Shaping Space – Architectural Models Revealed was an exhibition and public programme at the Building Centre, in collaboration with the V&A, from 24 September 2021 until 5 March 2022.

The exhibition celebrated the role of architectural models in shaping the spaces we live in. A collaboration between the V&A and the Building Centre, Shaping Space – Architectural Models Revealed presented the world in miniature through a collection of historical and contemporary models revealing the evolution of architecture from the first maquette made as a tool for thinking, to a presentation model.

This short film is part of a series and features Shaping Space exhibition designer Roz Barr of Roz Barr Architects.

Roz Barr discusses how the practice make and think through model making and the way this informed the exhibition design as they collaborated with the curators. Barr describes the ability of models to engage an audience in a way drawings often struggle to, making it easy for non-architects to understand the place for the human within a built space. The exhibition featured a model of the Building Centre made by the practice and used in consultations for previous work on the building. In Shaping Space, the architects scaled up how they would make a paper and bolsa wood model, using timber posts form a structure clad with card to form a series of spaces. The practice worked closely with graphic designer Studio Mathias Clottu who applied captions directly onto the card.

Roz Barr are a London based architectural firm with a focus on the process and context of making. Established in 2010, they work with clients both UK and abroad, with a design led ethos at their core. They have undertaken a diverse range of projects in the UK and abroad with private, public realm, commercial and cultural sector clients.

Photo © Thomas Adank