For the Love of the Model

Our drafting table broke a couple of years ago. We put the scale rule aside and retired the T-square to the closet. We know exactly where our set of mechanical pencils is – right next to a couple sheets of velum. Of course drafting by hand seems to have been so five years ago. With the proliferation of CAD programs and computers that can handle the task our dreams of being a fly by night architect (ok, we only did set design) have become more and more fanciful.

Local institutions of higher education do have some of the best graduate programs in architecture anywhere. MassArt will even be hosting a symposium on architecture April 29 featuring titular heads from The Pritzker Prize and the Aga Khan Award, the most prestigious architecture awards around. Bostonist has been part of a few building committees, consulting on both the design phase and the construction phase of new or renovated buildings. What seems to be the biggest part of the design budget is all the money thrown at models. Models can be pretty boring in their pure form. White or black foamcore walls are nothing until they’re painted up, and, well pimped out. (Building models did edge out Uno for childhood fun) Oh the parody. Today’s video comes from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, specifically Gund Hall – an architectural icon in itself.