Presents an interview with Dr. Harold P. Geerdes, world-renowned music facility planner, acoustician, and music professor. Dr. Geerdes discusses the different characteristics of rehearsal spaces and concert halls as well as the importance of interior materials and design. He also provides some easy and inexpensive tips for schools. (MJP)

Provides examples of multidisciplinary approaches for teaching history and social studies to junior high students. Claire Zeni discusses art and architecture; Vilca Peggy Dunievitz illustrates the integration of student art projects into a history program; Ellen Santora covers the use of folklore; and Mary Ellen Wynne deals with the use of foods.…

A small town designed a health clinic to entice a health care practitioner to locate in the town, increase the town's economic feasibility, generate local jobs, and stimulate business in the downtown. The design is important to achieving these goals by continuing and enhancing the town's character. (TD)

Considers women's history in the western United States using the historic places of the National Park system as its basis. The National Park Service has created three categories for historic sites: places that focus on women's history; places that include women's history; and places that surprise us with women's history. (MJP)

Reports on a class project that used donated materials to build a replica of the George Washington Bridge. The children read books related to bridges and created "vehicles" out of milk cartons for the bridge crossing. They also created stories for their vehicles that were transcribed by older students. (MJP)

Describes an interdisciplinary project that incorporated language arts, social studies, instructional technology, and science where middle school students were involved in oral history, Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, architectural research, the science of dendrochronology, and the creation of an archival school Web site. (CMK)

This article describes the integration of transformational geometry, mathematics, history, art, and cultural studies in a middle-grades mathematics classroom. Its intent is to illustrate how providing students with real-world experiences allows them to see and model mathematics as an integrated whole and make both thoughtful connections between…

This article will first look past the hype at the broader technological list of existing and proposed strategies, which may be grouped under the umbrella of peer-to-peer, in terms of both information and communications technology networks, and the applications, which can leverage those networks. This will lay a base for a discussion of what these…

This article focuses on the future physical layout of the university in view of the profound social and cultural changes of our time that are affecting the structure of higher education in general and universities in particular. We suggest that the basic architectural prototypes of university design should be re-examined in view of these changes.…

A collaborative design-based, cross-cultural exchange between the Chinese School of Architecture, Tsinghua University of Beijing, and the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning at the University of Melbourne is the case study presented in this article. Two design studios were conducted: one in the Master of Urban Design program, and the…

There is a current vacillation in choosing hand or computer for design presentation in academia. Although the computer emerged as very powerful alternative presentation medium, it could not sweep away the hand totally. Believing that this vacillation cannot only be due to the positive and negative aspects of both media, we worked with a group of…

As interest in green building grows, much discussion has focused on aligning a project with the principles of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification: (1) cost savings through energy and water conservation; (2) improved worker productivity; (3) health, insurance and risk-management benefits; and (4) enhanced building…

This teacher's handbook is designed to educate the city builders of tomorrow about the importance of responsible urban development. The activities stress the relationship between the built and natural environment. The goals of the project emphasize: (1) sensitivity to the importance of working in greater harmony with the total environment; (2)…

This curriculum module presents information for an introductory course designed to develop a cross-cultural awareness and appreciation of the rich opportunities for growth in interior design and related fields that has resulted from the expansion of the global marketplace. First, the instructional goals of the course are outlined, suggesting that…

Designed as a special studies unit for secondary school students or for adult volunteers, this student workbook and teacher's guide explains how to produce an accurate record of memorable neighborhood houses. The activities in the workbook include observation and information gathering. The workbook sections describe various steps in the process…