Author Archives: gemmiti

The architect’s intention for this study model was to ‘wow’ the marketing and developer clients with details, without getting into the time and expense of a true marketing model.  The clients were so impressed that they asked us to immediately start work on a highly detailed and highly realistic version for their sales office.

What started as a concept for a ‘simple’ model to present to the City of Oakland, turned into a complex model that had all of the essential architectural elements for a sales center presentation, except internal lights.  One could easily be misled by the small 9″ x 8″  footprint translating to simplicity.  In this case, […]

What started as a concept for a ‘simple’ model to present to the City of Oakland, turned into a complex model that had all of the essential architectural elements for a sales center presentation, except internal lights.  One could easily be misled by the small 9″ x 8″  footprint translating to simplicity.  In this case, […]

This is a good example of how a quality presentation of a residence can be made with sufficient detail from simple study model materials and professional processes.  Really good trees help!

Various materials and model making processes were used to produce the right ‘soft’ look and feel for presentation to the City of Oakland.  They now have a suitable long-term promotion piece as the project is further designed and developed toward final approvals and construction.  The context was made of basswood, and included an existing building […]

In order to emphasize their unique design, the architects at Gensler requested that we create a more transparent effect for the windows than our usual back-painted technique.  The mid-rise building design also required that we model a detailed perforated screen structure on the outside of the building, which we accomplished by painting metal-etched supports that […]

You never know if chipboard will conform properly to a particular shape until you try it.  This aquarium’s design structure is smart, conjuring up the look and feel of waves.  That same effect had to work on our model, and in very short order.  Luckily, chipboard does bend, at least as much as we needed it […]

Large scale models are all about experiencing a place well before it actually exists.  This scale affords us the opportunity to simulate colors and textures of materials in a highly realistic way that is often not practical at smaller scales.  At Gemmiti Model Art, one of our mantras is “if you are going to do it, do […]

We rushed, then waited to hear how this model was received by the Prime Minister of Bahrain.  Upon the architects’ return, they were happy to report that he “liked it so much that he replaced a model of a mosque on his desk with it.”

Set in one of the most beautiful parts of South Carolina, the gorgeous homes at Cliffs at Keowee Springs are nestled in pristine woods with a country club at the top of a hill!  This first model shows the overall property, for orientation and sales purposes, and features: the layout of the road system, the size of […]

When the Exploratorium Observatory relocated from the Palace of Fine Arts to Piers 15 & 17, the best approach (in practical, visual, tactile, and scientific terms) to thoroughly plan ahead its move was through the use of a scale model.  This was a study model made from laser cut museum board (no pun intended) with open roofs […]

The use of cork is a low-tech approach to the construction of models that will never completely go out of fashion.  It’s natural earthy quality, consistent texture, and size variety make it a tried and true material for site models.  Since laser cutting burns cork black, each of these fine layers (.050″ or 2′ high contours at […]

With currently available technologies, we are able to produce a higher level of accuracy and detail in tiny buildings.  Those topping out at a miniscule 1/2″ height, are now able to include overhangs, chimneys, and all of the complex intersecting gable elements that can be designed in 3D CAD.  It is a common misconception that […]

This model was primarily made to orient a potential buyer of a luxury home to a golf course community located in an idyllic setting in Northern California.  Our intention was to capture the color and textural qualities of natural California grasses and provide just enough detail in the tiny buildings (accurate roof shapes, etc.) to […]

These days, it is more work to build a ‘stepped contour’ topo model than one in it’s natural smooth state.  The reason being that preparing the file for machining involves many hours of CAD time to add contour lines at each and every inside corner and outside or ‘top’ corner of a step.  Thirty years […]

This model is one of many that we’ve inserted into the all-encompassing Stanford Planning Model over the last 30 years.  Our guess is that the model was originally made in the late 60s or early 70s.  It’s just part of the fabric of Stanford Planning and is continually updated whenever a new project is in […]

When the quarry is finished digging at great depth, the plan is to make it an inlet with waterfront property.  With this model, our clients were able to demonstrate the before and after with model puzzle pieces.  Seeing the actual relationship between the neighborhood and the quarry, and having the benefit of this tool to […]

When Donald Fisher met opposition in building his first proposal of the Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio, this second design option was presented.  Neither option worked, so his art collection was ultimately housed at SF MOMA.  As is evident in the seams around three areas featuring ‘removable plugs,’ this model was used for more […]

This model was scheduled to be on a plane to Abu Dhabi with no time to spare, so the best we could do photo-wise was this detailed shot of a single sun shade or ‘trumpet.’  The design of this piece was tricky, but once resolved, it was fairly straight-forward to duplicate with a high level […]

Sometimes the style of a model is completely sculptural, as with a wood model or an all-white model.  Other times, the style is highly realistic as in Hacienda Cabo, where we captured the foam of the waves on the beach perfectly.  Every once in a while, as with this model of Stanford FCTR School of […]

Sometimes the style of a model is completely sculptural, as with a wood model or an all-white model.  Other times, the style is highly realistic as in Hacienda Cabo, where we captured the foam of the waves on the beach perfectly.  Every once in a while, as with this model of Stanford FCTR School of […]

The architects came to us with the requirement that this gift of Model Art™ be presented in a ‘bento box’ motif, as it would be presented to someone who had a particular affinity for all things Japanese.  Since we did not want to take away from the delicate surface detail showing the layout of this […]

The topography of Murphy Winery was CNC machined out of solid basswood.  The hardscape was shown as a tint and the buildings included laser-scored details to communicate just the right amount of detail for presentation.

This model was made to study a fairly intricate architectural revision and update.  To keep the presentation simple yet informative, we constructed the model from chipboard.  Gray chipboard is a nice alternative to its more common brown counterpart, though the latter is better at hiding laser cutting burn marks.  As you can see, the courtyard […]

Not all models are made with intricate detail and realism.  However, all models produced at Gemmiti Model Art are made to serve a purpose.  In this case, the owner needed to able to visualize and study the shape of the house and the adjoining driveway access.  There is something simple and sweet about this little study […]

This model is a perfect example of a single family residence made for design review, sales presentation, and approval purposes.  We combined high technology (laser cutting and scoring) and low cost materials (chipboard) to achieve enough detail to communicate the design of the proposed home without the added labor and cost associated with producing a […]

This beautiful piece of property is located on San Francisco Bay.  The proposed development included a marina, an entire road system, and several future parcels, along with one commercial property that is in the conceptual development phase.  We had enough information to build this model with intricate detail on the two commercial buildings, tiny palms, […]

University of California, San Francisco held a design competition for a parking garage destined for its Mission Bay campus.  The architect thoughtfully matched the character of the building with the garage design, conveniently and beautifully sidestepping the less becoming ‘open-slab’ effect.  Due, in no small part, to its cost effectiveness, this was the winning design!

Imagine what it would be like to not only own a piece of  property on a hill in beautiful Sonoma wine country, but also have the resources to really study its land, and plan and create a vision for how the property would best be experienced and enjoyed.  Dream became reality with the construction of […]

Here, it was important to interpret the screen, which largely covers the garage façade, creatively rather than literally.  The holes in the perforated panels are very small and the overall pattern is essentially a flattened graphic of the hole pattern of a tree, or lots of trees.  Instead of using a fine screen to get the […]

An otherwise overlooked aspect within larger projects, we absolutely love public-space requirements in San Francisco developments!

In order for this model to read right, the tinting of the windows and the selection of the color pallet (which included copper and green) were crucial.  Our interpretation of the actual materials at this scale really made the difference.  It was eventually incorporated into the bigger Mission Bay East model, which is featured elsewhere […]

As tiny as the details of this model are, it was very important that the delicate features were properly communicated in our material and color selection, as well as our interpretation of how certain features should be modeled at this scale.  It would have been easier to reduce the number of patterns and setbacks in […]

Multi-family housing models are more complex to build than some satellites!  This project had over 600 individual wall pieces to design, organize, laser cut, assemble, and paint (in multiple colors.)  Additionally, as is the case with intricate housing projects, the architecture was in the design development phase.  It required focus to reach the end of […]

Twenty-five years ago, we made ‘planning models’ that projected the growth of San Francisco over the following few decades.  The development and growth seemed a bit unreal, given the population and activity of the city at the time.  Today, however, Mission Bay—once a vast empty space in the southern section of San Francisco—is a growing […]

Twenty-five years ago, we made ‘planning models’ that projected the growth of San Francisco over the following few decades.  The development and growth seemed a bit unreal, given the population and activity of the city at the time.  Today, however, Mission Bay—once a vast empty space in the southern section of San Francisco—is a growing […]

This is a fine example of an unusual use of material and color that really works.  The tower was made of milk acrylic.  Each floor was represented (as can be subtly observed) and the entire skin was made flush.  It, along with the black acrylic base, was left in it’s natural glossy finish for a […]

Our contact at the City of Palo Alto originally wanted simple building shapes that would sit loosely on an aerial photograph of downtown Palo Alto’s South of Forest Area.  Our first thought was, “who is going to be the one to sit there and realign over 100 loose buildings when someone bumps the table or […]

Destiny USA conducted an extensive search for “the best model makers in the country” to build the models for its visionary green project in Syracuse, NY.  After introductions, phone interviews, a portfolio submission, months of waiting, and a cross-country interview, Gemmiti Model Art was selected to join the design and development team.  It’s been a […]

This competition model was challenging and unique because the clients were still finalizing their designs four days before the presentation due date.  In the end, we produced a model with 20 individual, interchangeable parts; half of these parts made in the final two days of construction.

The competition brief for an addition to the existing SFMOMA building called for entries made of raw, simple materials rather than detailed, elaborate marketing models. Judges were looking for models that gave a clean, unadorned feel of the proposed work. Our clients, Jensen & Macy Architects, came to us and selected a raw material that […]

The best platform for selling hundreds of units is a sales center featuring a detailed marketing model as its centerpiece, showing all the colors, textures, and amenities of the project.  It was an arduous process to achieve the proper green, brown, gold, and tan tones on this model.  The design was exceptionally intricate and challenging […]

The scale of this model allows us to show all architectural features, from decorative brackets to shingle siding, detailed trim, wall-mounted lamps, café tables, and interior lighting.  By randomly blocking windows we create a more realistic appearance than a light-box style model.  Regardless of the degree of detail or realism required, a Gemmiti Model Art […]

Developers often have to decide whether they want a simple “topo table” (the term commonly used for a flat plan with “monopoly” houses) or a model that is more realistically colored and textured so that one can experience the layout of the lots, changes in grade, and natural vegetation of the site.  An accurately rendered […]

What better, more effective way to sell property that is still under construction than to present the end result in full realism and detail?  Prospective buyers can experience the building in its three-dimensional, finished form—something that even a well done two-dimensional rendering can never achieve.  At this scale, we are able to capture small differences […]

This was the first of two design options and locations proposed for Donald Fisher’s extensive modern art collection.  This model was made to be an intricate puzzle with lift-off sections revealing all interior art gallery spaces.  We loved duplicating the priceless sculptures in miniature and were intrigued by the unique aspect of the exterior wall stone […]

There are so many layers of detail packed into this tiny-scale competition model that we relished the look on the architect’s face at first sight of the finished product—a design they likely agonized over day and night to perfect.  This little model had it all and felt fully detailed.  For us, being able to produce […]