I was recently recommending to a client that we do a Sketchup model of their project, to better understand what our design was leading to, and some choices we’ll need to make affecting the massing etc.

Afterwards I recalled how anti-computer-modeling I used to be, in favor of true hand-built models over digital ones. Here is an early project I built a handmade model for, and then later modeled in Sketchup:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve come to appreciate the value of 3D models, particularly how quickly they can be constructed, how easy they are to navigate around and through, how they can be used to study the solar properties of the site and orientation, how easily they can be shared with clients and consultants (even used with contractors to explain complex details), how quickly changes can be made to materials, proportions, details etc. I’ll always look back with nostalgia, though, to the halcyon days before computer models!

I typically do not build ultra-realistic models, with landscaping, adjacent buildings, photo backgrounds, etc., but instead very quick, simple ones to use for design decisions. Here are some more random 3D models, of projects both built and unbuilt: