CompuServe Messages

Scott: I can't speak for other professions but I can give you a quick take on the architectural community. 1. Please elaborate on the type of information that a physical model can provide that a computer model cannot. Most architectural models worth keeping usually end up under plexiglas to keep from getting damaged and dust covered so physical texture is not a benefit to physical architectural models. A computer model is not necessarily a flat print or a flat screen. You couldn't walk the floor at either SIGGRAPH and AEC Systems without knocking over a virtual reality system. Depthography in NYC and other companies have captured stereoscopic views on flat prints which will make your eyeballs pop out. The intangible benefits for physical models include the client's ability to touch the finished product (therefore tangible, yes?). I only say this because some people need to see, touch, have the product they pay for. Lots of clients don't like buying databases as they can't touch 'em. Intangible benefits to using physical models include the ability to have any human pitch in to create the thing. No computer skills are required. 2. This one is tough to answer because it is so dependent on the complexity/scale of that which you wish to model. 3. I no longer build physical models, I generate computer models exclusively now. I don't think I've worked on a computer model that wasn't cheaper than a physical model to create. Quicker, most times. Easier, always. More effective, mostly but I'd definitely say more valuable to the client. 4. Physical model building is alive for product prototype/product design, motion picture miniatures, and other applications. Architectural modellers are struggling to survive and I'm sure the good ones will continue to provide those eyecatching models which sit in the company lobby for visitors to peruse. How long before they are displaced by holographic projections or virtual dispays? Let's just say I'd hate to be an aspiring young model builder who wishes to get rich off the construction industry. Bob