Model Making

When people see architectural models they often marvel at the detail, and claim that they could never do something like that. In truth it isn't that difficult, but it does involve a great deal of time and patience. After lunch I switched over to building the base for another existing building on the site we are studying.
I started by cutting out two copies of the ground floor footprint
Then I cut out two copies of the upper floor plans, because they differ from the ground floor
The next step is to cut spacers equal to the combined floor heights. In this case the footprint involves 2 levels of below ground parking and a ground floor of retail. Above this are 4 floors of condos, which are essentially carbon copies stacked on top of each other. Once these are all assembled, I have an armature on which I can begin building the exterior walls.

All told this took about 3 hours, and it barely resembles the actual building. This is what separates a well constructed model from a quick slap together job. Most people would probably start with the walls, throw them together and then wonder why the whole thing is wonky and nothing lines up.

The next step is to start building up the walls, at which point it will be at the same stage as the model I showed earlier. That is all I will do on these models for the time being, but eventually I will add another layer of wall, this time adding another layer of detail by cutting out the doors and windows.

Like i said, its a time consuming process. Honestly I think it is my favorite part of architectural practice, and if there is any aspect of my life that is pure OCD, this is it.