| Compared to the subject of architectural drawings, little specific study exists concerning the meaning of architectural scale models. This seems quite strange when one considers the important position scale models have maintained in the architectural process for centuries. This work would like to begin rectifying this situation by presenting a broad based discussion on the representational qualities of the architectural scale model.;This work proposes that architectural scale models are typically used as mechanisms for creating definition and differ from instruments such as transits, yardsticks or measuring cups because their specific measurements are already well defined. John W. Miller's book The Definition of the Thing, points out that a key problem of philosophy is the definition of the "thing". For the architect the "thing" which defines, and for this study the "thing" which will be defined is the architectural scale model.;The architectural scale model is created not only as a means of designing our life sustaining buildings but also for building a general definition of life's true meaning. They serve as measuring mechanisms which help the architect extend their intellectual might in an attempt to understand a confusing whole. The scale model is a mechanism for creating definition, mediating between perceived chaos and man's designs. Positioned between lifelessness and the uncanny, the architectural model offers the architect the opportunity of an understandable scale within which to develop and define their concepts of the ideal. |
