Building Practices
Model Making as a Tool of Communication
In the modern architectural institutions, the primary methods of commutation of designs happen through orthographic drawings and model making. Although orthographic drawings deem accurate and helpful in the process of designing, their origin dates back to the colonial times when the British set up the first architectural institutions to train the Indians to help them with their documentation.
Historically, model making as a practice has been used in various ways.
In the Medieval period, buildings were developed by master masons and masons, who traveled from one project to the next, where they would use skills handed down through generations to construct buildings using tried and tested techniques. Not only was the need for communication limited compared today, there was secrecy surrounding the skills used.
Creating a physical model was the only way Filippo Brunelleschi could easily guide his craftsmen in the construction of the dome for Florence Cathedral - a model he deliberately left incomplete to ensure his control over the dome as it was built. Many models built for Florence Cathedral were for this purpose of verification and control, making sure that what was to be built had been tested beforehand.
In some cases models were used for the purpose of verification and control. Gaudi used the funicular chain and lead-shot bag experiments to let gravity determine the form of a catenary arch, which was a low-tech architectural problem solving method.
Peter Zumthor extensively uses inhabitable large scale models, which let him verify a project’s atmospheric and material qualities. Physical models often help to bring the vision of an experience to life, which wouldn't be possible with flat orthographic drawings.
Model making allows for a person to get a spatial sense of the space that is being designed. Architects need to translate their visions in a way that helps people who were not involved in the ideation process understand the space and the experiences that come with it. It can also be understood as an act of assemblage that leads to a deep introspection regarding it being an indispensable design tool.