Some simple 3D models from my studio that I thought I’d share (along with a reminder that Spring training is just around the corner – go Blue.)

In architecture school, we learn the value of creating physical, scale models to get a sense for the interaction of volumes, and to visualize spaces from different angles. CAD renderings are pretty sophisticated now, and they can provide us with those insights as well (I use them of course in the design process – here are some from a backyard studio space I have in the works), but it just isn’t the same as holding a model of a real structure and being able to rotate it by hand to gain different vantage points.

I think that many non-designers think that we architects are innately better at visualizing how a building will “come out” in real life based solely on two-and three-dimensional drawings. But while me might be better at it by virtue of practice, it is still really valuable – sometimes even essential – for us to have a model we can actually touch and experiment with before we too can “see” the final space.

Anyway, here are the results of some of my experimenting that I have laying around. It’s a fun way to make a living.

(photos | gretchen garnett)