'Men in Sheds' 1:50 Scale Exploded Section Model

<p dir="ltr">Part of the B.15 2025 Model Archive.</p><p dir="ltr">"My project explores the redevelopment of an abandoned electricity works in Crewe, collaborating with local charity Men in Sheds – a group that works with elderly members of the community, combating isolation and long-term illness through craft and making. Models, therefore, have been a key driver in the design process across all scales, ranging from 1:10 structural explorations to 1:500 site massing models, shown in this submission. Where possible, I have aimed to keep materials and the processes tactile, understanding the process of assembly and focusing on the craft and precision of modelmaking, like the skilled making that occurs at Men in Sheds. As part of the project, I created a structural system that Men in Sheds can apply to a number of sites around Crewe, with the parts manufactured and assembled at a central workshop space, within the abandoned works. This structural system, as well as the repeatability of manufacture, was explored in the 1:50 exploded outpost model and the accompanying 1:10 detailed structural model, focusing on one structural unit. Both models allowed me to more deeply understand the constraints and opportunities of the manufacturing process, with the 1:10 model creating a lot of small, angled off-cuts. These off-cuts are used later in the assembly process, where they are chipped and turned into wood fibre insulation. The 1:50 assembly model required careful consideration of the assembly, transport and alignment of each small piece. During the assembly, I created several jigs and spacers in which to assemble the structural tree units and roofs, ensuring regularity and compatibility. The conditions and junctions present in the site are explored in the 1:50 workshop model, a focused corner which interrogates the relationship between new and existing, split by a large, hand-made balsa wood structural unit, accompanied by 3D printed details. Jesmonite is used to represent the existing ruin, cast and assembled by hand, with the new intervention largely produced using ‘modern’ methods, such as 3D printing, laser cutting and power tools." - Saul Bunyan</p><p><a href="https://b15.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/?p=6424" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Winner of B.15 Modelmaking Awards 2025, sponsored by Henning Larsen Architects</a>. </p>