A dynamic physical model based on a 3D digital model for architectural rapid prototyping

Both a physical model and a 3D digital model are three dimensional visualization media to study space and shapes in a design and presentation process in the architectural and urban planning fields; however, they both have distinct strengths and limitations. Thus, this research develops a dynamic physical model system for volume simulation of buildings or a city based on 3D digital models. The developed system consists both of a hardware module which packed 105 (15 × 7) lifting rods into a grid and a software which calculates the height of each rod from the 3D data and controls lifting the rods. Each rod represents the minimum representation unit. The height of rods could be changed individually by stepper motors. Using the prototype system for various case studies, physical urban models of several scales could be rapidly produced from 3D digital data within an acceptable error range. The potential of the proposed approach for real-life design scenarios was explored, and the proposed approach was proved as feasible and effective.