Student's Guide

Project brief

1. You need to identify a building then research and take photographs of it to show the building/construction materials. This can be a famous or public building, provided that there is sufficient site access to see the building materials. NB. Permission may be needed for the photographs. It may simply be your own house or a building around an educational centre such as a school. Also to be included is the parking facility (garage) or hard standing surface outside the building. NB. A building that is mainly constructed from wood or glass (or both in combination) is not suitable for the project.
2. Use research to identify the different building and driveway/hard standing materials such as brick, mortar, concrete, cut stone, roadstone, tarmac, etc.
3. You need to undertake internet research on the origins of the building materials, using as the starting point PowerPoint Presentations and links to industry websites accessed via the DigIT! to BuildIT! website.
4. Construct a project on the likely origins of the building materials that make up your chosen building.

What Your Project Should Include

(The most successful projects are likely to include most, if not all of the following)

1. A range of suitable photographs/background research of the building.
2. State where each building material is likely to have come from.
3. Include building materials such as plaster as well as its foundations, coatings and paint.
4. State the required geology for different building materials and its age and origins.
5. State the required geology for different building materials and its age and origins.
6. Research the processes of extraction and waste product disposal.
7. Identify the equipment and types of personnel required for the quarrying operation.
8. Describes the processes involved where manufacture of the building material from a natural rock type is needed.
9. Identify the typical companies/industrial concerns within the extractives industry.
10. Suggest alternative building materials in some aspects of their building. Show due regard to relative costs, aesthetics or environmental issues of the building materials, .e.g. how new eco-friendly materials could now be used to substitute in place of some of the original materials to reduce the carbon footprint.
11. Include a concluding section, identifying restoration and new uses of quarry land and surplus waste, to leave behind a pleasant environment.

Twinning

Where possible the organiser will “Twin” participating schools with a local employer in the industry eg a quarry, block making company or brickmaker.
This can be invaluable in providing students with an insight into the industry and may even lead to work experience opportunities etc.

Project Presentation

The project will normally be word processed and should be submitted to your teacher along with the project cover sheet. You MUST complete the Student Surveys included with the project cover sheet before starting and after completing the project. Your project is expected to include key original photographs followed by sections on each of the building materials.

Please try to bind it with a plastic strip or plastic spiral binder. Avoid the use of bulky ring binders.

Starting Your Project

So how do you start?
Quite easily!

• Choose a building to investigate, and name it as your title page, then put your own name, teachers name, year group and school on the title page.


• Take or obtain photos of the building.


• By observation and your photographs, list the things used to build it.


• Write and import information on the origin of each building materials identified with the aid of resources provided (computer with internet access needed) including illustrations.

You are now well on your way to a good project and a prize for yourself and perhaps also for your school.