Children play on a street corner in downtown Trenton.
A passing car hits one of the them, Andy Sullivan, when he steps into the
intersection to catch a football. As the ambulance drives away, Christina
Hoomoyan and Marcus Clayton console Christina's younger brother, who is
one of Andy's friends. Larry Peterson, the narrator, mentions that
circumstances such as the accident make him thankful for good friends and
family. He goes on to say that his favorite and only
brother, Jerry, told him this story.
Jerry Peterson works as a safety engineer at Hsieh,
Freed & Crumpton, an architectural firm in Trenton. As part of a service
to the community, he inspects local playgrounds to see if they meet safety
standards. He uses a safety checklist to record his findings. At the
Lincoln playground he discovers that the incline of the sliding board does
not exceed 30° from the horizontal, so it meets one of the safety
standards. He also finds that the depth of the gravel is approximately
71/4 inches, which falls within the safety range of 6 to 9 inches for
ground cover.
Christina and Marcus visit Hsieh, Freed & Crumpton for Career Day.
Christina and Gloria Freed stop at the firm's daycare center on the way to
Gloria's office, and Christina meets Jerry and his daughter Sadie. Sadie
and another child, Julian, compare the number of carpet squares in the
houses they have built. Julian's house contains 9 carpets, while Sadie's
house has 8 carpets. Jerry points out that Julian has one more square
foot. In response, Julian holds up his right leg and announces that he
does not have a square foot.
Christina and Gloria go to Gloria's office. Gloria
recalls that she was about 12 years old when she knew she wanted to be an
architect. She shows Christina her childhood drawings of playground
equipment, which include a site plan, a side view and a front view. If she
were to give those drawings to a builder she would have to specify the
measurements. Gloria then points to a set of blueprints, and says she has
gone from drawing playgrounds to designing houses.
A maintenance man enters Gloria's office to check the airflow. He remarks
that there must be 50 cubic feet of fresh air per minute for every
building occupant. His measuring device shows that not enough air is
circulating for the size of the room, so he begins to make an adjustment.
Gloria says Christina could use geometry to find the
length of a ladder's legs. She gives Christina the following measurements
for a ladder: 4 feet tall with a 40° angle at the top. While Gloria
and the maintenance man watch, Christina uses graph paper and a protractor
to complete the calculations. By creating a right triangle and measuring
the hypotenuse, she finds that the length of each leg would be 41/4 feet.
The maintenance man declares that Christina could be the next Frank Lloyd
Wright.
Gloria opens a file on her computer, which contains plans for a house she
is remodeling. The plans involve building a fence and a deck. Gloria and
Christina go to the conference room to view a videotape of the deck's
construction.
The videotape shows 7 cubic yards of sand to be used
for a concrete sidewalk. A construction worker states that 1 cubic yard of
concrete covers 81 square feet, 4 inches thick, or 54 square feet, 6
inches thick. A glimpse underneath the deck reveals a supporting beam,
called a six-by-six, that is 9 feet long, including the 2 feet that are
underground. Gloria says the specifications for posts need to include an
extra 2 feet so the posts can be set in concrete. The videotape also
includes a shot of a 30 cubic yard dumpster. As a carpenter stacks boards
into a triangle, Gloria explains that the boards were cut at 45°
angles for the corners of the deck.
After Gloria switches off the videotape, a newscaster appears on the
television. The newscaster reveals that Andy Sullivan is in stable
condition after being hit by a car at Earhart and 18th. She says Andy's
accident is the fourth one in recent months in that area involving
children. She also mentions that the Southside Community Relations Chair,
David Welch, plans to meet with City Council to review the situation.
Gloria remarks that David Welch owns a real estate development firm.
They return to Gloria's office, and discover that a
three-dimensional model of a building has been delivered. Gloria explains
that she considers the form and its function when deciding on the shapes
of her buildings, and says that furniture fits best in square or
rectangular rooms. She hands Christina a piece of string and a sheet of
graph paper, and asks her what shape would give the most area for the
outside of a building.
Gloria makes arrangements to meet Barry Hsieh, Marcus and David Welch in
the conference room. Since they have 15 minutes before the meeting, Gloria
and Christina go to the day-care center to drop off plans for cabinets.
They arrive in the center just as Sadie and Julian finish building a large
cube made of 27 smaller cubes. When Christina looks out a window at
children playing on a slide, she has a flashback to Andy's accident.
In the conference room, David tells Gloria that he
plans to meet with City Council the following day. He is donating property
at Earhart and 16th to the community, so the children will have a safe
place to play ball. The lot measures 150 feet by 120 feet. Christina
points out that it would be great to build a playground on the lot, as
well as a ball field. She and Marcus want to submit a design for the
playground.
Gloria leaves to find Jerry, because he knows playgrounds like the back of
his hand. Meanwhile, Christina and Marcus decide that the playground
should feature a swing set, a slide and a sandbox. Barry tells them they
should both decide on the fourth piece of equipment.
Jerry arrives, and says they need to fence in the playground and cover the
entire playground area with fine gravel. He also reminds them to include
safety zones. Christina says their plans should contain a site plan
showing the dimensions and locations of the fence and each piece of
equipment. Marcus adds that they should also have a front view and a side
view of each piece of equipment, with information about angles and
dimensions.
Larry narrates again, and says that Trenton Sand and
Lumber is donating 32 cubic feet of sand for the sandbox, as well as the
wood and fine gravel. Christina and Marcus just have to let the company
know exactly how much they will need. Lee's Fence Company is donating 280
feet of fence. Rodriguez Hardware is contributing a sliding surface for
the slide and swings for physically challenged children. The Rodriguez
employees will put up the fence and help build the playground equipment.
Challenge
Create a design or model for the builders. Provide a top view of the lot,
the playground and each piece of equipment.
Provide a front and side view of the equipment, complete with relevant
angles, lengths and depths.
Children play on a street corner in downtown Trenton.
A passing car hits one of the them, Andy Sullivan, when he steps into the
intersection to catch a football. As the ambulance drives away, Christina
Hoomoyan and Marcus Clayton console Christina's younger brother, who is
one of Andy's friends. Larry Peterson, the narrator, mentions that
circumstances such as the accident make him thankful for good friends and
family. He goes on to say that his favorite and only
brother, Jerry, told him this story.
Jerry Peterson works as a safety engineer at Hsieh,
Freed & Crumpton, an architectural firm in Trenton. As part of a service
to the community, he inspects local playgrounds to see if they meet safety
standards. He uses a safety checklist to record his findings. At the
Lincoln playground he discovers that the incline of the sliding board does
not exceed 30° from the horizontal, so it meets one of the safety
standards. He also finds that the depth of the gravel is approximately
71/4 inches, which falls within the safety range of 6 to 9 inches for
ground cover.
Christina and Gloria go to Gloria's office. Gloria
recalls that she was about 12 years old when she knew she wanted to be an
architect. She shows Christina her childhood drawings of playground
equipment, which include a site plan, a side view and a front view. If she
were to give those drawings to a builder she would have to specify the
measurements. Gloria then points to a set of blueprints, and says she has
gone from drawing playgrounds to designing houses.
Gloria says Christina could use geometry to find the
length of a ladder's legs. She gives Christina the following measurements
for a ladder: 4 feet tall with a 40° angle at the top. While Gloria
and the maintenance man watch, Christina uses graph paper and a protractor
to complete the calculations. By creating a right triangle and measuring
the hypotenuse, she finds that the length of each leg would be 41/4 feet.
The maintenance man declares that Christina could be the next Frank Lloyd
Wright.
The videotape shows 7 cubic yards of sand to be used
for a concrete sidewalk. A construction worker states that 1 cubic yard of
concrete covers 81 square feet, 4 inches thick, or 54 square feet, 6
inches thick. A glimpse underneath the deck reveals a supporting beam,
called a six-by-six, that is 9 feet long, including the 2 feet that are
underground. Gloria says the specifications for posts need to include an
extra 2 feet so the posts can be set in concrete. The videotape also
includes a shot of a 30 cubic yard dumpster. As a carpenter stacks boards
into a triangle, Gloria explains that the boards were cut at 45°
angles for the corners of the deck.
They return to Gloria's office, and discover that a
three-dimensional model of a building has been delivered. Gloria explains
that she considers the form and its function when deciding on the shapes
of her buildings, and says that furniture fits best in square or
rectangular rooms. She hands Christina a piece of string and a sheet of
graph paper, and asks her what shape would give the most area for the
outside of a building.
In the conference room, David tells Gloria that he
plans to meet with City Council the following day. He is donating property
at Earhart and 16th to the community, so the children will have a safe
place to play ball. The lot measures 150 feet by 120 feet. Christina
points out that it would be great to build a playground on the lot, as
well as a ball field. She and Marcus want to submit a design for the
playground.
Larry narrates again, and says that Trenton Sand and
Lumber is donating 32 cubic feet of sand for the sandbox, as well as the
wood and fine gravel. Christina and Marcus just have to let the company
know exactly how much they will need. Lee's Fence Company is donating 280
feet of fence. Rodriguez Hardware is contributing a sliding surface for
the slide and swings for physically challenged children. The Rodriguez
employees will put up the fence and help build the playground equipment.