styrofoam stories

we work a lot with models here. the model room is one of the busiest corners of the office, and I guess this is the case in a lot of japanese architecture firms. real study models, in all sizes and scales, a constant third dimension check. at a certain time, I was cruising at an average of a model a day.



for most talks, we sit around a model, and discuss with knife and glue, casting different options directly in styrofoam and cardboard. from these modified/mutilated models, plans are composed – unusual (for me) but fresh to work in this direction. design happens in three dimensions here, not on drawings, let alone on computer screens.


tiny spaces big model
apartment typologies are simulated on a scale of 1 to 20, more or less the scale of the barbie house.



picture taken from within the model




big spaces tiny model
urban design decisions are made on 1 to 500 scale models – like the one you can see on the top picture.
also useful for quick but effective renderings – close-up pictures of the model, add photoshop sky and inhabitants, done.







compare with more time consuming renderings (drawings, based on a digital 3d model, rendered with 3dsmax and photoshop).