18th September 2025

The Column: Rob Turner on Modelmaking

The Column gives you the opportunity to ask our experts about their work, and how it shapes the built environment.

Last month, you submitted your questions to Rob Turner, who is the Workshop Manager at Foster + Partners, bringing over two decades of experience in modelmaking. Since joining the practice in 2001 he has helped to develop it into one of the most advanced modelmaking facilities in the industry.

He manages our largest modelshop and is responsible for team development, health and safety, and the coordination of multiple ongoing projects. His expertise spans complex machinery, carpentry and joinery, alongside an in-depth knowledge of materials and prototyping.

What are the key stages of the modelmaking process?

Every model starts with a clear brief from the design team. After this initial discussion, we receive digital information and drawings.

We always break the digital model down into clear steps, such as hand making, CNC machining, laser-cutting, and printing. Each process requires its own set of digital information and instructions. Following this, we consider which processes and materials will be best for making the model structurally sound. To start, we take a small portion of the model and work it up as a sample.

Then we go into production and apply finishes such as painting, polishing, and manual detailing. We do a ‘dry’ fit where the model is assembled without glue. We have another design review, and then, once it’s signed off, we glue it together and add the final details such as people, greenery, and transport. 

Finally, we prepare the model for delivery. This might be a short trip from our workshop to our London campus, or a long-haul flight to another country. We carefully pack the models for delivery. A team member on the other side will then set the model up for presentation.

On average, how many physical models are produced for a single project?

On average, we will make two or three models per project: a small-scale masterplan model showing the building in context; a zoomed-in scale model showing the building on its own; and a larger scale model of a particular detail within the building. 

However, larger projects can require many models. For 270 Park Avenue, we’ve produced over 100 models – details for the lobby, light fittings, exploded floor diagrams, to name a few.

How do you decide which materials to use for a model?

This depends on the geometry and structure of the model, the finish that is required, and where the model is travelling. For example, a hot or humid environment affects our material choice. We also need to make sure the selected materials will respond well to different processes, whether that’s machining, printing, or hand-finishing.

Material testing is constant, as we have a large throughput of models. We stay on top of emerging new materials and technologies, which have the potential to transform our work in exciting new ways. 

What tools, machineries, or technologies are used in the workshop?

We work across a wide range of analogue and digital modes, manual and machined processes. 

Our workshop has all the traditional equipment such as table saws, bandsaws, routers, lathes, sanders, mills, and a broad array of hand tools. We also use CNC [Computer Numerical Control] machines, a robotic arm – and a mixture of printing technologies, such as flatbed 2D printing and 3D printing.

In your experience, can models influence or inspire design decisions during a project?

Modelmaking has been part of Foster + Partners’ DNA since the beginning. To this day, Norman Foster is a huge advocate for models. 

This is because models are the first chance to see the physical design. Until then it’s all digital information or two-dimensional drawings. Physical, three-dimensional models can reveal a lot of things that digital models can’t. They’re a chance to ‘fact-check’ a design and see what needs to be refined or changed. 

They are also a great way to communicate a design to clients or non-architects. Models are very useful in a review, as they capture all the information in one go.

How do physical models interact with digital models in your process?

The digital model is vital, as we use it as the basis for the physical model. 

I would describe it as a process of translation – moving back and forth between methods. 3D printing and CNC machines, for example, require a ‘clean’ and exact digital model to work from, whereas dressing and final details – even material selection – are done by hand and eye.

In post-production, we sometimes combine a model with augmented reality, allowing designers and clients to view components of a scheme in the broader context of the whole design. 

How did you first get into modelmaking and what training did you take?

I graduated in 1997 with a High National Diploma for Modelmaking in Design, and I’ve been modelmaking ever since. 

Before joining Foster + Partners, I was as a prop maker in London’s West End – working on stage sets, stage traps, scenery, carpentry, and painting. I also briefly made fake food for television adverts! 

What do you love about modelmaking?

For me, it’s the process of figuring out how to bring a design to life within a matter of days. Challenges will arise – and there are always some that we can’t anticipate. I love the end product, but it’s problem solving that I enjoy the most.