Archinect - News

Win a copy of “Architecture and Modelbuilding”, a guide to help sharpen your model-building skills

2019-06-20T12:04:00-04:00

Eager to update your knowledge on the art of model-building? The book “Architecture and Modelbuilding: Concepts - Methods - Materials” is a guide that illustrates the possibilities of the medium and also explores its past and future. Thanks to publisher Birkhäuser, Archinect is giving away five copies of the book to our readers!

Authored by Alexander Schilling, an architect and lecturer at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the book builds on its successful predecessor “Basics Model Building”. This latest volume offers practical tips, techniques, simple explanations, and specific examples — with an abundance of photos, of course — for different work stages and tasks.

Courtesy of Birkhäuser.

Presentation and Views. Courtesy of Birkhäuser.

Find more images in the gallery below.

Want a chance to win a copy of “Architecture and Modelbuilding"? Fill out this survey by the deadline on Friday, June 28th, end of day. Five paperback copies of the book are available to win. Winners will b...

Brutal paper cut-outs (of real-life buildings)

2016-05-26T19:22:00-04:00

Poland-based studio Zupagrafika has a thing for modernist and Brutalist architecture. And to share that passion, it has created playful illustrated paper cutout models of Brutalist buildings in London; modernist buildings in Warsaw; and a new series, Paris Brut, featuring Brutalist architecture from the 1950s–70s located in the city center and outlying banlieues.

Cheaper than a train set, more visceral than a video game: Zupagrafika's sets of the Les Choux de Creteil, the Cite des 4000, and the Orgues de Flandre (among others) will keep your fingers busy in assembly and your mind deeply engaged in the thorny issues surrounding the relative success and failure of mid-century design.

A round-up of all the latest in fascinating miniatures:

Aspiring Japanese surgeons build tiny models to get hired

2016-04-26T12:41:00-04:00

Forget the life and death drama of heart transplant surgery—what about the insane pressure to expertly fold a piece of origami in under 15 minutes? Located in Japan's Okayama prefecture, Kurashiki Central Hospital is holding fierce recruitment competitions in which surgeons must assemble tiny models—in one case, a piece of sushi with a single grain of rice—to demonstrate their fine motor skills (and coolness in a complicated deadline situation: sound familiar, model builders?). Here's the video of the tryouts:

Winners of the Arckit giveaway

2016-02-09T12:49:00-05:00

In Archinect's latest giveaway, readers had the chance to win an Arckit, a reusable and aesthetically savvy modular kit. Architects, students, and design enthusiasts of any age can use the kit for their architectural modeling needs or just for fun.

The three lucky winners are:

Shawn, Washington D.C.
Jim, San Antonio
Payam, Chicago

Congrats! Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate.

Learn more about Arckit here.

Envision your next design with Arckit + giveaway!

2016-01-28T12:04:00-05:00

Need a break from LEGOs or want to refresh your creative process for your next project? Arckit is a choice you wouldn't want to pass up. Irish architect Damien Murtagh created the aesthetically savvy modular kit for architects, students, hobbyists, and design enthusiasts of any age to enjoy and use for their architectural modeling needs.

Arckit uses a series of reusable modular components that connect without glue(!), allowing the creation of freeform structures that can be endlessly modified. The system is based on modern building techniques and uses a universal sale — making it ideal for architectural projects, showcasing finished designs, or just for good ol' fun.

Are you in dire need of one of these kits? Archinect is giving away three Arckit sets to our lucky readers!

Read on for more about Arckit, and find out how to enter the giveaway.

'You can design almost any structure with Arckit – from a room, extension, walled garden, dream home, street, high-rise tower or even replicate so...

Photo archive of "Blade Runner" model shop shows remarkably convincing replicants hard at work

2015-03-19T17:12:00-04:00

An amazing cache of 142 "behind the scenes" photos from the model shop of the 1982 classic sci-fi flick "Blade Runner" are now available on imgur. A huge h/t to Boing Boing, where we first came across these photos.

Perhaps they're coming to light now as promo for the (official) Blade Runner sequel? Here's a selection of some of our favorites, in all their late '70s glory: