Boy Scout Architecture Merit Badge

1. Architecture
Merit Badge

2. Requirements
Step One
Research and answer
questions 1, 2 and 5 on your
own.
Come to a group discussion
and share what you learned.
Sign up for the November
14th or 28th group discussion:
http://www.signupgenius.co
m/go/20f0548aca72f4-
architecture.

3. Requirements
Step Two
Measure a room and make an accurately scaled drawing of
the room's floor plan showing walls, doors, closets,
windows, and any built-in furniture or cabinets. Neatly label
your drawing. (1’ = ¼”)
Tips
 Do a rough floorplan sketch then measure your room.
Write down all the dimensions before you start on the final
drawing.
Use ¼” graph paper with light blue lines and a pencil. Don’t
use the worksheet if the lines are printed black; your pencil
lines will not show up well.
Be sure to give the inner and outer walls some thickness.
Draw two lines on the wall to indicate a window. Add a
curve to show which way doors swing.

4. Requirements
Step Three
Meet with an architect at a
construction site or in the
office. Discuss a building
project and why certain
materials were used.
Tips:
You can do this on your
own or with Mrs. Dagen.
She will book a tour with an
architecture firm.

5. Tour your community and list the different building types you see. Try to
identify buildings that can be associated with a specific period of history
or style of architecture. Make a sketch of the building you most admire.
Tip: the next few slides are just some architecture styles Mrs. Dagen
identified around Danville. See if you can find them in your neighborhood.
Bonus for identifying other styles not mentioned.
Question 1a

6. Log Home
Originally, they were built as simple, one
room, rustic dwellings using no nails.
Now they can be large and luxurious.

7. Georgian
Colonial
America's colonial period
(1600 through 19th century)
encompassed a number of
housing types and styles.
The typical Colonial style is
a rectangular, symmetrical
home with bedrooms on
the second floor. The
double-hung windows
usually have many small,
equally-sized square panes.

8. Cape Cod
The first Cape Cod
homes were built in the
1600s. They were
inspired by Britain's
thatched cottages, but
built with steeper roofs
and larger chimneys to
withstand cold
Northeastern winters.
Windows flanking the
front door, dormer
windows up top and
cedar shingles are
typical of the style.

9. Victorian
Victorian architecture emerged
between 1830 and 1910 under
the reign of Queen Victoria.
Known for beauty, Victorian
homes tend to be more
complex in design with ornate
trim, bright colors, large
porches, and multi-faceted
rooflines.

10. Craftsman
Bungalow and Craftsman
style homes were born out
of the Arts and Crafts
Movement (late 19th
century). The emphasis is
on natural materials —
wood, stone and brick.
Wide front porches and
low-pitched roofs are
typical.

11. Prairie
Frank Lloyd Wright designed
the first Prairie-style house in
1893. Roofs are low-pitched,
with wide eaves. Brick and
clapboard are the most
common building materials.
They often have rows of
casement windows and one-
story porches with massive
square supports.

12. Ranch Style
First built in the
1920s, ranch homes
were popular with
the booming post-
war middle class
families. They are
usually one story
and wider then they
are deep. Exterior
ornamentation is
limited.

13. Modern
Modern architecture became
popular after World War II. It
was based upon new
technologies of construction,
particularly the use of glass,
steel and reinforced concrete;
and upon a rejection of the
traditional neoclassical
architecture popular in the
19th century.

14. French
Provincial
Inspired by estates of the
French countryside,
balance and symmetry are
the main characteristics of
this formal style. Defining
features include a steep,
high, hip roof; balcony and
porch balustrades;
rectangle doors set in
arched openings; and
double French windows.

15. Mediterranean
The homes were modeled after
the hacienda style, with red tile
roofs, arches and plaster
surfaces. This style is very
popular in our area featuring
design elements such as
porticos, balconies, heavy
wooden doors and
multicolored tiles.

16. Select an architectural achievement that has had a major impact on
society. Find out how this achievement has influenced the world today.
Tip: This question has hundreds of correct answers. Mrs. Dagen offered
four examples. Please find another and explain why.
Question 1b

17. The Roman Colosseum
Location: Rome, Italy
Year: 70 to 80 AD
Built of sand and concrete
(new material back then),
it is the largest
amphitheater ever built.
The Colosseum could hold
between 50,000 and
80,000 spectators. Roman
architecture, adopted
from the Greeks, shaped
much of Christian
Europe’s architecture for
centuries.

18. The Wainwright Building
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Architect: Adler & Sullivan, Chicago
Year: 1892
Considered to be one of the first
successful early skyscrapers in the
world. The building provided the
blueprint for the modern office
building and tall steel structures that
dot the landscape of urban America.

19. Guggenheim Bilbao
Location: Bilbao, Spain
Architect: Frank Gehry
Year: 1997
Called the most
groundbreaking 20th-century
structure. The building is a
spectacular sculpture with
interconnecting shapes of
stone, glass and titanium. It’s
an example of
“Deconstructivism”, a
movement of postmodern
architecture which appeared
in the 1980s. It is characterized
by an absence of harmony,
continuity, or symmetry.

20. International Space Station
Location: Orbit
Architect: 15 Nations
Year: 1997
The International Space
Station cost $100 billion to
build and involved 100,000
people in 15 nations. It also
ranks as one of the more
unusual construction sites,
located 354 kilometers (220
miles) above Earth. One
mistake in its complex
design and construction
means instant death for the
inhabitants.

21. Discuss the term
sustainable
architecture.
Identify three
features typical of
green buildings.
Tip: don’t write
down the words on
this picture. Think
“big features.”
Question 2a

22. Discuss the difference between renewable building materials
and recycled building materials, and how each can be used in
construction.
Question 2b
Tip: the picture
relates to the
question but is
not the answer.

23. Discuss the relationship
of architecture with its
surrounding
environment and the
community.
Tip: think…why can’t
land owners build
whatever they want?
Question 2c

24. Discuss how entire
buildings can be
reused rather than
torn down when they
no longer serve their
original purpose
Question 2d

25. Find out about three
career opportunities
in architecture. Pick
one and find out the
education, training,
and experience
required for this
profession.
Question 5