Design Development Echo House

Whilst testing on a scrap piece of acrylic I discovered that adding a heavy dose of matting agent to a paint mixture slightly thicker than the milky standard, in combination with a low air and low paint gun setting produced a dry spray that almost speckles the paint across the acrylic. When dry, this produces a rough texture mimicking that of the original brickwork seen in the site images.

Representation of the building’s exterior / façade is the most important feature of this presentation model, so the use of paint in demonstrating this will help to achieve the professional high-quality finish expected of this kind of model. Research was done into the manipulation of spray gun settings, paint thickness, colours and techniques such as speckling through testing. Also drawing on advice from a previous work experience placement at MAKE.

The model is made entirely of acrylic, chosen for its smooth, consistent canvas, allowing unadulterated viewing of material representation and colour using spray techniques.

For plaster as seen on the exterior of the surrounding building and interior of the Echo House. Medium air, mid - high paint setting, with a tiny amount of matting agent produces a smooth yet lightly textured finish that still allows small amounts of light to reflect from its surface.

When studying the site images, it was important to ensure that the colours mixed would complement one another and not look out of place when standing side by side, even when complete opposites such as the red brick of the Echo House and the blue plaster of the surrounding building.

The most successful option explored was achieved through speckling lighter and darker tones over the brick as you would expect to see on the actual material, adding to the authenticity of representation, whilst allowing me to add slightly higher levels of blue to the speckle. Creating a subliminal connection with the surrounding building and helping to really tie together the aesthetic, unifying the model.

This was a key element in successfully representing texture. For example, the pavement on the baseboard if painted monochromatic would appear flat and timeless, whereas a heavy speckle with darker undertones creates depth and story to the path allowing you to see the stone it was made from, and the dirt deposited through time and use.

The laser etched brickwork patterns also help to break up the material, complimenting the speckle effect, adding shadows and detail important to the success of my presentation model.