Best ever architecture recipe (easy)

Are you tired of having bland projects? Do you keep getting roasted in reviews for your dry final boards? Let's spice up your game with our all-new recipe, by Marly McNeal from Issue 15 Spring 2021.

Let’s face it— thinking of a good idea for a project is hard. Most of us simply don’t have the time to think about our projects before designing them. What you might not know is that you don’t need to do that at all! With our recipe calling for a few scoops of post-rationalization and a gallon or two of successful representation, you will be on the path toward success. What are you representing, exactly, you might ask? That’s not the point. You’ll figure that out at the end. There is no need to stress about it—this Architecture recipe is a piece of cake!

So many recipes call for elements like sustainable design or innovative structural methods, but ingredients like these are all challenging to find. If you are tired of wasting your time designing buildings with meaning, and you just want a flavorful final project, then this recipe is for you. It has almost all the features of your instructor’s favorite projects. plus it is made almost entirely from scratch.

Cook Time: While it typically takes a handful of months to prepare, more experienced designers can shorten the bulk of the work to a few weeks of all-nighters.

Drawing instructions:

• Collect architectural inspo from pages like Pinterest and Instagram

• Choose an image that has a color palette you want to use

• Determine what Illustrator hatches closely align with your aesthetic (Pro-Tip: If you are an experienced designer or really want to impress your professor, customize the hatches or even create your own!)

• Hop onto Illustrator and draw what your heart desires

*Note: this does not work for everyone. If you feel stuck, walk away and come back to the computer at 3AM— the time constraint can fuel a more efficient design.

Model instructions:

• Prepare your main materials

— Are you using lots of curved shapes? Or did you spend all your money on the last project? If so, scrap foam/other material from the woodshop is your best option! Sit back and let the mill/foam cutters do all of the work for you.

• Does your design have 90° angles? Are you anti-laser cutter or have you not learned anything since freshman year? Well, that means foam core is for you! Get out the box cutter and hack away until you have some relatively straight pieces.

• Are you rich? Are you poor but willing to do anything to impress your professor? Try using acrylic! It can be laser cut and even forms around molds when heated!

• Spray painting your material according to your color palette. Are you getting bored and/or tired with the project? Try spray painting indoors, but not in the spray booth, for a rush of adrenaline.

• Start assembling your materials. Apply your Sobo glue carefully so that the edges are clean and crisp. Press and hold together firmly until your fingers go numb. If it is still wet, or for extra strong connections, use Guerilla Glue

  • Pro-Tip: Tape areas people won’t be able to see!

• Once you realize that you will not complete the model in time, begin using hot glue instead. Heat your glue gun to approximately 375° or until the adhesive begins dripping on the table. Apply generously, and time permitting, remove excess glue.

  • Caution: Glue may be hot

• Laser cut scale figures. And by scale figures, I don’t just mean people. Trees are key! If you really want to impress, try adding scale cars and furniture

  

  

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Past Issues

This article is a part of One:Twelve’s “From the Archives” series, selecting some of our favorite pieces since the magazine’s start in 2010.