3D printed massing model at 1:300
A 1:300 massing model of a building with a curved roof, 3D printed with two interchangeable design options on a single base.
- Sector
- 3D printing
- Scale
- 1:300
- Size
- 40 × 30 cm base
- Client
- Architecture practice
- Location
- Spain
- Lead time
- 4 working days
The brief. An architecture practice had to show its client two massing options for a civic building with a curved roof. The geometry would have been slow to build by hand, and the meeting was at the end of the week.
How we built it. We received the SketchUp model and prepared it for printing: closing open volumes, setting minimum wall thicknesses for the scale and separating the building from its context. Both options were printed in white resin (SLA), which captures the curve of the roof without visible layer lines. The simpler neighbouring buildings were printed in PLA on FDM machines. The MDF base was laser-cut and engraved with the site boundary, streets and north point. After light sanding, everything was primed matt white so the two materials read as one.
The result. Two crisp volumes that slot into the same recess in the base, so the client can swap them on the table and compare footprint, heights and shadows. If the design changes, only the affected volume needs reprinting.
More on technologies, files and finishes for 3D printed architectural models.