Will Strange - You can do it with plastics

The following is part of the response to the You can do it with plastics request by AUB staff and students.

Will Strange - Senior Lecturer, Modelmaking

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Architectural models have never been miniatures of their subject. Instead they are usually representations of the appearance of buildings. Today, developments in digital visualisation are such that it can be argued that the traditional architectural model is no longer needed to show the appearance of a building. The scale model has thus been freed to represent other qualities of the building.

Historically, models have been made to represent the form, finish or massing of a proposal as realistically as possible. The line between modelmaking and sculpture starts to be blurred once we begin to consider the possibility of representing the feel, age, textures, sound etc of an architect’s proposal.

This small sculpture is one of a collection that aims to explore the potential for using architectural modelmaking styles and techniques to produce sculpture. It makes use of acrylic sheets, block and rod, three materials commonly found in any modelmaking studio. Clear blocks of acrylic have been machined with a circular saw, sheets have been laser cut and the thin rods are shaped and cut with hand tools.

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