PBL Geometry Assignment: A House of the Future

This project will address numerous Common Core Standards in geometry and will have crossover value in other content areas as well. It has been adapted from ideas on Curriki, Pintrest, and other Google searches.

The challenge in this project is for students to examine four trends— population growth, urbanization, energy efficiency, and changing tastes in design—that will affect the kind of houses that people live in by 2065. Students will create a floor plan and basic model of a house of the future that reflects these four shifts, and then deliver their design and give evidence of their thinking in the form of a 10 minute presentation about why their house will be necessary and useful in the future. The format for the talk can vary, but it is suggested that the presentation follow the guidelines for a TED-like talk in which presenters give short presentations that focus on the future and innovation. Their model houses must accommodate a family of four. It can be a stand-alone dwelling, be part of a cluster, and use any shapes. Room for a vehicle or outdoor space is optional. The project is designed to encouraged creativity and imagination.

Students will create a floor plan, a basic model sketch, and a 10 minute presentation as their final products. The floor plan and model should convey key geometric concepts and show how geometry was used to construct the floor plan and model. The students will work in teams of three to four to create presentations that should include three elements:
1. The model
2. An explanation and defense of design choices
3. An overview of why the design would help solve housing problems in the future.

The blueprint and model will be the main criteria for the Geometry aspect of the project. Students must create a "to scale" model that will use congruent shapes, reflections, and other transformations . The blueprint and model measurements must be accurate to a house design that would be feasible and mathematically correct. Students will also be graded on their innovation and presentation to the parents and peers.

Students will be motivated by the challenge of innovating designs that will be necessary some 50 years in the future. While this is an exciting challenge, careful attention must be made to the mathematical processes in house design that correlate with the geometry skills that have been taught this semester.

Ideally, the presentation will be given using some form of technology such as Prezi, PowerPoint, Key Note, etc., or something even more innovative as approved by the teacher.

Students can search TED talks for ideas on architecture of the future for inspiration. The parameters are endless, but just as in the real world, there is a time deadline. Students should dream and innovate, but not so much that the project cannot be completed on time.