3D printing architectural models- A godsend for firms like Make Architects

Make Architects, one of the world’s most reputed architectural firms faced a challenge which needed a new-age solution- they needed to quicken the pace of making models of buildings that they made for work related purposes. Traditional models took weeks and consumed a lot of foam, cardboard and timber, not to mention the time taken by skilled craftsmen to make the model.

As demand for expedition of this process grew, the employee-owned company decided to turn to 3D printing. This saved them loads of time and money. A few years ago, if they had to build a contextual landscape model of an entire neighbourhood consisting of around 800 buildings spread around a square kilometre of a city, they would have had to shell out £20,000(Rs.18.12 lakh), as against that 3D printing the same model cost comes up to £2,000(Rs.1.81 lakh). Additionally, 3D printing the model takes just 2 weeks, as against the 6 weeks needed for a conventional cardboard-foam-timber model.

At Make Architects, every studio employee is taught to use the 3D software and printer. Whenever they take on a project, the first thing they see is whether the external design of the building is in harmony with its environment. For this, they prepare 3D sketches and models to get the design perfectly right so that each of their buildings designed is in perfect harmony to the surrounding environment. For this effort, Make Architects have received critical acclaim, just like their St. James’s Market design got a 2018 RIBA London Award.

With the ease of 3D printing, Make Architects have gradually used this resource to its fullest. From starting with just 2 3D printers in 2014 to using 14 now, Make has now fully embedded the use of 3D printing in their business. In fact, Make’s Modelshop manager Paul Mike even goes on to say that if need be they can even use 100 3D printers in the future depending on requirement.