Client LBS Properties, Meridian Property Holdings
Scale 1:100
Dimensions 600mm x 600mm x 2240mm
Time to make 3 months
Materials Acrylic, MDF, aluminium box section, PLA 3D prints, cellulose paints
Modelmaker Theodore Polwarth
The project
Our design for The Madison is inspired by the fluidity of the surrounding docklands. The 53 storeys of elegant residential accommodation are animated by a fin-clad facade that creates a moiré rippling effect, and anchored with an angled peak and slender silhouette. Theodore worked on a model for the project while on work experience at Make.
What was the purpose of the model?
The Madison model was built for Make’s London studio, to showcase the project in a high level of detail. Showcase models are useful as they let a practice communicate the design of a building to clients and colleagues, where many of the working models rarely stay in the office, as they are given to clients or taken to planning and competition meetings.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170757-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=aa35e2cbf6ae1635dc9c3f67af95f652 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170757-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=560&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=eb98167439d905a6407f8b6680d8fdf1 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170757-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1024&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=bfd34cadfb4cf629c72a9f7dfdb1d2ee 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170757-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1365&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=d064ca5102579ffecbe7909bad228798 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170757-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1867&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=78f17923dfdbdc1b8d65636b6aeb6312 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170757-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2133&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=fe7e9ea085b4bb1885d37e17ff7c6436 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170757-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2560&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=2de03f3fa8f225055a9619ed46ed1576 1920w)
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170916-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=5074dceb9207d639008265346ccf2129 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170916-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=560&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=791c9a6a18613508d9d0d2c7992f692b 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170916-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1024&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=e01f3ddcb6c0948bc30c3562e86d9cce 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170916-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1365&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=a9e217afb8fb76c89bc796f2c5c9fb14 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170916-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1867&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=353fd16cf54df3dbfc2dd1acff1da8e2 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170916-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2133&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=76882d5fd25e1a8b05a3e61d222bae57 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FIMG_20200603_170916-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2560&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=793a9503decab634f70efc418b31630c 1920w)
How did you make it?
After receiving the files from the architects, I started by choosing a small section of the building that represented what the majority of the model would look like and then went about working out how to construct it, making decisions such as how the floorplates and balconies would be constructed. Once I was happy with how all the different elements could be constructed, I moved on to drawing the design for the whole building in CAD, which took some time.
I started by constructing the base and inner support structure; cladding and painting the base; attaching floorplates to the core; painting and assembling the balconies; painting and assembling the facade; and then finally attaching all the fins to the facade.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FMadison-TheoPalworth-5-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=dbfc68660c7fa3d30a2f265399b8f81a 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FMadison-TheoPalworth-5-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=560&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=0c34e672fd05cf3e259dc35cf650ed79 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FMadison-TheoPalworth-5-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1024&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=2ffdbaad6ec4c4d38df0a74fc233c9c6 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FMadison-TheoPalworth-5-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1365&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=cbbeaf97982425055552fc21bdf17cdb 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FMadison-TheoPalworth-5-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1867&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=b0f7dc1edc515a2fa0ef821668367a22 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FMadison-TheoPalworth-5-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2133&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=86faf4123cacd1bc92148d7d9ad8c941 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F06%2FMadison-TheoPalworth-5-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2560&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=fd26bafcad9874feefe6c22a9fe1ca76 1920w)
Were there any interesting material choices, finishes, details or techniques in construction?
The fins are an interesting detail that clad the whole model. When viewed at a right angle, they create a wave pattern. Because I had the original file from the architects, I managed to make the pattern on the model accurately match the fins on the real building.
What problem solving did you undertake during the design and build? Were there any particular challenges and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge with the model was its sheer size, which complicated everything, from moving about the modelshop to how it would hold itself up. The solution for guaranteeing that it wouldn’t fall over, and that it had a strong enough core to hold the floorplates, was to use an aluminium box section to create a slotting mechanism in the base that one long section could be bolted in and would run the entire height of the model.
This post forms part of our #futuremodelmakers campaign to celebrate the work of the 2020 modelmaking graduates.