Tag: architecture-models | ArchDaily

Zaha Hadid Architects Explores AI-Driven Design at “Architecture of Possibility” Exhibition in Shenzhen, China

Antonia Piñeiro — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 05:30:00 +0000

"Architecture of Possibility: Zaha Hadid Architects" at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (MOCAUP) in Shenzhen, China, presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Zaha Hadid Architects' work over recent decades. On view until April 10, 2026, the exhibition is structured through chronological and thematic narratives that highlight the studio's multidisciplinary research and design methodologies. The exhibition, now open to the public, showcases the office's work in the Shenzhen area and its involvement with new Artificial Intelligence technologies. Particular emphasis is placed on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), immersive and interactive design tools, and virtual environments, which together form an expanding digital design ecosystem.

The Plan and the Prompt: How AI Is Rewiring Design and Practice

Jonathan Yeung — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Architecture's design process has always been shaped by the tools at hand. We once drew with pen and ink on fragile sheets, copied by blueprint and guarded against smudges and tears; then Mylar arrived, making revisions and preservation easier and nudging drawings toward a leaner, more deliberate economy of lines. Computer-aided drafting followed, speeding coordination and changing how we think about scale and precision. Today, AI adds another layer—gathering information in seconds and spinning images on command—promising new efficiencies while raising fresh questions about authorship and craft. What we make, and how we make it, has evolved with each tool; the history of our methods is the history of our ideas.

North Macedonia Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale Revisits the Brutalist Architecture of Skopje

Antonia Piñeiro — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 05:30:00 +0000

The Republic of North Macedonia Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale is dedicated to the Brutalist architecture of its capital city, Skopje. This architectural movement has given the city a distinctive identity following the earthquake that struck in 1963. According to pavilion curator, architect Blagoja Bajkovski, in the aftermath of the disaster, Skopje embraced Brutalism from a variety of sources. One of the most prominent of these was Kenzo Tange's reconstruction plan, developed after an international competition organized by the United Nations in 1965. The exhibition, titled Strada Brutalissima, recounts this identity, the events that shaped it, and the buildings that continue to represent it through a series of architectural models. Inspired by the 1980 Venice Architecture Biennale's Strada Novissima, the project reinterprets the concept of a curated "street," this time centered on Skopje's Brutalist heritage.

The Intelligence of What Remains: On Archiving and Architectural Knowledge

Jonathan Yeung — Mon, 12 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

When we speak of intelligence at the 2025 Venice Biennale, the main exhibition broadly categorizes it into three domains: natural, artificial, and collective. While much attention has been drawn to robotic performances, future-forward material experiments—such as Boonserm Premthada's elephant dung bricks, or Canada's display of mesmerizing picoplankton, one often overlooked yet critical form of collective intelligence lies in the act of archiving.

The Continued Relevance of Models in Architecture's Digital Era

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For centuries, models have been central to architectural design, providing architects with a tangible way to explore ideas, test concepts, and communicate their vision. From the Renaissance to Modernism, models have been instrumental in the construction and reflection processes, offering insights into form, proportion, and spatial relationships. However, in today's digital age, where 3D models and Virtual Reality (VR) have become powerful and efficient tools, the question arises: Are physical models still relevant in contemporary architecture?

A Look into His Interdisciplinary Creative Universe: Get to Know the Works of Iván Bravo

Paula Pintos — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 07:30:00 +0000

It is fascinating to delve into the practice of Iván Bravo, firstly because the path taken towards his architectural work immerses us in a vast creative universe through the architect's interest and curiosity in various tangential disciplines directly reflected in his built work. A constant reflection on the methodology of the making, the processes, the pieces, the design, and the materiality converges into a noble and honest architecture.

How AI Can Help Us End Design Education Anachronisms

Eric J. Cesal — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 03:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Why are Scale Models So Appealing?

Paula Cano — Sun, 26 Mar 2023 06:30:00 +0000

Ambitious and diverse, models are representative tools non-exclusive to architects. Peculiar fascination with miniatures – and what they tell us about our larger world- extends to all ages, cultures, and purposes. From scaled temples of clay from 200 B.C. found in Mexico, ceramic models carried during medieval Islamic journeys, Victorian doll houses, and LEGOS, models are more than baby buildings. Miniatures unveil the essentials, explain much larger concepts, contain intimate and historical data, and invite us to challenge our known selves and perspective.

The Best Architectural Models of 2022

Brandon Koots — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 04:01:00 +0000

In an age where we have been going from hyperrealistic renders to digital models to the realm of the metaverse, physical architectural models have almost become a thing of the past. Nonetheless, whether it's to showcase the final project or to be used as a tool to explore different solutions to the same problem during the design phase, some architects still consider physical models part of their design process.

The Allure—and Importance—of Architectural Models

Mark Alan Hewitt — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 03:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Virtual Classes: Will 3D Models Replace Hand Drawn Renderings?

Belén Maiztegui — Wed, 05 May 2021 05:00:00 +0000

2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic forced architectural students around the world to go virtual with their classes and coursework, transforming the way architecture was both taught and learned. Once based primarily on in-class participation, and collaboration, architectural workshops had to take on whole new methods of instruction. Conversations and debates between students and their instructors, a key element of architectural education were relegated to phone and video calls as well as written documents, making digital formatting an essential tool for students to share their ideas and receive feedback on their work.

Miniature Construction: Modeling From Structure to Finish

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 07:30:00 +0000

Everyone loves models, but not everyone loves making them. For some, models bring up memories of fingers full of dry glue, cuts from sharp pieces, wasted materials, and large doses of frustration. For others, with the unique ability to physicalize drawings easily and beautifully, making small-scale models can even be fun. But, of course, on the internet, there will always be someone who can take any activity to unbelievable levels of achievement. In model building, the OUROBOROS ARQ YouTube channel takes this role. With almost 2 million subscribers, and videos with over 50 million views, the channel documents the construction processes of highly complex miniature buildings.

Reflection, Experiment, Innovation: Morris + Company Reflecting on Model Making

Andreea Cutieru — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 04:00:00 +0000

As lockdown provided architects with the opportunity to reflect on their design processes, it prompted Morris + Company founder, Joe Morris, to create On reflection, a series of short films discussing the fundamentals of the practice, centring the conversation around model making as a critical element of design thinking and a wide-ranging architectural tool.

Our Readers Show Off Their Most Impressive Architectural Models

Rory Stott — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

In many ways, architectural models are strange objects. On one hand, like drawings, models are a representation of something else—a building—that might exist already but in most cases is so far only hypothetical. On the other hand, they are miniature constructions in themselves, which can be appreciated for their craftsmanship and intricacy. Perhaps this is why architects find models so fascinating; they can be simultaneously admired as an object in themselves and as a vision of something greater.

WAY Studio Explore the Fun Side of Model-Making with a Series of LEGO Creations

Dima Stouhi — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Architects always find themselves searching for the most innovative ways of presenting their projects, going for elaborate models or Virtual Reality technologies driven by a passion for design, building, and creation. Perhaps this passion of architecture was triggered at an age earlier than expected, playing around with LEGO’s.

Detailed Sculptures Capture the Beauty of Brutalism and Art Deco in Northern Irish Architecture

Niall Patrick Walsh — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Northern Ireland-based architect John Donnelly has launched a studio dedicated to the production of finely-detailed plaster-cast architectural models exploring the diverse built environment of Belfast, Northern Ireland. “Model Citizen” was founded to promote public understanding and appreciation of the architecture and craftsmanship present in Irish cities, manifesting as an ongoing series of intricate sculptures.

Centre Pompidou Acquires 12 Architectural Models by MAD Architects

Niall Patrick Walsh — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 09:00:00 +0000

The Centre Pompidou in Paris has acquired 12 architectural models by MAD Architects, depicting 10 significant projects undertaken by the firm. Each model embodies MAD’s core values that “look to envisioning a futuristic architecture that is akin to dream-like earthscapes – one that creates a conversation with nature, the earth, and the sky.”

These Crafted Bookends are Inspired by the Alleyways of Tokyo

Niall Patrick Walsh — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Tokyo-based designer monde has created a series of bookends inspired by the narrow back alleys of Tokyo. As described by My Modern Met, the bookends convey the “dizzying feeling of wandering the city’s back alleys” through a mixture of laser-cut wood and lighting.