The project
Built in 2022 for GXN, these are exhibition models of transformable housing, structures designed so that parts can be removed, replaced or reused when a building is renovated or rebuilt. GXN commissioned them for display, and they were exhibited in Copenhagen. Each model stands on a base plate of around a square metre, with the model itself smaller than the plate.
The approach
The colour split does the explaining. Green marks the parts of the structure that are load bearing and have to stay. White marks everything that can be taken out and changed. That one decision is what lets a visitor read the whole idea in a few seconds without a caption, which is the entire job of an exhibition model.
How it was made
GXN supplied the design as a single solid 3D model, which is not something a laser cutter can use. It was rebuilt as flat parts, with every cut positioned so the pieces interlock and locate against each other during assembly rather than needing to be held and aligned by hand. The parts were then laser cut from green and white acrylic and assembled, with 3D printed and CNC machined components where the geometry called for them. A third model was made at close to full size, showing the construction build-up layer by layer. The timber display bases were outsourced.
Where the same approach works
An exhibition model has to make an argument, not just show a shape. Building that argument into the material itself, here by cutting the structure in two colours, does more work than any label standing next to it. The same approach suits research and concept exhibitions, public consultation displays, trade fair pieces, and any model whose job is to make an idea legible rather than to show a finished building.
