Plaster model as part of the competition entry for the Freilager Albisrieden in Zurich. Freilager Albisrieden, Office Haratori and Office Winhov. Zurich has a complete city model. The integration of new plans in this model forms part of the negotiation process with the municipality. Urban plan Leutschenbach Mitte, Office Haratori and Office Winhov.
models were, therefore, a compulsory part of the entry.3 Although visualisations now occupy a dominant position in the presentation of designs, the use of uniform plaster models is, for example, still a compulsory part of a competition entry in Switzerland. Influenced by the Italian developments in architecture, the first models emerged in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 16th century. The word ‘maquette’ (model) came into use as architectural term in the Netherlands via sculpture round about 1915.4 In the Netherlands, we use the terms model and ‘maquette’ interchangeably, but the difference in meaning says a lot about the intentions of the maker. The word ‘maquette’ can be traced back to the Italian macchietta (raw sketch). The meaning in Dutch is: ‘A threedimensional miniature model of a building’. The ‘maquette’ is, therefore, somewhere in-between a raw sketch and an accurate three-dimensional scale representation of an (existing) building. The ‘maquette’ mainly concerns the object an sich (itself). It is a more or less precise and objective representation. It is fixed scale and a true-to-life representation of space, structure and materials. Irrespective of the phase in which the design is in, the ‘maquette’ suggests an end point; it is a presentation. The word model is derived from the Latin Modulus (measure, knowledge). In addition to the meaning of ‘copying on a small scale’, the word has a larger scope. For example, a model is also ‘an example on the basis of which a work is executed’, ‘an interpretation of a system’ or ‘a paragon of something (role model). With regard to the ‘maquette’, the model offers opportunities for abstraction, essence and suggestion. The model plays another role in the design process; the emphasis shifts from presentation to study, reflection and even inspiration. The model is at the service of the idea that is at the 81
Conversation Pieces
3 Smit, E. (2006) ‘De Rotterdamse Raadhuismaquettes’ Architectuurbulletin 1/01: 53-62.
4 Tieskens, R.W. Het kleine bouwen, vier eeuwen maquettes in Nederland (Zutphen, Uitgeverij Terra).