Make your own free website on Tripod.com
A Simple Web Page Explaining Worldwide Housing
by David Behuniak
Social Studies - 6th Period
  • My Main Question: What are the living conditions of people in various nations?
  • The Subquestions:
    1. How have people made their houses adapt to the climate?
    2. What building materials do people in various nations use for housing?
    3. How has housing in various nations changed over time?
    4. How has housing changed as different rulers controlled various nations?
    5. What are the popular housing styles in various nations?
    6. What styles do wealthy people, such as king, use in various nations?
    7. What are the traditional housing styles in various nations?
    8. Have different nations tried to copy other nations building styles? How so?
Time I Spent Researching: 7 hours
1. How have people made their houses adapt to the climate?
Well, first of all, I learned that in America, people slant their roofs to keep rain and snow from leaking into their houses. I learned that in Iraq, they make their houses out of cement covered bricks to avoid the heat, and often use the roofs of their houses as an extra floor, perfect for watching the evening sunset.
2. What building materials do people in various nations use for housing?
In Europe, the main materials houses are built with are either stone, wood, brick, and cement. Worldwide, where there is a possibility of a dangerous type of weather, weather it be a tornado, hurricane, ect, people are always looking for the strongest yet most stylish and cost effective materials. This also applies to America, except many residents of America are now using steel and other various metals to make their houses. Japan however, has traditionally used wood, but today uses a wide variety of building styles, including all of the above materials. The Japanese used wood for every type of home traditionally, and believed that the wood was a treasure. There are still Japanese wooden structures from long ago still standing.

A picture of Japanese construction workers cutting wood


French people eating lunch in their home
3. How has housing in various nations changed over time?Well, as in many growing nations, skyscrapers are popping up everywhere. Earlier in time, in nations such as America, England, France, Japan, China, etc., people used wood or stone. With the need for living space, more people are moving to metal skyscrapers and apartment buildings.
4. How has housing changed as different rulers controlled various nations?
Well, in most countries such as England, America, Spain, etc, the home looks like what they did when rulers ruled a long time ago. For instance, here in North Carolina, the colonial homes are based on the british colonists' homes, and havent changed much at all. At the same time, Contemporary homes are popping up too, and they are different from the original homes. When you put the skyscraper housing factor in, thats change too. So simply, the housing styles get changed when the people want to try something new.
5. What are the popular housing styles in various nations?Suprisingly, this is the only question I didn't find info on :(.
6. What styles do wealthy people, such as king, use in various nations?
>Well, in Japan, the wealthy and rich sometimes live in castles and pagodas (a many storied circular building, where each higher level is shorter in diameter than the one below it), which are usually made out of wood and stone. The same goes for some wealthy English, French, and even some Indian people, except they didn't use pagoda's, just castles or houses.

A Japanese castle


The Red Fort, an Indian Castle
7. What are the traditional housing styles in various nations?
In Japan, all of their housing styles came from a few Japanese measurements. Their square, called a kanejaku, was Japans official measure. This unit of length comprises the shaku, the ken, and the sun. "10 sun equal 1 shaku and 6 shaku equal 1 ken."(quote from http://www.kansai.gr.jp/culture/build/measure_e.htm) These measurements came from China, and have been used for centuries in other Aisian nations such as Korea. Also, during the Medieval Period, japan used a measure of room size called the tatami, which you may be familiar with if you have heard of the tatami mat. If someone said "This should be a 6 tatami room," the builders would line up 6 mats, and build the room. The tatami measures about 190 cm in length and 95 cm in width.

A bunch of tatami mats


A room filled with tatami mats
8. Have different nations tried to copy other nations building styles? How so?
Yes, nations have tried to copy other nations building styles. For instance, in America, a major city's greatest symbols are its skyscrapers. As other nations such as Japan, Korea, and China improve money wize, they start to build skyscrapers. Since America constructed the first skyscraper, which in my mind is just a tall metal building that's high enough to make the viewer say "Wow," you could call that copying.

Chicago, with all of its skyscraper goodness


A city in Korea, see how there are a lot of tall buildings also?
My Sources


1. "A Profile of France Modern Life." France.com.

http://www.france.com/culture/today4.html. (5-20 May 2002).

2. "Traditional Architecture in Kansai Region." Kansai Window.

http://www.kansai.gr.jp/culture/build/build_e.htm. (5-20 May 2002).

3. "Korean Family Living." Korean Family Living.

http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/ginza/7978/. (5-20 May 2002).

4. "Modern Architecture." Modern Architecture.

http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/IPHS/Projects/iphs2/MODERN.htm.
(5-20 May 2002).

5. "Chinese High School Students' Photo Gallery [and links within]."

The Japan Forum. http://www.tjf.or.jp/eng/fe/feindex.htm.
(5-20 May 2002).

6. Lister, Maree. Marti Servier, ed. Countries of the World: England. Wilwaukee,

Wisconsin: Garth Stevens Publishing, 1998.

7. Passport to France. New York, New York: Franklin Watts Inc, 1986

8. Passport to Great Britain. New York, New York: Franklin Watts Inc, 1986.

Several other books' names that I didn't find info in:

  1. People's Republic of China
  2. Country Fact Files: India
  3. Countries of the World: Brazil
  4. On the Map: China
  5. Places and Peoples of the World: China
  6. A Family from Iraq*

*I did use information from that, but I was not able to check it out because my dad lost my card on me. The name was the only thing I could remember about the book, except for the info I learned from it.