Moving on from the first stage of this assignment the second year students have been refining their designs and fitting them to context. Scaled down models (above) were made to fit into bigger site plan showing them in context to surrounding buildings and landmasses. 
As was discovered in this case, fixing components or rather the design of the fixings on the components requires in depth thought. Whilst this structure was made to hold its form using adhesive, in reality a strong proven junction would be required and therefore this design requires more refinement. 
This site plan block model featured a removable contoured section made from cardboard where the various sample structures could be placed to demonstrate their relationship with the site.
Author Archives: Workshop
3D Powder Printed Venice Master Plan Site model, Lauren Green and Becky Prince
Lauren and Becky decided to create their site master plan using 3D powder printed components on a laser cut plywood base. The completed model looks great and shows in detail all the shapes that make up the exiting structures their chosen site.
For those eager to try 3D printing it may be worth noting that this is a fairly unorthodox approach to making a site model due to the cost implications. This batch of printing came to a total cost of £116. When combined with other material and machine use time the total cost of the model came to around £150. This is minimal compared to commercial model costs but cheaper approaches can be carried out if cost is a concern.
Despite these cost implications, the outcome is very successful and clearly conveys the level of detail sought for the project. The use of timber against black acrylic to represent waterways is a style often used by David Chipperfield Architects Models.
Workshop Closed Friday 22nd November
The workshop will be closed on Friday 22nd November and will re-open as normal at 9.30 on Monday 25th November.
Jim and Scott
Laser Cutter Back Online
Our main laser cutter has now been repaired and is back online.
If you had a booking last Friday or today that was moved please call or email in to re-book a time.
Thanks, Scott and Jim
Completed [Re_Map] 4599/’Beyond Conflict’ 1:1000 Coventry model
Here we can see the complete [Re_Map] 4599/’Beyond Conflict’ 1:1000 Coventry model being displayed with projected graphics and under lighting.
Laser Cutter Update
Our main last cutter is still out of service as we await a replacement part today. We’ll let you know as soon as we’re up and running again. in the mean time please refer to the Chatham workshops if you have a pressing deadline or look at an alternative method of construction.
Scott and Jim
[Re_Map] 4599/’Beyond Conflict’ 1:1000 Coventry model
This year 6 project has focussed on the city of Coventry with a view to looking at the functionality of the city post WW2. Given the scale of the area being studied the group chose to produce their master plan at scale 1:1000.
Building heights we created by layering up cut components to an approximate height based on the number of floors at the scale. 
The group had two other methods of conveying their site.. Firstly a projector would be mounted above the model projecting mapping over the model to convey various changes. This required quite a lot of thought and as the group realised, time should always be made for overcoming scaling issues when using projected images.
Secondly, buildings the group has focussed on across the city were made as separate acrylic blocks assembled in the same manner as the laser cut ply components. There buildings would allow light from the plinth base below to be case upward mapping specific roles of each site.
Plinth construction should always be kept as simple as possible without compromising the strength of the construction. It is important for the sake of material waste and money that any plinths are designed well and used only when necessary.
The plinth-base construction was chosen to allow the group to store several map types which can be slotted in place to cast a variety of chosen scenarios across the buildings. This meant the proposals for the site could be demonstrated in variants and allows further proposals to be demonstrated at a later date.
Laser Cutter Out of Service!
Be advised that our main laser cutter is currently out of service due to a technical fault. We are working to resolve this issue as soon a possible but it is likely the machine will not be online again until sometime next week.
Please email or call in to discuss current bookings.
All paid bookings will be refunded of honored for another day.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Jim and Scott
Materials Price List Update
There have been a few price changes from our materials supplier which have meant some increases to sheet prices from our stock. As stated on our materials page these prices are all in line with the cost to us and you are charged at cost.
Updates can be found by clicking here.
We now have laser bed sized 5mm Acrylic sheets in stock at £16 each.
1:500 Master Plan Model, Year 3 BA Architecture
This group project for 3rd year BA students will be used to display multiple concepts that will continue to develop throughout the year. For this reason considerable thought was put into getting the contouring and overall model size correct for purpose.
By figuring out high and low points on their site the group could then make a series of supporting ‘ribs’ at the relevant size for the 1:500 scale. Clearly marking each piece by number is crucial when there are many components. Once fixed in place the engraved ‘skin’ was fixed over the top creating the flow of contours across the site.
The next main phase of construction was to produce the existing site buildings. by taking plans printed at scale the group divided the site into different zones and gave each building a number to assure easy identification when assembling.
By referring to visual reference such as photographs it is possible to find an approximate building height by looking at courses of brickwork and door/window heights. At this scale approximations are fine for the models purpose but extra care should be taken when focussing on areas in the immediate vicinity of the areas being used for proposed development.
The group decided to add extra laser engraved facade details to the exiting buildings closes to their proposed site. This helps to highlight the concentration and detail in the surrounding buildings without over emphasising their physical construction.
As the group found out, adding too many detail lines can prove costly in terms of time on the laser cutter.
We encourage you to consult us about any of these fine details as more often than not they can be simplified and still easily convey the message.
