Building model

A building model is either a physical (real) or virtual (computer) model of a building. Very often, the physical model is smaller than the original (scale model).

Architectural model of a building, Osaka University, Japan.

There are three basic types of building models: architectural, structural and mathematical (virtual).

Architectural building model

An architectural model is a type of a physical model of a structure to study an architectural design or to share design ideas to clients, committees, and the general public. Architectural models are a tool which may be used for show, presentation, fundraising, getting permits, and sale purposes. Such models are a good tool for three-dimensional understanding of a design, used by architects, interior designers and exhibit designers.

Structural building model

Kinematically equivalent building models on a shake-table, UCSD

Engineers who need scale models to test the likely performance of a design at an early stage of development without paying for a full-sized prototype.

Virtual building model

Computer animation of two concurrent building models with the help of EPET,.^[1]

Virtual model is a digital model of the object (typically greatly simplified) that can be used in a computer simulation or virtual reality.

The most common examples of virtual models are those created in 3D for the purpose of visualisation - seeing how the structure looks before it is built. The field of architecture has greatly popularized the use of virtual models to animate fly-throughs of yet-to-be-built buildings.

Building Model Media

An architectural model of the Sonnenhof in Rapperswil, with scale human figures in front of it
Project managers discuss the plant development using an architectural model
Tempel des Portunus Gotha, an example of a cork model.
A model by architect Lorenzo Winslow which he used to explore the structure of the Grand Staircase at the White House for his redesign of the East Wing.
Model of a museum building.
Model of a building interior.
A scale replica model of the now demolished Capitol Theatre in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
A model used for urban planning in the Buenos Aires Province
Model of New York City, World's Fair (1964)

Related pages

References

↑ A new line of base isolation under shake-table testing and analysis^{[dead link]}

Other websites

"Buildings in Miniature". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2007-06-16.

[1] A new line of base isolation under shake-table testing and analysis^{[dead link]}

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