Symbolic Architecture

Building Meaning in Washington, D.C.

The National Building Museum provides pre- and post-visit lesson plans like the one below for many of our school programs. 

This lesson is designed for students in grades 3–5 and can be adapted to fit into social studies, art, or language arts lessons. Try it as a pre-visit lesson for the Washington: Symbol and City school program.

Most of the federal buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C. share some very striking visual characteristics: stark white color, grand imposing size, columns, and domes, to name the most easily noticeable. Construction on the White House and Capitol Building began in the 1790’s when the United States was still a young country and not yet a world power. Several of these buildings have become international symbols for the United States (The White House) or for Washington, D.C. as the capital city (the Washington Monument). In this lesson students will investigate images of well-known government buildings in Washington, D.C. Students will start to understand why the federal government would want and need to create grand and long-lasting structures. Students will come to understand through comparison of buildings, that buildings can become powerful symbols and that these buildings can be used by governments and others to convey larger notions about the country. 

Time

Materials

• Four images of Washington, D.C. buildings (see images below, click on small images to be directed to larger images for printing)

Objectives

• Define symbolism and architecture
• Create a class definition of symbolic architecture
• Analyze images of buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C.
• Discuss why so many of Washington, D.C.’s federal government buildings have a uniform “look” and what that “look” or style means

Lesson Procedure

1. Can Buildings and Structures be Symbols? (10 minutes)

Ask the students to think about what a symbol is and where they can find symbols. Symbols can be found outside on the street, like a stop sign; symbols can be found at school, the school bell indicates that the students need to move to the next class. Ask the students if they think buildings can have symbols. Introduce the idea that not only do buildings and structures have symbols on them, the entire structure can also be a symbol. For example, the Statue of Liberty has become a symbol of freedom. Explain to the students that during this activity they will investigate architecture as symbols. First lead the students in a creation of a definition for architecture. Ask students:

• What does architecture mean?
• What do architects do?

After discussing the meaning of the word architecture, transition to defining symbolic architecture. Sometimes architects add symbols to their buildings to give people visual clues as to how the building will be used, or to make people feel a certain way. For example, a library may have an image or sculpture of a book on the exterior, or an art museum might have a very unique exterior with lots of bright colors or interesting building materials. Sometimes a whole building can be a symbol. For example, some buildings and structures have become symbols for the cities in which they are in—the Empire State Building has come to represent New York City. Each time a person looks at that building they automatically think of the city it is in or the person for whom it was built. This can be called symbolic architecture.

Tell the students that they will now look at some famous monuments and government buildings that have symbolic elements and have become symbols for Washington, D.C.  

2. Washington, D.C. Buildings Image Comparison (15–30 minutes)

Give each group a set of building images. Assign a recorder for each group. Ask students to work together to answer the following questions:

• What do these buildings and monuments have in common?
• How do they look the same?
• How do they look different?
• What are they used for?
• What materials do you think were used to construct these buildings or monuments?
• Where are they located?

Using their answers as a starting point, lead the class in a discussion of what all the buildings and monuments have in common. Some answers may include: located in Washington, D.C.; use of columns; marble or white building materials; clean lines, very stark; large, grand, and imposing; similar to or refer to Greek and Roman architecture; government-owned buildings; people travel to see them. Ask students what do they feel when they see these buildings? What emotion words come to mind? Keep a running list of the responses on the chalkboard. 

3. Discussion of Washington, D.C. Timeline (15 minutes)

The White House and the Capitol building were both planned and construction was begun when the United States was a very young country. Construction began on the White House in 1792 and construction began on the Capitol building in 1793, just a few years after the signing of the U.S. Constitution (1788). The Lincoln Memorial (1922) and the Jefferson Memorial (1943) were completed more than 100 years later, but the architects designed them to look similar to the other two buildings.

Lead students to the idea that the government wanted to build grand, majestic, and symbolic buildings to represent their view of the country and the ideals of the new country. Go through each building and review with students:

• What was this building used for? Why was it made?
• What was happening in America during this time period?
• Who were these buildings built for?
• Would a less grand and less expensive building have worked just as well?
• What is the benefit of eliciting all these emotions (use the emotion words used in the previous discussion) through a building? 

4. Conclusion (5 minutes)

Review the definition of symbolic architecture that you created at the beginning of the lesson. Ask students how buildings can make you feel a certain way—use the emotion words they used earlier in the lesson. What is the benefit of creating buildings that use symbols? Even though many of these buildings were built more than 200 years ago, are they still effective as symbols of America? Encourage students to look around Washington, D.C. or their own neighborhoods to identify symbols in architecture and discover what these symbols mean to the particular neighborhood, building, or group of people. If the White House or Capitol were built today, what would they look like?

To expand on this lesson, register to attend the Museum’s Washington: Symbol and City school program. 

Below are four images of Washington, DC buildings to discuss with students. Click on the small images below to be directed to larger images for priniting.

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