Case study on the production of architectural models for modern commercial residential complexes
This case study takes the high-rise commercial residential complex depicted in the image as the prototype, providing a detailed introduction to the refined production process of high-fidelity architectural models. These models are primarily used for real estate project presentations and design scheme reports.
1. Project Overview
The prototype of the project is a modern-style commercial residential complex, featuring a commercial podium with a wavy facade on the ground floor and a high-rise residential tower with a curved shape on the upper floors. The overall design combines fluidity and modernity. The model is made at a scale of 1:200, with the core goal of accurately reproducing the building's facade texture, lighting atmosphere, and landscape hierarchy, providing an intuitive visual carrier for project promotion.
II. Production Process
1. Basic modeling and structural forming
The production team first collects CAD drawings and architectural renderings of the project, extracting precise dimensional data. High-density ABS boards are used as the main material, and the basic framework of the commercial podium and residential towers is processed through CNC precision cutting technology. After layered cutting and splicing, the geometric accuracy of the building volume, floor height, and curved outline is ensured. For the vertical hollow structure on the right side of the tower, 3D printing technology is used to produce detailed components, ensuring the fidelity of complex shapes.
2. Facade details and material reproduction
The facade of the commercial podium building features wavy lines as its core characteristic. ABS boards are processed through hot bending to simulate a smooth curved surface, and the surface is sprayed with matte gray paint to reproduce the texture of stone. The glass curtain wall of the residential tower is made of transparent acrylic sheets that are cut and fitted together, with white grids printed inside to simulate window panes. Some of the panes are filled with warm yellow light sheets to create an indoor lighting effect at night. The vertical grilles of the tower and balcony railings are made of metal etchings, accurately reproducing the rhythmic lines of the building.
3. Landscape and Environment Creation
The landscape area at the bottom is constructed in layers proportionally: the base is paved with simulated turf to mimic greenery, and miniature trees are crafted from plastic branches and electrostatic flocking, scattered across the rooftops of the podium buildings and at the ground entrances. The ground roads and squares are cut and shaped from light-colored PVC boards, adorned with miniature street lamp models, and embedded with warm yellow LED beads at the bottom to simulate nighttime lighting. The water feature area is poured using transparent resin mixed with blue colorant, with a rippled surface treatment to recreate a sense of flow.
4. Lighting system and final assembly debugging
Internally constructed layered LED lighting system: Install warm white light strips on the ground floor of the commercial podium to simulate window lighting; embed micro LED lights in the window panes of each floor of the residential tower, achieving a staggered lighting effect through circuit control; pair the top sky garden and entrance area with blue ambient lights to enhance the building's nighttime recognition. All components are assembled and calibrated on a unified base to ensure the spatial proportion between the building and the landscape is harmonious, ultimately completing the detail polishing and functional testing.
III. Quality Control and Application Value
During the production process, a multi-stage quality inspection system was established, encompassing inspections from dimensional verification, material matching, to lighting functionality, to ensure that the model is highly consistent with the original design scheme. The finished model has been applied to sales office displays and design review meetings, effectively conveying the project's design concept and residential value through its meticulous detail reproduction and immersive lighting effects. This has provided strong support for market promotion and scheme optimization.
