Worldmodelling : Architectural Models in the 21st Century

In light of current developments in modelling, and with the aim of reinvigorating debates around the potentiality of the architectural model – its philosophies, technologies and futures – this issue of AD examines how the model has developed to become an immersive worldbuilding machine. Worldbuilding is the creation of imaginary worlds through forms of cultural production. Although this discourse began with an analysis of imaginary places constructed in works of literature, it has evolved to encompass worlds from fields such as cinema, games, design, landscape, urbanism and architecture. Worldbuilding differs from the notion of worldmaking, which deals with how speculative thinking can influence the construction of the phenomenal world. As architects postulate ever-increasingly complex world models from which to draw inspiration and inform their practice, questions of scale, representation and collaboration emerge. Discussed through a range of articles from acclaimed international contributors in the fields of both architecture and media studies, this issue explores how the architectural model is situated between concepts of worldbuilding and worldmaking – in the creative space of worldmodelling.

Contributors: Kathy Battista, Thea Brejzek and Lawrence Wallen, Pascal Bronner and Thomas Hillier, Mark Cousins, James A Craig and Matt Ozga-Lawn, Kate Davies, Ryan Dillon, Christian Hubert, Chad Randl, Theodore Spyropoulos, and Mark JP Wolf.

Featured architects: Phil Ayres, FleaFolly Architects, Minimaforms, and Stasus.

Mark Morris is Head of Teaching and Learning at the Architectural Association, teaching history and theory as well as leading the school’s curricular initiatives, academic appointments, and development of new programmes. Mark has written extensively on the model in journals, book chapters and books; most comprehensively with Models: Architecture and the Miniature (Wiley, 2006). He lectures internationally on the subject of model learning and serves on the RIBA Academic Publications Advisory Panel.

Mike Aling is a senior lecturer at the University of Greenwich School of Design in London, where he is the Programme leader of MArch Architecture and unit master of MArch unit 14. Mike’s research examines and speculates on the continuing evolution of digital architectural modelling processes, procedures and languages, as well as research into the future of the architectural book, printed media design anatomies and architectural publishing. Mike has been published and exhibited internationally.