Back to the studio...

I've been away a little while, off on maternity leave after having a wonderful little boy back in November. It's strange getting back to work, but I'm enjoying being here. I've just updated the website with some projects completed before going on leave, namely the Maglev train for NMS, a factory model for Nimmo and Partners, and this sketchbook for Glasgow Women's Library.

Bridgeton - Women's Library Sketchbook

I've also had a few projects already since returning to work, so will be pleased to get them up online in due course.

As well as the more usual commissioned models I'm working on, I'm running a project with Scottish War Blinded, building four dolls houses based on listed buildings in Paisley. It's a fantastic project, and you can follow our progress on twitter (@model_paisley) and instagram (@modelling_paisley).

Reflections on 2016 at F&F

So it’s already the last full week of January, and also an awful long time since my last blog post. Well, 2016 was pretty busy, so that’s why. But it also seems time to reflect on the work I did in 2016, and what I learnt. 

Unlike 2014 and 2015, which had been dominated by projects not for architects, pretty much all my work last year was for architects. Perhaps there was a bit more happening in the world of architecture and construction than the previous few years? 

I started the year with completing the Edinburgh model for ICA Architects, as featured in the previous post. It remains one of my top jobs of last year - the scale, style, and of course, the location. Following that, I made the timber Graving Docks model for ZM Architecture, the Fraser Avenue (Inverkeithing) model for 7N Architects, and two models for 3DReid of their development in Vauxhall, London. Particularly around late spring was a massively busy time for me, but hugely rewarding. I brought in two freelancers, Chris Merchant and Jessica Cowan to help with this workload, and I’ve have struggled to do it without them. Although the studio usually feels quite spacious, with three model-makers and three models (in five parts) in here, it felt pretty crowded!

The detailed model of the Vauxhall development for 3DReid.

Fortunately for me, I caught a break in the summer, nicely coinciding with a trip to Mexico, and immediately after, moving flat. 

The main project since the summer was another two models, one massing, one detailed, of a scheme by ICA, photos to follow in due course.

The Fraser Avenue model for 7N was another favourite of the year. I was really pleased with the outcome, particularly because this stemmed with working closely with the architects to achieve an aesthetic that gelled with their own style, as well as the wish that it be fairly realistic so members of the public got a true sense of the scheme.

Fraser Avenue for 7N Architects

So, as I said, a busy time, and lots of work for architects. I had begun to think of the work I do as architecturally orientated, but not usually for architects. Thinking of projects like the Distillery Box and the Smart Homes for British Gas, these had been very much brief-led projects, where I had designed and produced the models. I love doing projects like this, it allows me some creative freedom, and working with a diverse range of clients and subject matter. 

But as well as the models I produced in 2016, I attended a couple of events late in the year. Voices of Experience was arranged by Collective Architecture, and paired up an older generation of architects with architects at the start of their careers, all female. It was a hugely inspiring afternoon, and it was clear that all those involved had been really enthused and inspired by the experience. I also went to a Pecha Kucha curated by Page\Park, themed around cultural spaces, and some of the best of recent Scottish architecture was featured. These events in particular, as well as the models I've worked on recently, really got me thinking about how much I care about architecture; my interest and enthusiasm in architecture, in the way it affects people and society, and how exciting it is to me, as a model-maker, to occasionally get an opportunity to be part of it.

So, of course, the ideal is to strike a balance between those two types of project. Easier said than done. But the various projects that have been in discussion recently do fall into both of these categories, so fingers crossed for some interesting, exciting, creative, cultural (and well-paying!) jobs in 2017!

New models

I have just updated the website with a couple of recent projects for architects. The more recent of the two was finished just a couple of weeks ago, and is a context model for ICA. The model covered a part of the old town of Edinburgh, providing context for the architects development. 

Although the model is fairly small (roughly 580 x 400mm), and at 1:500, it was a pretty complex model to built, due to both the topography of the site and the variation in buildings across it. Grassmarket, which is the street at the corner closest in the photo, was the lowest part of the site. The Royal Mile was the highest street level, more than 30m above Grassmarket, and the church spire is the highest building in Edinburgh. In addition, George IV Bridge runs over a couple of other streets in the model, adjacent to the site, so it was critical that all of this context was accurately modelled. The buildings on the model varied from small 3 and 4 storey tenements to some which are 8 or 9 storeys, and frankly, it was hard to believe I hadn’t made a mistake with the scale!

The purpose of the model was to demonstrate that the architects development fitted well within the context of the site, which I think the model definitely shows. Adding the detail to both the development and the surrounding buildings shows the size of the new build is appropriate for the site.

It was a really enjoyable model to work on, it’s an area that I know reasonably well, and feel that I know much better now!

The other model I have added to the website is Whitchurch Gardens, which ran on-and-off over much of last year. The original brief from StudioKAP was for a model of an existing house and the surrounding nine houses on the street, as well as an interchangeable section with the proposed new build. 

As the architects and their client worked on the design, and met with local planners, Finch & Fouracre were asked to produce further sections with the evolving design. In this way, the model was both a design tool and a presentation piece, which helped in getting planning permission for the house towards the end of 2015.