John Martoni
Project Location: Hayward, CA
Number of Participants: 300+
Age of Participants: 3rd-5th Graders
Team Members: John Martoni

Students design and build a kid-friendly, multicultural, and SUSTAINABLE city of their own! All while learning specific grade level skills in math, social studies, language arts, visual arts and health (these skills and the corresponding state education standards are clearly stated in the curriculum).

Embedded architecture skills include:
    •Geometry, measurement and scale
    •Floor plans, elevation plans and model-building
    •Exposure to architecture from around the world
    •Sense of place and context; harmonious relationships among the elements of a design
    •Fabric buildings and landmarks
    •Justifying and communicating ideas with drawings, and both written & oral presentations
    •Being process-oriented & solving problems creatively
    •Lines, coloring techniques & architectural lettering
    •Vocabulary and zoning laws
      

METROPOLIS has been a POPULAR, FUN after-school club at Park Elementary School (Hayward, California) since 2008.

The course has been recognized by the Hayward City Planning Department, California State Senator Ellen Corbett, and the Departments of Education and Urban Planning at San Jose State University for its positive impact in low-income, multicultural communities.

The curriculum was widely praised after being presented at A+DEN (Architecture + Design K-12 Education Network) conferences at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The American Planning Association is in the process of publishing Metropolis; and has expressed interest in having a workshop at the national planning conference to train planners to use it in classrooms across the country.