construction of solar airplanes.
Watch this video to see a solar-powered airplane lift off to attempt the first solar-powered flight around the world.
Current and Future Design: Self-Driving Cars
Another new transportation technology under development is self-driving cars in which computers control them so a person is not needed to steer, accelerate, or brake. Sensors on the exterior of such cars can detect all objects around the car and send signals to the car’s computer. The computer software tells the car how to drive.
Another new transportation technology under development is self-driving cars in which computers control them so a person is not needed to steer, accelerate, or brake. Sensors on the exterior of such cars can detect all objects around the car and send signals to the car’s computer. The computer software tells the car how to drive.
Watch More
Watch this video to see the experiences of some of the first people to ride in a self-driving car. (Look, Ma; no hands!)
Watch this video to learn more about how self-driving cars work.
Watch this video to learn more about how self-driving cars are designed.
Make sure you have understood everything in this lesson. Use the Self-Check below, and the Self-Check & Lesson Review Tips to guide your learning.
Unit D Lesson 4 Self-Check
Instructions
Complete the following 6 steps.
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understanding of this lesson and create a study bank for the future.
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Self-Check Time!
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Self-Check Quiz Answers
Click each of the suggested answers below, and carefully compare your answers to the suggested answers.
If you have not done the quiz yet – STOP – and go back to step 1 above. Do not look at the answers without first trying the questions.
First Nations used a travois dragged behind an animal and made of long poles with one end supported on the animal’s back (especially dog or horse).
The largest structures used by humans for transportation are ships. Some examples are cruise ships, ocean freighters, and aircraft carriers.
Solar planes are airplanes that do not require fossil fuels to operate. They operate on solar energy.
Self-driving cars do not need a driver. They operate with sensors that determine what is surrounding the car. The sensors send signals to the car’s computers to tell the car how to move safely.
Self-driving cars do not need a driver. They operate with sensors that determine what is surrounding the car. The sensors send signals to the car’s computers to tell the car how to move safely.
Houses for a cold climate must keep people warm. Houses for cold climates would have more insulation. They might have windows facing the sun to capture warmth for inside the house.
Houses for a hot climate must keep people cool. They might have less insulation although some insulation keeps houses cool as well as warm. They might have shutters to put over the windows to stop the sun from shining into the house on hot days. They might have windows or doors on opposite ends of the house to allow breezes to move through.
Houses for a hot climate must keep people cool. They might have less insulation although some insulation keeps houses cool as well as warm. They might have shutters to put over the windows to stop the sun from shining into the house on hot days. They might have windows or doors on opposite ends of the house to allow breezes to move through.
Aesthetics are different for various cultures because groups of people live very far away from each other and, thus, develop different ideas of art and beauty.