What does the model do?

A few comments on the

unique properties of models.
This is an abridged version of an essay detailing the history of scale models and models within architecture and design.
Furthermore it investigates how the model can contribute to a more (visual) depth and research within design. I have taken a few
conceptual reflections on the qualities of the model from the text, to give a brief reflection of the richness of the model.
- The model, as an instrument and as an object, remains an ambiguous thing. On the one hand it is a step in a (design)
process, a way to investigate, but at the same time it also has properties of its own which no longer need the underlying
reason for the existence of the model (in other words: it is an autonomous object). This is the model as the embodiment
and materialisation of an idea. No illustration or reference to something bigger, but the model as an abstract object. This
aspect of the model has a rich beauty and embedded depth.
- The model always has a substance, a material. One of the most attractive features of the model is that the materialisation
may completely difer from the fnal design. Herein lies a huge liberty for the maker: suddenly you can use materials that
could never have been suitable for production. The material of a model allows for a delicate lightness: paper, thin foils,
threads, textiles, fexible adhesives, fuid synthetic materials. Or the enormous weight of clay, steel, tin or bronze. All this
is permissible, especially when the material is defnitely trying to imitate another material. The material may also be
temporary, a feeting solution.
- A model only has to exist for a few seconds.
- The potential of material research in the model lies in the fact that an experimental material can suddenly become a
reality as well: when experimenting, it may appear that paper, for example, can be used for certain functions. A model
needs to consist of only one single material, as an aesthetic gesture, as a challenge or a conviction. Which purist uses real
glass in his scale models? What would happen if we are to try to make a concrete structure on a reduced scale, including
steel frames and glass faades? The structure of the concrete would be too coarse, and the model is likely to act as a detail
of the real world a strange doll house, or an atrocious bathroom cabinet.
- The model has a certain scale. The choices that the practitioner makes have direct consequences for what will be visible
in that model, the fnal size of the model in itself (as object) and thus also on how the model will be interpreted. It is
obvious to state: the smaller the scale, the more details need to be eliminated in order to get an apparent model. In other
words: the smaller the scale, the more abstract the model and the more it focuses on the idea rather than the product.
But, this does not necessarily need to be so. We have the strong urge to show, by making use of models, that we
understand and can contain the world; to scale and in detail. Scaling also means full containment and understanding:
converting something in the real world to a manageable format.
- The model could be 1 to 1. This often pertains to the casing of the model: the model look similar in appearance to the
fnal product with regards to the exterior, but it is empty on the inside. For example: models of cars that are tested in the
industry on aerodynamics; a test version of a staircase where it can be examined whether it meets with ergonomic
requirements; or a foam model of a space shuttle or dinosaur in the museum. The complete 1 to 1 model is the only way
we can see how the design relates to our bodies. The 1 to 1 model is also the instrument from which design can occur
directly from the material.
- The 1 to 1 model is sometimes built as a fragment of a larger whole. The starting point can, once again, relate to the
physical reality of the design and our body. In a technical sense: the early Paradeigmata; the mock-up. In the visual sense:
the dcor: how a city is recreated in a flm studio. Everything is designed with meticulous attention to detail so that the
overall impression of the scene is convincing enough to be regarded as being real. If the camera would deviate too far
from its course, the viewer would be able to see that all the houses are mere faades. Everything is captured to be seen
from one point of view. I see the decor as a model, because it attempts to give a view of a realistic situation, but allowed
only from one viewpoint.
- Does a house only become a scale model of a house when it is smaller than us?
- If you are planning to make a realistic model where you want to study spatial relationships and perspective operations,
then it is important to consider what the size of the fnal object will be. In order to be able to observe these efects, the
object must have a certain size in relation to the distance between both our eyes. We simply cannot see these natural
phenomena on a very small scale. A minimal surface is also needed for certain colour efects.
- The model as a scaled object has the advantage that it can be present in the designers studio; that it physically
surrounds the designer and that modifcations can be made to the model at any time of the day. This actually makes the
model a user product. This is what is missing in the virtual (CAD) models: they are only present on the computer screen,
but they do not surround us (yet).
- The smaller the model, the easier it is for the designer to customise it with his own hands. For example, the architects
OMA (but also Herzog & de Meuron and others) make hundreds of little models of huge towers and thus have the
liberty to change the shape and colour each time until a few are chosen from the many variations to work with. This
little sketchy scale implies the freedom that the designer needs to come to surprising and exciting results.
- The model has, partially because of its ambiguity, a certain communicative power. The model immediately establishes a
direct connection with its creator and therefore also a relationship between the designer and the client. It may have a
particular signature and therefore always refects its maker, because it is made by hand. Recognising that signature is
always a frst step for an outsider to step into the world of the designer by means of the model.
- The model can communicate the future, but also the past. A model does not deform: it could represent a particular
situation and thus freeze in time, so that you can watch it in retrospect. The model as a reconstruction and recollection
can provide insight into situations that already have been. The model is, above all, a way to preserve an idea.