Models have always been central to the RPBW design process. Beyond merely representing a project, they are design tools and instruments of discovery. In the Building Workshop where architecture is crafted through exploration and iteration, models are the best way to generate dialogue and communicate ideas.
From the earliest sketches, study models give shape to intuition, allowing architects to explore volumes, refine proportions, and test ideas in real time. Scale evolves as the project progresses—starting from small-scale massing models to detailed 1:1 prototypes of architectural elements.
Unlike many agencies, who commission models primarily for presentation purposes, at RPBW, model-making is seen as an essential part of the architectural method and all models are made in house. While rough studies in foam or cardboard can be made by the architects, for complex ideas, we turn our six full-time professional model-makers in its dedicated workshops in Paris and Genoa.
The reciprocity of the exchanges between model makers and architects is essential to the design process and adds significant value to the outcomes. Models are deemed to be working tools; they are living documents that evolve with the project in parallel to the digital models and visualizations.
“More than representations, models tell a story, capturing key messages at different stages of a project. Small-scale models help define proportions and volumes, while others convey movement, transportation flows, and spatial interactions. Models and drawings evolve together in a collective, and interactive process between architects and model-makers, turning concepts into tangible forms.”
