Architecture & Civil Engineering
A high-school year in the art and science of building: drawing, history, structures, materials, bridges, towers, foundations, water and roads, taught through the true stories of the people who built them and rebuilt by the student with calculation, models and tests, ending in the design of a small house or chapel.
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What to cover
38 of 50 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: Architects and Civil Engineers
- MUST COVER 1.1 Vitruvius: Firmness, Commodity and Delight · exam
- MUST COVER 1.2 Imhotep and the Pyramids · exam
- OPTIONAL 1.3 Christopher Wren and St Paul’s
- MUST COVER 1.4 The Professions Today: Architects and Engineers · exam
- MUST COVER 1.5 The Design and Construction Team · exam
Unit 2: Architectural Drawing
- MUST COVER 2.1 Scale and the Architect’s Scale · exam
- MUST COVER 2.2 Floor Plans · exam
- MUST COVER 2.3 Elevations and Sections · exam
- MUST COVER 2.4 Perspective Drawing: Brunelleschi’s Experiment · exam
- OPTIONAL 2.5 Modeling in 3D: From Froebel’s Blocks to SketchUp
Unit 3: The History of Architecture
- MUST COVER 3.1 Greek Orders and Roman Engineering · exam
- MUST COVER 3.2 Romanesque and Gothic Cathedrals · exam
- MUST COVER 3.3 The Renaissance and Palladio · exam
- MUST COVER 3.4 The Industrial Age: Iron, Glass and the Crystal Palace · exam
- MUST COVER 3.5 Modern Architecture: The Frame, the Skyscraper and Fallingwater · exam
Unit 4: Structures I: Forces and Loads
- MUST COVER 4.1 Loads: Dead, Live, Wind, Snow and Seismic · exam
- MUST COVER 4.2 Statics and Equilibrium · exam
- MUST COVER 4.3 Trusses by the Method of Joints · exam
- MUST COVER 4.4 Arches and the Catenary: Hooke, Poleni and Gaudí · exam
- MUST COVER 4.5 Load Paths: From Roof to Foundation · exam
Unit 5: Structures II: Materials and Members
- OPTIONAL 5.1 Timber: The Balloon Frame and Wood as a Structural Material
- MUST COVER 5.2 Masonry: The Monadnock and the Limits of Brick · exam
- MUST COVER 5.3 Steel: Bessemer, Eads and the Stress-Strain Curve · exam
- MUST COVER 5.4 Concrete: Roman, Modern, Reinforced and Prestressed · exam
- MUST COVER 5.5 Beams: Bending and Deflection from Galileo to Today · exam
Unit 6: Bridges
- OPTIONAL 6.1 Bridge Types and Spans: The Forth Bridge
- OPTIONAL 6.2 The Iron Bridge and Thomas Telford
- MUST COVER 6.3 The Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate · exam
- MUST COVER 6.4 Failures: The Quebec Bridge and Tacoma Narrows · exam
- OPTIONAL 6.5 The Bridge Competition: Design, Analyze, Build and Test
Unit 7: Tall Buildings
- OPTIONAL 7.1 The Home Insurance Building and the Steel Frame
- MUST COVER 7.2 Elevators and Otis’s Safety Brake · exam
- MUST COVER 7.3 Wind and the Tube: Fazlur Khan · exam
- OPTIONAL 7.4 From the Empire State Building to the Burj Khalifa
- MUST COVER 7.5 Fire Safety and Building Codes · exam
Unit 8: Foundations and Geotechnical Engineering
- MUST COVER 8.1 Soils and Site Investigation: Terzaghi’s Science · exam
- MUST COVER 8.2 Shallow and Deep Foundations · exam
- OPTIONAL 8.3 The Leaning Tower of Pisa
- MUST COVER 8.4 Retaining Walls and Slopes · exam
- MUST COVER 8.5 Dams: Hoover Dam · exam
Unit 9: Water and Transportation
- MUST COVER 9.1 Surveying: From the Roman Groma to GPS · exam
- MUST COVER 9.2 Water Supply and Treatment · exam
- MUST COVER 9.3 Wastewater and Stormwater: Bazalgette’s London · exam
- MUST COVER 9.4 Roads and Pavement: The Romans and McAdam · exam
- MUST COVER 9.5 Railways and Traffic Engineering · exam
Unit 10: Design Studio
- OPTIONAL 10.1 The Client and the Program
- MUST COVER 10.2 Site Planning · exam
- OPTIONAL 10.3 Designing a Small House or Chapel
- MUST COVER 10.4 Codes, Cost and Schedule: Counting the Cost · exam
- OPTIONAL 10.5 Presenting the Design: Drawings and a Model
36-week pacing calendar
From the course’s own 33-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Day 1: Lesson 1.1 Vitruvius: Firmness, Commodity and Delight: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 1.1: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 1.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 1.2 Imhotep and the Pyramids: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 1.2: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Day 1: Lesson 1.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 1.3 Christopher Wren and St Paul’s: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 1.3: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 1.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 1.4 The Professions Today: Architects and Engineers: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 3 | Day 1: Lesson 1.4: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 1.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 1.5 The Design and Construction Team: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 1.5: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 1.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 4 | Day 1: Unit 1 test Day 2: Lesson 2.1 Scale and the Architect’s Scale: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 2.1: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 2.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 2.2 Floor Plans: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 5 | Day 1: Lesson 2.2: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 2.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 2.3 Elevations and Sections: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 2.3: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 2.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 6 | Day 1: Lesson 2.4 Perspective Drawing: Brunelleschi’s Experiment: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 2.4: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 2.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 2.5 Modeling in 3D: From Froebel’s Blocks to SketchUp: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 2.5: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Day 1: Lesson 2.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 2 test Day 3: Lesson 3.1 Greek Orders and Roman Engineering: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 3.1: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 3.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 8 | Day 1: Lesson 3.2 Romanesque and Gothic Cathedrals: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 3.2: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 3.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 3.3 The Renaissance and Palladio: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 3.3: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 9 | Day 1: Lesson 3.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 3.4 The Industrial Age: Iron, Glass and the Crystal Palace: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 3.4: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 3.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 3.5 Modern Architecture: The Frame, the Skyscraper and Fallingwater: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 10 | Day 1: Lesson 3.5: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 3.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 3 test Day 4: Lesson 4.1 Loads: Dead, Live, Wind, Snow and Seismic: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 4.1: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 11 | Day 1: Lesson 4.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 4.2 Statics and Equilibrium: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 4.2: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 4.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 4.3 Trusses by the Method of Joints: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 12 | Day 1: Lesson 4.3: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 4.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 4.4 Arches and the Catenary: Hooke, Poleni and Gaudí: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 4.4: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 4.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 13 | Day 1: Lesson 4.5 Load Paths: From Roof to Foundation: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 4.5: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 4.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 4 test Day 5: Lesson 5.1 Timber: The Balloon Frame and Wood as a Structural Material: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 14 | Day 1: Lesson 5.1: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 5.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 5.2 Masonry: The Monadnock and the Limits of Brick: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 5.2: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 5.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 15 | Day 1: Lesson 5.3 Steel: Bessemer, Eads and the Stress-Strain Curve: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 5.3: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 5.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 5.4 Concrete: Roman, Modern, Reinforced and Prestressed: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 5.4: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 16 | Day 1: Lesson 5.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 5.5 Beams: Bending and Deflection from Galileo to Today: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 5.5: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 5.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 5 test | ||
| Wk 17 | Catch-up and review week (no new lessons) | ||
| Wk 18 | Day 1: Review day for the midterm Day 2: Midterm exam Day 3: Lesson 6.1 Bridge Types and Spans: The Forth Bridge: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 6.1: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 6.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 19 | Day 1: Lesson 6.2 The Iron Bridge and Thomas Telford: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 6.2: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 6.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 6.3 The Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 6.3: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 20 | Day 1: Lesson 6.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 6.4 Failures: The Quebec Bridge and Tacoma Narrows: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 6.4: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 6.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 6.5 The Bridge Competition: Design, Analyze, Build and Test: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 21 | Day 1: Lesson 6.5: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 6.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 6 test Day 4: Lesson 7.1 The Home Insurance Building and the Steel Frame: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 7.1: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 22 | Day 1: Lesson 7.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 7.2 Elevators and Otis’s Safety Brake: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 7.2: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 7.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 7.3 Wind and the Tube: Fazlur Khan: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 23 | Day 1: Lesson 7.3: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 7.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 7.4 From the Empire State Building to the Burj Khalifa: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 7.4: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 7.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 24 | Day 1: Lesson 7.5 Fire Safety and Building Codes: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 7.5: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 7.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 7 test Day 5: Lesson 8.1 Soils and Site Investigation: Terzaghi’s Science: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 25 | Day 1: Lesson 8.1: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 8.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 8.2 Shallow and Deep Foundations: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 8.2: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 8.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 26 | Day 1: Lesson 8.3 The Leaning Tower of Pisa: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 8.3: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 8.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 8.4 Retaining Walls and Slopes: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 8.4: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 27 | Day 1: Lesson 8.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 8.5 Dams: Hoover Dam: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 8.5: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 8.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 8 test | ||
| Wk 28 | Day 1: Lesson 9.1 Surveying: From the Roman Groma to GPS: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 9.1: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 9.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 9.2 Water Supply and Treatment: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 9.2: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 29 | Day 1: Lesson 9.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 9.3 Wastewater and Stormwater: Bazalgette’s London: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 9.3: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 9.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 9.4 Roads and Pavement: The Romans and McAdam: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 30 | Day 1: Lesson 9.4: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 9.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 9.5 Railways and Traffic Engineering: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 9.5: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 9.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 31 | Day 1: Unit 9 test Day 2: Lesson 10.1 The Client and the Program: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 10.1: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 10.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 10.2 Site Planning: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 32 | Day 1: Lesson 10.2: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 10.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 10.3 Designing a Small House or Chapel: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 10.3: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 10.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 33 | Day 1: Lesson 10.4 Codes, Cost and Schedule: Counting the Cost: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 10.4: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 10.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 10.5 Presenting the Design: Drawings and a Model: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 10.5: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 34 | Day 1: Lesson 10.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 10 test Day 3: Review day for the final Day 4: Final exam | ||
| Wk 35 | Catch-up week: finish any MUST COVER lesson not yet done | ||
| Wk 36 | Year-end review, portfolio and records |
Grading: Practice sets and corrections 15%, Builds (fair tests, measurement, improvement round) and the design studio 25%, Engineer’s notebook 10%, Unit tests 30%, Midterm exam 10%, Final exam 10%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69. Below 60: review and retake the test or redo the build with help.