New client commissions first sales model.

After a run of industrial models we were happy to return to our roots with an architectural sales model for a nationwide house builder. This project was for their upmarket division who hadn’t traditionally used sales models in their marketing suites but wanted to “give it a try” for this compact development of detached executive homes in the north of England. Time will tell but hopefully they’ll discover, like our regular housing clients, what an effective sales tool these models can be and will come back to us for further models in the not too distant future.

Fourth model this year for national developer.

One of the UK’s largest housing developers has come back to us again for a 4th sales model this year. They’ve been coming to us for many years for their sales models because of the consistent high quality and value we deliver every time. This model was particularly challenging because of the steep topography of the site which meant that virtually every plot was on a different level. As a sales tool it was important that we accurately modelled every step, retaining wall and embankment across the site so that purchasers could easily understand the levels and contours around whichever house they were looking to buy.

Third sales model this year for major UK house builder.

This is the third sales model we’ve produced this year for one of the UK’s biggest housing developers. We’ve been supplying high quality sales models for their marketing suites for over 12 years and have another very large project for them booked in later this year. An important feature of this site was the sloping topography which had to be very precisely modelled so that the gardens with retaining walls and steps could be accurately represented. If you click on the right inset pic above you can see a close up example of these level changes.

Sales models for two housing developers.

Earlier this month we delivered two housing models to different developers on the same day. We’d actually finished both models a few weeks earlier but neither client had their marketing suite set up so they asked us to store the models until they were ready on site. Both marketing suites were completed in early August and, whilst we deliver projects all over the UK, on this occasion the sites were less than 40 miles apart so it made sense to deliver them on the same day. We produce at least a dozen of these residential sales models every year alongside industrial and display models of all types for a variety of different marketing requirements.

1:250 scale sales model updated.

We recently added a new phase of houses to this very large sales model. The overall site model was originally completed in August 2020 but only the south part of the site had detailed houses because the north phase was still at design stage. To minimise the time the model was away from the sales office we made all the buildings in advance in our workshop before collecting the model to update the landform. This is something we’ve done quite often when a client is marketing a development in phased stages. Unfortunately because the model had to be returned to site as soon as possible we only got time to photograph it in our workshop, so the photos aren’t the best.

Our Latest Projects | Modelmakers | Architectural Models

Highly detailed model of American house.

Now en route to the USA (in a custom-made flight case) this was a very technically demanding model with lots of complex curves, highly articulated elevations and multiple level changes as the building responded to the contours of the site. The architect wanted the model to reflect the different external materials so we used our top of the range laser-engravers to pick out the stonework elements, fine brick detailing and traditional shingle cladding for roof and elevations. If you click on the lower right image above to enlarge it you’ll see some of this detail. The project was further complicated by the requirement for internal illumination – our solution was to incorporate commercial grade RGBW LEDs with remote control which allows full adjustment of colour and brightness. This was one of the most complex architectural models of a single building we’ve ever made but we were very satisfied with the finished result and we’ve had extremely positive feedback from our US client.

Detailed sales model for North London residential development

Sometimes a project turns out to be much trickier than expected and this was definitely the case with this illuminated sales model for a North London residential development. Not only was it on a complex sloping site with lots of surrounding context buildings, it also had heavily articulated elevations composed of many different materials including a very specific range of metallic finishes. The client was very concerned that these finishes should be accurately represented and we spent a lot of time working with the architects creating sample swatches to make sure the colours on the model were as authentic as possible. The requirement for general illumination added further technical complexity to the project but in the end it all came together as planned and the client was delighted with the finished result. In fact we had an email from him with the following comments "We have just been to the agents office to see the model for the first time. It’s fantastic! Thank you so much for all your hard work on this project. I’m sure it will help enormously to sell the units off plan...".

Two 1:400 scale models of parcel handling depot

UK Mail ordered two identical site models of their huge new facility at Ryton because they needed an overview model at either end of the site, one in the offices and one in the main warehouse building. Constructing two models at the same time enabled us to offer them a significant saving on the second unit. 1:400 scale is a good option for a site model because it keeps the base size down but still allows us to show a recognisable level of detail. We were even able to show a good representation of the parcel handling conveyors through the cut-away roof (click on the inset pic above to see the detail).

Our Cardiff model shines at Cannes Mipim

 

We’re just recovering from transporting our 6.5m x 5.5m interactive model of Cardiff all the way to Cannes and back for the Mipim 2015 property marketing event. We had to pack the model up in two large vans, drive for 2 days to Cannes via Eurotunnel, set the model up, hang around Cannes for 3 days (it wasn’t all hard work) and then do the whole process in reverse, getting the model reinstalled in its marketing suite in Cardiff for a VIP event last week. Fortunately the model was specially designed so that it could be taken apart and transported to different locations as this was a major requirement in our original brief. So far it’s been to Cannes this year, London Mipim last October, and a couple of local venues earlier last year. No doubt we’ll be off on our travels again soon – watch this space.


Marketing model for national house builder

 

 

We recently completed this large model (approx. 2m x 1.5m) for a national house builder but it was actually built in 3 stages as each phase of the development was launched. The main body of the model was built early last year and included the landscaping and road infrastructure of the whole site but only about a third of the houses (representing phase 1 of the development). In the middle of the year we brought the model back to our workshops and added the phase 2 buildings and have now just added the Phase 3 houses to complete the project. The developer uses these models for all of their sites because they are such a useful marketing tool to help sell the houses. We’ve been producing sales models for them for many years and have several more projects in the pipeline for Spring this year.