Laboratories for Model Making IAD

In the IAD Model Construction Laboratory, around 900 models are made by students of the faculty of interior architecture, architecture and design IAD every semester. The implementation of their own design ideas in the form of physical models in various scales and designs is one of the focal points of the teaching of our three degree programmes. With its workshops for wood, metal and plastic, the Model Construction Laboratory of the IAD Faculty provides the space in which students can make their models independently with the support of our workshop masters, learn about production methods and carry out experiments with materials and constructions.

More than ever before, direct contact and practical handling of different materials is the necessary basis for grasping and understanding constructions and material-appropriate design. It is precisely through manual processing that typical properties of individual materials can first be experienced and selected for one's own design and then also optimally planned. With the practical experience gained in our workshops, students can really make the most of the digital design tools, as they have already experienced the actual real material properties themselves behind the seductive virtual surfaces. Thus, the possibility of being able to independently carry out model building in different designs, scales and levels of detail in our workshops is a special quality in the training and an essential way of evaluating one's own design work.

In furniture design in particular, despite the increasingly perfect virtual 3D representations from CAD programmes, an analogue, haptically tangible and, crucially, possessable 1:1 model is irreplaceable for a final design evaluation in terms of ergonomics and seating comfort and is an integral part of a design process. The possibilities of classical model making also apply, for example, to quick visualisations of architectural contexts or urban proportions, etc., because with the help of simple physical models, larger situations can easily be perceived as a whole, final evaluations can be made and optimal solutions to the design task can be worked out.

The equipment and machines in our workshops are based on the manual and mechanical processing of the classic material families of metal, wood and plastic. However, model making in itself is not material-oriented; rather, depending on the type of model, scale and problem, various materials and model making techniques are more or less suitable for production or implementation. Depending on the size of the component and the material, different machines and techniques are used. In conjunction with other laboratories of our faculty, digital tools such as laser cutters and 3D printers are available, which can be used by our students via tutors or in the associated courses.

The scope and requirements for model making correspond to the progress of teaching and increase with the semesters. In the workshops, our students learn over time to independently produce even complex and sophisticated models up to the design model and furniture prototype. This requires independent work on our machines, the functioning and handling of which is taught in safety and workshop courses by our workshop foremen.

The Laboratory for Model Making IAD is equipped with its workshops and workrooms in such a way that it can meet the various requirements for the production of models to prototypes and experimental set-ups for our approximately 600 students of the Faculty of Interior Architecture, Architecture and Design IAD in many respects. It is more of an experimental laboratory than a teaching workshop, where students can try out, experiment and build on their own. Through the association with other workshops and laboratories at the university, specialised production areas from the painting centre to the five-axis milling machine are available and can be used for the students' own model construction.

Other laboratories and workshops of the Faculty of Interior Architecture, Architecture and Design IAD:

• Bau Lab
• CAD Lab
• Design Research Lab
• Laser Lab
• Lichtwerkstatt
• Materialize Lab
• MIXstudio
• Product Lab
• Rapid Prototyping Lab
• Sens Lab
• TechTex Lab
• Visual Lab