For my most recent clients I have been building these little 1/16”=1’ architectural models for initial design presentations. When I worked for Bart Prince he often remarked that clients were more responsive to physical models than to computer models and I have found the same to be true with my clients. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a model is worth a thousand pictures. Computer models have other benefits and are quite useful but ultimately they are still viewed on a 2D surface and therefore have a difficult time offering what a tangible, physical model can. The terrain for this particular project is quite steep which presents wonderful view opportunities yet demanding engineering challenges. In order to have a command of a site like this, a physical model is immensely valuable to both my understanding and my clients'. A topographic survey must be done prior to design. I take the information from the survey and model it to scale using built up layers of cardboard or chipboard. Years ago I came up with a method of constructing these terrain layers using only two sheets of board.
Visually it does it for me. Much like my early years when I played with model trains and the landscape creation. That process brings the what if into focus.