As I’ve mentioned here in past years, the Pratt Design show is an essential stop on the May NYCxDesign circuit. The show brings together all of Pratt’s design programs within the ARC building on their leafy Brooklyn campus. There’s a lot to see but here, I’m focusing on the ever impressive offering of physical architectural models.

Undergraduate and graduate students were divided between two large display platforms. The projects this year ranged in style from free-form organic sculptures to rigid systematized structures.

Model making is largely absent from the professional architecture process. They still get made for mega budget projects to excite investors or swing public opinion. It’s unfortunate since a model still has to potential to reveal design issues or offer an alternative for aesthetic exploration free from the imposed precision of digital modeling.

Photos and Text: Dave Pinter