Download Discovering Why Skyscrapers Are Built in Detroit and Tokyo

Discovering Why Skyscrapers Are Built in Detroit and Tokyo
A Lesson Plan by: Henry Rehn
United States History Teacher
Advanced Placement European History Teacher
Dwight D. Eisenhower High School
Shelby Township, Michigan
In 2014 I received the honor of participating in a National Endowment for the Humanities
workshop on the History of the American Skyscraper held in Chicago Illinois. It was at this
workshop that Jennifer Masengarb, Educational Director of the Chicago Architecture
Foundation enlightened me about the importance of skyscrapers in defining the culture and
history of countries around the world. In 2015 I received the honor of being awarded a
fellowship by the Keizai Koho Center (Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs) for a ten
day educational and cultural study tour of Japan. When I arrived in Japan, I found it
breathtakingly beautiful. The integration of modern tall buildings with historic landmarks and
natural areas was stunning and memorable. It was at that moment that I decided to bring
together my home city of Detroit Michigan and compare it with Tokyo Japan through the
building of skyscrapers. Although Detroit is used as this lessons example of an American city,
one can easily substitute Detroit for other American cities, like Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh,
etc., that have tall buildings making up its skyline to make your lesson reflective of the state you
come from.
Background Information for the Lesson
Today, Japan and the United States are two of the most populous and economically developed
nations in the world. Both of these nations have used unique planning and building methods to
utilize their nation’s landforms. One of the methods of building that both nations have utilized
to maximize space is the skyscraper. Skyscrapers are very tall buildings primarily used for
commercial and residential purposes.
In order for a student to understand the importance of skyscrapers, one must first understand
the concepts of population density, land use, and infrastructure. Population density is the
number of people living per unit of an area, (e.g. per square mile). Students should be able to
understand the concept of population density through Day 1’s first activity.
Day One
Objectives: Students will understand the concept of population density and how it defines
where and how they live.
Students will be able to tell the difference between a rural, suburban, and urban area.
Using masking tape on a hall way or gym floor or chalk on the playground, lay out three
separate 10’ x 10’ squares. With a class of 30 students for example, place 18 students inside
the first square (representing an urban area), 9 inside the second square (representing a
suburban area), and 3 inside the third square (representing a rural area). Have them stand
inside the squares for a few minutes, then walk around inside, sit down, etc. Amongst the
members of their squares have each group discuss how it feels to be inside their square. Next
bring all of the students back into your classroom and write the following questions on the dry
erase or chalkboard: What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the three types of
squares you were in? Make a list of their answers on the board to be used for the next activity.
(Example: There is more room to stretch out in the rural square, yet there are more people to
talk to in the urban square.)
Once you have written down their responses, display Handouts A-C showing aerial photographs
and Handout D containing maps. Explain that the black and white maps show only the
relationship between the land and the roads. Black represents land and white represents those
paths where cars, buses, and people travel. Discuss the differences between the various sizes
of transportation paths shown. Make comparisons between the masking tape squares and the
students’ observations about the photos. Which aerial photograph and map looks most like the
neighborhood where you live? If need be, use additional online maps and aerial photographs
of your own community to compare and contrast (from Google Earth?)
After agreeing upon which square/map and photograph that best represents your area have
students discuss the question: Is the land in your community being used efficiently? Give
examples both positive and negative. What things could be done in the future to positively
develop the area you live in today?
Homework: For Day 2 of this unit have students research the question: How does Tokyo Japan
use its land differently than Detroit Michigan? Using the internet please look up
1. Tokyo’s and Detroit’s current population.
2. The square mileage/kilometers of each city.
3. Then figure out the population density of each city.
4. What does each city do to solve its transportation and housing situation.
Day Two
Objectives: Students will understand the geographic similarities and differences between
Detroit and Tokyo.
Students will understand how infrastructure and land use affects where and how people live.
Bell Ringer Activity: Write the following question on the board: What is a skyscraper and why
do cities build them?
Answers will vary but should state something similar to: A skyscraper is a very tall building.
Cities build skyscrapers to maximize rent on prime real estate property. Companies occupy
skyscrapers to be close to areas of high economic activity, (example: a city’s financial district).
Cities that have high population densities build skyscrapers to accommodate hundreds of
families.
***others may mention civic/national pride***
Homework Correction Time
Population –
Detroit (City) 680,250 – as of 2013 – 18th biggest city in the U.S.A.
Detroit (Region) 5,300,000 – as of 2013 – 14th most populous region in the U.S.A.
Tokyo (Special Wards) 8,996,000 – As of 2013 – Biggest city in Japan
Tokyo (Region) 13,220,000 – As of 2013 – Largest urban area in the world
Square Mileage –
Detroit – 142.87 Square Miles (359.36 Square Kilometers)
Tokyo – 844.66 Square Miles (2188 Square Kilometers)
Population Density –
Detroit -- 5,142 per square mile (1,985 per square kilometer)
Tokyo -- 15,638 per square mile (6,038 per square kilometer)
What does each city do to solve its’ transportation and housing situation?
(Please feel free to allow the students to read off the answers they
have found and then read the following two short synopsis of both
Detroit and Tokyo today.)
When Detroit had a population of 1.86 million in 1950 it had an extensive street car system, (a
534 mile network which served the outlying metro area as well). In 1956, the electric street car
system was phased out in favor of gas powered buses. These changes favored a low-density
auto oriented development rather than high-density urban development. Hence skyscraper
building for housing purposes no longer became a priority. Many families moved to suburbia
and used the new Interstate Highway system to commute from home to work and back again.
Many of Detroit’s iconic skyscrapers were built during the 1920s like the Guardian Building and
the Fisher Building. After World War II, Detroit would construct the Michigan Consolidated Gas
Company Building 1963, The Renaissance Center in 1977, and the 1 Detroit Building in 1993.
From 1967 to the present, Detroit has been dramatically losing population. Vacant and
abandoned buildings predominate many streets and neighborhoods. In 1987, the Detroit
People Mover was constructed. This 2.9 mile single track automated train encircles only part of
Detroit. Due to lack of riders, the operation of this system continues to be subsidized.
Detroit also has a city bus system called DDOT, (Detroit Department of Transportation). This
bus system covers most main thoroughfares throughout the city. Like the People Mover, the
bus system is heavily subsidized to keep it running.
Overall, the transportation system in Detroit is far from perfect. There is plenty of talk about
redesigning the entire system. A new light rail train is now being built but it that will take
someone from the center of downtown Detroit northwest along the popular Woodward
Avenue for 3.3 miles past Wayne State University and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Hopefully
this will spur building of more businesses and residential units that will usher in a true
renaissance for Detroit’s future.
By area Detroit is bigger than the cities of Boston and San Francisco combined. Many of the
houses in Detroit were built in the 1920s and just after World War II. Since the building of
automobile expressways starting in the 1950s, many people started flocking to the surrounding
suburbs to purchase larger houses with bigger lots. This started a downward spiral of people
permanently leaving the city and abandoning properties that were unwanted. Eventually
Detroit was the first major urban city in America to declare bankruptcy. After financial
restructuring, Detroit is slowly coming out of this spiral. Increased investment has occurred
along Woodward Avenue with the building of restaurants and even a new Whole Foods
supermarket. With a new professional hockey arena being built (set to open in 2017) even
more positive change is expected to happen.
At the end of World War II Tokyo’s population was less than 2,800,000. Many people were
homeless or living in substandard accommodations. Tokyo would soon be completely rebuilt.
This unprecedented expansion spurred the economy into overdrive and not only resulted in a
rapid expansion to the prefectures population but also an increase in the construction of tall
buildings for commercial and residential purposes.
It was at this time that Japanese building laws changed to allow the construction of these tall
buildings. In 1968 the Kasumigaseki Building was built in Tokyo. This structure was considered
to be Japan’s first skyscraper. It rose 36 stories and 156 meters in height. As the Japanese
economy continued to soar, Japanese skyscraper building would boom over the next three
decades. As of 2007, sixteen buildings rising higher than 185 meters (607 feet) have been
completed with another seven buildings of this height or greater under construction today.
Public transportation within Tokyo is dominated by an extensive, clean, and efficient network of
trains and subways. Buses, monorails, and trams feed the main subway lines. In 2014, Tokyo
ranked first in Trip Advisor’s World Class Survey for best “local public transportation.” Most
people do not drive to work in Tokyo probably because there is limited parking in this
megalopolis.
With the population of Tokyo exceeding 13 million and growing. Tokyo continues to struggle
with providing affordable housing to its current and future residents. It is not uncommon for an
extended Japanese family of over 5 to live in a 900 square foot or less hi-rise apartment.
Powerpoint: Please show the powerpoint that compares 4 skyscrapers in Detroit with 4
skyscrapers in Tokyo. Questions you may want to ask while showing this popwerpoint include:
Homework: Divide the class into two parts. Have one part read over the biography of Minoru
Yamasaki and have the other part read over the biography of Kenzo Tange. Each student of
each group will need to answer the questions that accompany the readings for homework. Tell
the students that you will be going over the answers to both these worksheets tomorrow.
Day 3
Objectives: Students will understand the similarities and differences between architects Kenzo
Tange and Minoru Yamazaki.
Students will understand how a person can overcome adversity and achieve great things.
Homework Correction Time
Minoru Yamasaki handout answers:
1. Yamasaki moved to New York City (NYC) to find a job in an architectural firm and to
escape discrimination he was receiving as a student in Washington State.
2. After visiting Japan, Yamasaki’s ideas came to fruition about delight and serenity in
architecture and about the need to consider what happens to a human being as he goes
from space to space, and to provide the visitor the delight of change and surprise.
3. This contemporary ornamental style building has an adjacent outside pool of water
integral to its design, and its podium, environment-controlling wall, and skylighted
center hall make it a special building.
4. They became the world’s tallest buildings that promoted street level activity and had
exterior walls that reduced the scale and modulated light and shade. Negatively, the
“Twin Towers” were called “cycloptic” and overbearing.
Kenzo Tange handout answers:
1. Tange’s high school memories of that city, along with the tragic coincidence that his
own mother was killed by an incendiary bomb on the same day that Hiroshima was
destroyed prompted him to come to Hiroshima to rebuild it.
2. Critics called his plans for the rebuilding of Tokyo extravagant and overbearing in size
3. The New Tokyo City Hall has two giant office buildings shaped like Notre Dame
Cathedral, an outdoor plaza shaped like a half moon, and an assembly hall.
4. Tange designed the Hiroshima Peace Park, 2 buildings for the 1964 Olympic Games, and
the New Tokyo City Hall. (Many other buildings can be accepted too.)
Day 3 Lesson: Comparing and Contrasting two great Japanese-American and Japanese
Architects
Please pass out blank Venn diagram pages to your students. Have students label one circle
Yamasaki and the other circle Tange. The intersecting area is for writing down which things the
two great architects have in common. The students that fully read either the Yamasaki piece or
the Tange piece should be able to fill in their circle quite easily. This should take no more than
five minutes. The teacher should now go up to the dry erase board and draw two intersecting
circles in order to field responses about these two architects.
Answers will vary in the circles, but one could conclude that some of the things that Yamasaki
and Tange share in common are that: 1. They are both Japanese males, who lived at the same
time, and both designed skyscrapers. 2. They suffered enormous hardships establishing their
careers. 3. They were both influential and taught at universities.
After the Venn diagrams are finished, please show the Yamasaki and Tange powerpoints to give
students a good idea of the types of work that these men accomplished.
Homework: Have students read the article **4 World Trade Center** and answer the
questions that follow:
1. What are Maki & Associates trying to accomplish with the building of 4 World Trade
Center?
2. How did the Maki firm achieve this “disappearing effect?”
3. What was one added benefit of this structures design?
Day 4
Objective: Students will understand how 4 World Trade Center is similar and different than
skyscrapers today.
Homework Correction Time
4 World Trade Center Answers:
1. Maki & Associates want 4 World Trade Center to be understated and deferential.
2. The Maki firm designed an especially sheer curtain wall over the steel framework that at
certain times of day almost disappears from the Manhattan skyline.
3. One added benefit to the structures design is that the number of popular corner offices
has increased.
Day 4 Lesson: To start class, please pass out 2 sheets of plain white copy paper to each student.
Taking what they now know about skyscrapers, have students design their own skyscraper to
be built in Detroit or in Tokyo. They need to work within the following parameters: They will
not only have to draw the skyscraper but they will also have to list in an included write up:
* the purpose of building the skyscraper
*what amenities will it include
*why did you chose such a design
*what materials your skyscraper is made up of
*what the name of your skyscraper is
Overall, a student should demonstrate that their skyscraper is beautiful, practical, and original.
Students will be presenting their finished skyscraper drawings in class on Day 5.
Homework: Finish up the skyscraper drawing for an in-class presentation tomorrow.
Day 5
Objective: Students will demonstrate through the drawing of a skyscraper the concepts of
efficient land use and aesthetic beauty.
Day 5 Lesson: Giving students no more than 2 to 3 minutes for their presentations, listen to the
presentations about your students skyscrapers for the entire class period and grade them
appropriately using the provided rubric.
Rubric: based on 16 points. Items graded include design drawing, write up, oral presentation,
and punctuality. See included rubric for an example.
Resources
Ascher, Kate, The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper, New York, New York, Penguin Books, 2011
Cronin, Jeffrey, Minoru Yamasaki, American National Biography, vol. 24,New York, New York,
Oxford University Press, 1999, 102-103.
Dunlap, David W., A 977-Foot Tower You May Not See, Assuming You’ve Even Heard of It. The
New York Times. June 24, 2012: 1-3.
Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998 ed. 15 v. Kenzo Tange, Gale Research, Detroit Michigan,
99-105.
Gallagher, John and Balthazar Korab, Great Architecture of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan,
Michigan Architectural Foundation, 2008
Gallagher, John, Yamasaki in Detroit: A Search for Serenity, Detroit, Michigan, Wayne State
University Press, 2015
Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, American National Biography: Minoru Yamasaki, New
York, New York, Oxford University Press, Vol.24, 1999, pgs. 102-103.
Lepik, Anders, Skyscrapers, Munich, Bavaria, Prestel-Verlag, 2004.
List of Tallest Buildings in Detroit, Wikipedia, 2015, 1-22.
List of Tallest Structures in Tokyo, Wikipedia, 2015, 1-14.
Masengarb, Jennifer and Linsner Jean, Schoolyards to Skylines: Teaching with Chicago’s
Amazing Architecture, Chicago, Illinois, The Chicago Architecture Foundation, 2002 pgs. 23 – 30.
Moritz, Charles, ed. Kenzo Tange. Current Biography Yearbook, New York, New York, McGrawHill, 1987, 545-549.
Sharoff, Robert and Zbaren, William, American City: Detroit Architecture 1845-2005, Detroit,
Michigan, 2005
Sinnot, Susan, Extraordinary Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, New York, New York,
Children’s Press, 2003, pgs. 104-105.
Thiel-Siling, Sabine, Icons of Architecture: the 20th Century, Munich, Bavaria, Prestel-Verlag,
1998
Tokyo, Wikipedia, 2015, 1-25