Models & Prototypes

[Image: “Dome-shaped Architectural Staircase Model,” courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt].

If you liked those two staircase posts from earlier today, a reader has pointed out that the Cooper Hewitt has a whole slew of “Models & Prototypes” on display that seem worth checking out.

More specifically, it’s “a gallery devoted to exhibiting three-dimensional representations of ideas that demonstrate the design process; test concepts and resolve problems; enhance presentations; and display complex technical skills.”

Take a look at the “Dome-shaped Architectural Staircase Model” from the mid-19th-century, for example, seen above, or this gorgeous “staircase model from France“.

[Image: A “staircase model from France,” courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt].

Freestanding and divorced from their ultimate architectural context, they become more like vertebrae or genetic helices spiraling in midair.

[Image: “Staircase Model, France,” courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt].

See more over at the Cooper Hewitt.

(Thanks to John O’Shea for the tip!)

3 thoughts on “Models & Prototypes”

  1. The first time I visited the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, I spent the most time looking at the model of the Paris Opera that's on display at the back of the museum. Not only is the building modeled in cutaway, but the rigging for the stage as well. -ed

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