Diamonds are the Chapter's Best Friend
Planning for the Chapter's 75th Anniversary Celebration next year is moving in high gear. In addition to a special "diamond" tweak to our usual events, the committee has planned a few special attractions -- a birthday party, an exhibition, an oral history project, a printing of the third edition of Houston Architectural Guide, and Box City.
The purpose of all these events is to raise public awareness of architecture and architects, to recognize the contribution that architects have made to the development of Houston, and to have a good time.
Box City fulfills all those goals and more. With the cooperation of the Museum of Fine Arts and HISD, the Chapter will engage elementary and secondary school students in an exercise in city building. We will challenge them to imagine their city -- Houston -- as it could be in 2024 and to express those dreams in three-dimensional reality. The students, and their teachers and parents, will experience first hand the decisions that must be made as a city grows and changes and discover ways to make those decisions. They will learn about mass, scale, density -- about transportation systems and their effect on community -- geometry, history, language arts, sociology -- about preserving the old and preparing for the new.
All of this thinking and dreaming will come together on February 27 when the students gather to put Box City together. Our plans are to hold this final activity in a very public place and to leave the exhibit on public view for several weeks. This work of the young people of Houston should challenge our civic and business leaders and the general public to give the same kind of thought to the shape of the city.
Is this something you want to be involved in? Plan the framework? Assist in teacher workshops? Visit a classroom once or twice?
Encourage your children to mention the opportunity to their teachers. And call Marie Hoke, AIA, chair of the Architecture Is Fun Task Force, or me to volunteer.
Martha C. Murphree, Hon. AIA
