Wimbledon College of Arts, BA Theatre & Screen: Theatre Design 1st years recently dazzled us all with their display of impressive Model making & Technical drawing project outcomes in Wimbledon’s very own 26 Paces gallery space.

The students were asked to find a location in college or within 10 minutes walk of college, interior or exterior, a maximum of 5 meters square and make a 1:25 scale model of the space.

The aim of the project, set by BA Theatre & Screen: Theatre Design pathway leader Lucy Algar, was to develop the 1st years model making abilities by producing an accurate scale representation of a specific site. When practiced to a high degree, model making is a highly marketable transferable skill which could feature as one of a graduates first professional roles.

We caught up with BA Theatre & Screen: Theatre Design course leader Lucy Algar to ask her a couple of questions about the project and the outcomes:

Why this brief and what do the students gain from it?

“Model making skills are key to the course, its one of the core practical skills that are so integral to the course and the industry. Model making and technical drawing are on part of the first unit for 1st years, the second part is costume, both important core skills.”

What do you think of the work?

“Its fantastic! The students have had a lot of great feedback. They are a talented bunch but what has been really vital to the success of the project is the way they have supported each other. They have all spent time in the studio and and really pulled together.”

Lucy also gave thanks to David Harris and James Perkins for all their hard work and help with the students on this project.

Students were asked to consider shape, colour, proportion, whether they liked the space or not and how it might work as a performance space. Look at lighting conditions, artificial or natural, and how they affect the space. Is the space busy or calm?

Students also developed ways of collecting the information required to make a model such as drawings, measurements and photography. This information was also key in the creation of the technical drawings to aid the model making process