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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