This particular type of media raises an important issue
earlier in this book, is an abstraction of reality to avariable degree depending on its purpose. One of themost immediate ways in which such abstraction is evidentis in the scale of a model. The distance created betweenan architectural model, and the awareness of the viewer’s
Gap’. In the past, one of the ways in which architectscounteracted this phenomenon was to make modelslarge enough to afford interior views at eye level. Withthe developments of camera, film and digital technology,coupled with the considerable expense in producing suchmodels, this practice is far less common nowadays. A veryuseful piece of equipment for negotiating the scale barrieris the endoscope, also known as a modelscope, whichbrings the eye directly into the spaces within a model.Working as a miniature periscope, an endoscope can be directly inserted into a model, affording views of theinterior spatial sequence that would not be possible fromlooking at the whole model. Attaching a digital camerato the endoscope and saving the resultant images to acomputer can enable these views to be photographed andfurther manipulated where necessary. Similarly, movingimages and space-time relationships may be explored andcommunicated by attaching a digital video camera to theendoscope and then editing the film as required.
Case study Model photography
The work of Neutelings Riedijk is characterizedby a series of approaches that explore variousthemes including: sculpture and pattern,cavity and stacking, and weight and texture.Instrumental to their design process is the use ofmodels to conceive, develop and communicatetheir ideas. Therefore, the photography oftheir projects is carefully considered and usedto add additional layers of information andunderstanding to the design proposal The Culture House Rozet combines a Library,Heritage Centre, Art Centre and CommunityCollege for the city of Arnheim, 2009–13. A primary strategy behind the design is toconsider the interior street as an extension of theurban route. This glazed interior route intersectsthe building on all floors and varies in naturealong its length to act as an exhibition hall, foyeror auditorium depending on function. The visibility of this internal street from outside the buildingstrengthens the public identity of the scheme,as it was important to ensure this was clearlycommunicated. Therefore the models producedduring the design development phase andmore latterly for presentation were cropped toemphasize the ‘cascade’ of space that forms theinterior street and show its different uses.
