Architecture has to do with planning and designing form, space and ambience to reflect functional, technical, social, environmental and aesthetic considerations. It requires the creative manipulation and coordination of materials and technology, and of light and shadow. Often, conflicting requirements must be resolved. The practice of Architecture also encompasses the pragmatic aspects of realizing buildings and structures, including scheduling, cost estimation and construction administration. Documentation produced by architects, typically drawings, plans and technical specifications, defines the structure and/or behavior of a building or other kind of system that is to be or has been constructed.
An architectural model is a type of a scale model – a physical representation of a structure – built to study aspects of an architectural design or to communicate design ideas.
Architectural models are used by architects for a range of purposes. Ad hoc models are sometimes made to study the interaction of volumes, or to get an idea of how they look from different angles and to explore ideas. They can be used to exhibit and sell a design to help visualize a design. A model may be useful in explaining a complicated or unusual design to the building team, or as a focus for discussion between the design teams such as architects, engineers and town planners. Models are also used as show pieces, for instance as a feature in the reception of a building, or as part of a museum exhibition such as scale replicas of historical buildings.