The Economist Building

Alison and Peter Smithson, London, United Kingdom, 1964

Scale: 1:50
Materials: cardboard, mdf, paint
Type: facade, study, volumetric
Detail: 3/7
Student: Lisa Aebersold, HS25

A 1:50 study model of Alison and Peter Smithson's Economist Building complex, depicting the three towers of differing heights on a flat base with a stepped podium rendered in wood. The tower volumes are clad in layered paper and cardboard strips painted in alternating pink and grey horizontals with applied yellow vertical fins, abstractly representing the building's travertine and glazing grid. A small figurine provides scale, and low-relief stair elements at grade suggest the public plaza. The model foregrounds the compositional relationship of the tower trio and the facade's rhythmic bay system rather than precise construction detail.

How it's made — RAPLAB

Laser cutter — tutorial ↗
PDF export for laser cutting — tutorial ↗
Digital Workshop ↗
Paint Workshop ↗