Tag: models

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Optimizing Architectural Models for Display Online

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Difficulty Level: Intermediate to Advanced This workshop for designers is paired with an interactive history animation about the construction of Notre-Dame of Paris. You will learn how to create highly detailed but low-polygon-count models of any building you desire. These visually and geometrically complex models will have a small enough file size to load in your web browser. They can be viewed by clients, possible employers, and others online, with no need for them to download files or own specific software. Based on the content delivered in this six-part tutorial, you will be able to create similar models of any… VIEW PUBLICATION

Historical Reconstruction of Ford Model T Assembly Line

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Based on extensive archival documents, this historically-accurate film showcases the assembly of the 1915 Model T Runabout at Ford’s Highland Park factory. This projects represents the first complete visual and cartographic documentation of this manufacturing process from 1908 to 1927. It highlights Ford’s innovative yet evolving assembly line techniques, which revolutionized car production, contrasting with previous methods. VIEW PUBLICATION

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Notre-Dame of Paris Construction Sequence

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The project was created with historian Stephen Murray and syndicated by the French state, LeMonde newspaper, as well as the official website and social media channels of Notre-Dame. This time-lapse construction sequence follows the cathedral’s gradual evolution from c.1060 to the present, highlighting repeated fires, disasters, and renovation campaigns. Based on detailed site plans and peer-review from experts, the film combines handmade aesthetics with digital precision. Visitors can also explore my VR cathedral model and my video tutorials for creating similar models. VIEW PUBLICATION

Virtual Reality Computer Model of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon

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My master’s thesis project at the University of Cambridge explores the architecture and power dynamics of Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon. Based on exceptionally detailed and accurate-to-the-inch measurements given in Bentham’s 18th-century letters and drawings, this project reconstructs his panopticon in virtual reality. Despite his claims of total oversight, design flaws undermine effective surveillance. The project highlights how Bentham’s vision anticipates future technologies that only now – three centuries later – fully realize his original ambitions of total control.

As featured by literary magazine Aeon: A World of Ideas VIEW PUBLICATION

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The Panopticon: a problem of definition

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A total institution may be defined as a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situated individuals, cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life. Prisons serve as a clear example. Erving Goffman, Asylums 1. Introduction and Method The panopticon is now a theoretical design, a symbol of surveillance and state power. The building’s inventor, Jeremy Bentham, claims it is a perfect building and a total institution that cares for and controls all aspects of its inhabitants’ lives. No panopticon was built to Bentham’s… VIEW PUBLICATION

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New York City in a Box

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As featured in this article from Live Auctioneers Hand-crank and music box recording from Freesound Inspired by the Stettheimer Dollhouse at the Museum of the City of New York, this pop up model in a recycled metal box (measuring 8 inches wide by 15.5 long and 2.5 deep) reveals a miniature world of New York City architecture and landmarks within. About 30 buildings made from hand cut paper and tin are spread across a flat ground of painted streets. Each building is made from a single sheet of paper that is cut and folded like origami to create different shapes… VIEW PUBLICATION

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The University of Oxford in a Box

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  Music: Minuet in G Minor by Bach This paper model of Oxford folds out of a leather suitcase. This is a souvenir of my Oxford experience. Half the model features university’s main buildings: The Radcliffe Camera, Bodleian Library, Sheldonian Theatre, University Church, and the Clarendon Building. The other half is the campus of Saint Catherine’s College in Oxford. Attaining precision in a small model is difficult and took about two weeks to build. It is made from paper cutouts, which were folded into various shapes. Below are two of the cutouts before assembly. Dimensions: 7 by 14 inches and… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Computer models of world heritage sites

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Through digital models, architecture’s audience can expand beyond in-person visitors. Here are a few of my creations that can be explored in virtual reality. The need for models to load in the web browser imposes a creative limit on file size and numbers of polygons and textures model can contain. Too many textures or too much geometry and a model will not load. This process therefore requires me to be economical and to get the most amount of detail with the least amount of file size. All models featured below are about the size of a word document or email… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Columbia University Artwork

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This digital portfolio highlights various artistic projects, time-lapse drawings, and models I created of Columbia University’s campus, during the time I was a student there. The portfolio features a detailed ink and watercolor campus drawing, a mini model of the campus made from paper, and six time-lapse sequences documenting artistic processes. Featured in multiple publications, these creations are now a personal souvenir of my education at Columbia.

Contact me to download source files or to order custom prints mailed to your home address. VIEW PUBLICATION

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Computer Model of the Kaaba in Mecca

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Developed with input from James White,historian of Islamic literature at the University of Oxford Audio: the call to prayer, recorded in Istanbul The Kaaba (Arabic: ٱلْـكَـعْـبَـة “The Cube”) is a building at the center of Islam’s most important mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This is the most sacred site in Islam. Muslims consider it the “House of God.” Wherever they are in the world, Muslims are expected to face the Kaaba when performing prayer. One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj and visit the Kaaba. In 2018, I was unhappy with the available… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Eiffel Tower Construction Sequence

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As featured by Open Culture The Eiffel Tower was built over 18 months – from August 1887 to March 1889. This film shows the construction sequence, starting with the foundations and ending with the cupola. Music: Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns, 1886 SourcesModel created in SketchUp and shared here for free download. Or view the Eiffel Tower in virtual reality from Sketchfab Further ReadingGustave Eiffel’s original plans and drawings for the tower were first published in 1900 and re-published in 2008 by Taschen. . . . . VIEW PUBLICATION

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Burford Church Construction Sequence: 1175-1475

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This time-lapse film about an English parish church visualizes the structure’s construction, gradual demolition, and expansion from 1175 to 1475. Created with Dr. Cathy Oakes while I was an undergraduate studying art history at the University of Oxford. VIEW PUBLICATION

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Amiens Cathedral Construction Sequences

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Amiens Cathedral is a key subject in the Art Humanities Core Curriculum class that is required of all undergraduates at Columbia University. This research project is now used in the classroom instruction of 1,400 Columbia undergrads each year. This project created with Stephen Murray uses computer models and films to visualize the centuries-long time-lapse construction sequence of Amiens Cathedral. This research highlights the cathedral’s role in medieval society: as symbol of civic identity, as economic engine, and as nation-building tool for the future French state.

Visit: projects.mcah.columbia.edu/amiens-arthum VIEW PUBLICATION

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Model of Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn

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A wind-up music box featuring Jane’s Carousel along the Brooklyn Waterfront. When closed, the antique cigar box measures a mere 7 by 7 inches and 3 inches deep. When opened, the Brooklyn Bridge and historic Jane’s Carousel fold out. The carousel spins to the tune of the music while the moon slides across the night sky. Materials: $4 cigar box, $5 wind-up music box, electrical wire (for trees), plastic lids for wheels, string, tape measure, tin foil, and thick paper VIEW PUBLICATION

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Windmobiles

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This series explores movement. These sculptures made of paper, wire, and wood are powered by the wind. When placed before a light breeze, the pinwheels spin and power the sculptures’ cyclical movements. The bird will soar. The horseman will charge forward, lance at the ready. Each sculpture evokes the theme of movement. Pinwheel is the simplest in this series. A light breeze spins a three-pronged pinwheel, which vibrates a wire. The following sculptures are variations on this mechanism. In Ocean Voyage, the pinwheel rocks a sailing boat. Wind movement translates into wave movement. Liberty symbolizes the search for freedom. The… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Proposal for a space age house

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. Space House is inspired from images of 1950s futurism and from architect Buckminster Fuller’s proposal for the ideal, modern home, the Dymaxion House. This circular model made of paper is three floors tall and fifteen inches in diameter. The house features large, porthole windows to better profit from the view and to evoke the large glass expanses of modern skyscrapers. In the heat of summer, blinds roll down over the windows to protect from the sun’s glare. The open floor plan permits occupants to design a home suited to their specific and evolving needs. The house is painted silver,… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Proposal for a pop-up park near the Flatiron Building

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In front of Manhattan’s Flatiron Building is an unused, triangular spit of land bordered by three major streets: Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street. Every day, thousands of pedestrians pass and cars through this central intersection. This underutilized space with traffic on all sides could become a vibrant, public square. This park should reflect and respond to the dynamic and energetic neighborhood. Pop-up Park creates a mixed-use public space that responds to users. Narrow metal panels measuring three by five meters roll out of a wedge-shaped storage container. Each panel serves a different function: bleachers, benches, bookshelf, public mural, basketball… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Re-purpose shipping containers for affordable housing

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Hundreds of thousands of shipping containers – each measuring eight feet wide by eight feet tall and between twenty and forty feet long – carry goods from China to America by ship. On arrival, these containers are often emptied and disposed of. Due to the trade imbalance, and the fact that China sends more products to America than America sends to China, it is often not cost effective or profitable to return these containers. This project proposes recycling the shipping container’s flexible but durable steel frame as a building material. Each container is a component in the home: living room,… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Cable Car City

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A small, San Francisco style cable car passes through my colorful city of brick buildings and ornate street lamps. With a flick of the wrist and a light tug on a string, I can set the two cable cars in motion back and forth down a cobblestone street. This model measures one feet wide by four feet long and is made entirely of wood and painted paper.   VIEW PUBLICATION

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My dream loft house

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Loft House is a conceptual design for my dream studio apartment. Loft House incorporates elements of turn-of-the-century warehouse architecture with modern building practices. Traditional warehouse spaces are large and airy; they also feature thick retaining walls and intricate external ornament like buildings in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. With Loft House, the heavy cornices and detailed brickwork of traditional loft spaces are reduced to their most basic geometric form. The open floor plan and exposed structural beams hint at this structure’s historical precedents. It is the spirit and feel of history, more than the ornamental accoutrements, that inspire me.   VIEW PUBLICATION

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Model of a concrete mixing truck

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This is a model of a motorized concrete mixer truck. The driver’s cabin is decorated with steering wheel, cushioned seat, headlights, license plate, and ladder.  A recycled motor moves the truck forward and in reverse. This motor is linked to a shaft that that spins the concrete mixer. When the truck arrives at the construction site, the concrete contents can be poured out through an adjustable trough at the back. All details are made by hand, and the dimensions are measured against actual trucks. VIEW PUBLICATION

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Operating scale model of a steam crane

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Here is a scale model of a steam crane. Many of the small parts are made from found materials such as copper staples, old gears, recycled wood, beads, and metal tacks. A motor moves the machine forward. While one hand-operated crank raises or lowers the boom, the other crank unwinds the hook and cable. Dimensions: 4.5 inches wide, 8.5 inches long, and 20 inches tall. VIEW PUBLICATION

My little neighborhood in Downtown Newark

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. Left to right: Broad Street Station, Polhemus House, YWCA Building, Newark Museum, Ballantine House,Second Presbyterian Church, American Insurance Company, Newark Public Library When I examine old pictures of my neighborhood in Newark’s archives, I realize that so much of my city’s built environment has vanished. This trend will continue, as it does in most cities where old buildings outlive their use. If not in the form of my city’s physical destruction, this loss is in the form of my gradual loss of childhood memories. To reconcile this, I built the below model as my own souvenir. This keepsake will… VIEW PUBLICATION

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New York City in Miniature

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The impressive range New York’s architecture, from the humblest home to the slenderest tower, powers my inspiration to create. I aim to capture my perceptions of the bustling city through art. With a base measuring 28 by 36 inches, I built this model in summer 2014 of wood, paper, and plastic. It contains several dozen of the city’s landmarks, skyscrapers, people, lampposts, subway stations, and a bevy of operating subway cars. Whenever I glance at my tiny creation, I rejoice in knowing that my love of New York is within the breadth of my arms. Animation of New York City… VIEW PUBLICATION

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Handmade Dollhouse

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I built this dollhouse over several years. Using balsa wood, cardboard, and salvaged scraps, I glued together all the pieces of furniture. Odds and ends – such as bottle caps, fabric scraps, and earrings – enrich the rooms with detail. None of the materials are purchased from a building kit or model store. They are all handmade as a skill-building exercise. VIEW PUBLICATION