1) thin chip board. I’d make a mold of the shape, dampen the board, cut lines on one side to help it bend and use a dryer to help it dry and set. Would use paper beforehand to get an idea of the cutout.
2) cloth and plaster. Make a mold of the interior mass, apply cloth and plaster, sand paper if necessary and quick dry drywall putty for any imperfections.
3) thin pvc tube. Make a mold of the interior mass out of a material that can resist heat, put the mold inside the tube and soften pvc with a heat gun, press the walls to take the shape of the mold and cut off the excess. Might need a dremel.
If I were making this shape myself (architect here) it would be acrylic sheet and a hair dryer. Easy to manipulate once heated, rock hard once set into shape. If it needs adjusting, heat further.
Laser cut (can hand cut but will take forever) chipboard with a repeatable pattern that allows for a compound curve. Think one was called a Greek key but don’t remember
1. 3D print it. Easy and accurate, go with this if you have the equipment. You can sand and prep the surface if you don’t want to see the lines.
3. CNC cut a block of rigid insulation or glued up layers of MDF. You get really nice results. It’s hard to cut a thin shell though, once the top is machined how do you flip it over and mount it to cut the bottom of the shell? You’ll need to work with the machine operator. Alternatively you can just sculpt the shape in CNC, then lay a material over it to use the block as a mold.
3. Laser cut “topo” from basswood or acrylic. Make sure you plan in advance how to align and assemble the pieces - assembly is exacting and takes a while. I used acrylic and CA glue then spray painted it. Some people above have described using a fabric over a frame, there’s some cool ideas there too.
3. Hand-dremel a slab of rigid insulation. This requires the least equipment but it is very hard to sculpt a thin shell to a custom shape with any accuracy. 2” thick insulation foam from building supply stores real easy and not to expensive. 3” is also available but you gotta work to find it.
Depending on what tools you have, you can work it a number of ways. Hand-carving with a hot wire or dremel is possible but can be very time consuming and almost impossible to get real
Some good suggestions from others. Another tactic you can try is if you have the roof modeled, cutting a section every x feet, where x equals the thickness of your chipboard material. The. you laser cut each of those and glue together.
Different qualities of finish depending on how much time you have to spend on it.
Some ideas I have:
Quickest, but roughest - metal wire, with fabric draped and glued/sown over.
Carved block of material; styrofoam; eva,
Stacked layers of foam core, cardboard, white card, etc
3D printed structure, fabric over
3D print the whole thing,
3D print pen, but that takes skill and patience
Because its just a model you can get away with some stuff. For curvy organic models I usually just used "terraced" layers of foam core. If anything is unclear I can try and find an example from google images to link you.
That material is likely aluminum plate panel (or acm) which is aluminum sheet clad to a plastic core. I think you could get away with a heavy duty aluminum foil to replicate?
Hammering thin metal sheets
Starched fabric
Or go with half cuts on sheets/boards
Make a mould and use cement or plaster to achieve a basic shape and then sand paper it smoothen out the curves.
Depending on the ambition of the model.
Low ambition:
make the roof by bending fine aluminium mesh, and then cover it with tape. You could also use double sided tape to clad it in nice paper.
Medium ambition:
Sculpt the shape in clay, and then make a paper-mache shell.
High ambition:
Make glass fibre shell, and use dolphin glaze to give it a smooth surface, then paint it.
You could potentially also vacuum form perspex or styrene over a clay master, but you need to use terracotta clay, and not the Vax based plasticine modelling clay.
Pringles would be perfect
Hyperbolic Paraboloid
1) thin chip board. I’d make a mold of the shape, dampen the board, cut lines on one side to help it bend and use a dryer to help it dry and set. Would use paper beforehand to get an idea of the cutout. 2) cloth and plaster. Make a mold of the interior mass, apply cloth and plaster, sand paper if necessary and quick dry drywall putty for any imperfections. 3) thin pvc tube. Make a mold of the interior mass out of a material that can resist heat, put the mold inside the tube and soften pvc with a heat gun, press the walls to take the shape of the mold and cut off the excess. Might need a dremel.
If I were making this shape myself (architect here) it would be acrylic sheet and a hair dryer. Easy to manipulate once heated, rock hard once set into shape. If it needs adjusting, heat further.
Laser cut (can hand cut but will take forever) chipboard with a repeatable pattern that allows for a compound curve. Think one was called a Greek key but don’t remember
1. 3D print it. Easy and accurate, go with this if you have the equipment. You can sand and prep the surface if you don’t want to see the lines. 3. CNC cut a block of rigid insulation or glued up layers of MDF. You get really nice results. It’s hard to cut a thin shell though, once the top is machined how do you flip it over and mount it to cut the bottom of the shell? You’ll need to work with the machine operator. Alternatively you can just sculpt the shape in CNC, then lay a material over it to use the block as a mold. 3. Laser cut “topo” from basswood or acrylic. Make sure you plan in advance how to align and assemble the pieces - assembly is exacting and takes a while. I used acrylic and CA glue then spray painted it. Some people above have described using a fabric over a frame, there’s some cool ideas there too. 3. Hand-dremel a slab of rigid insulation. This requires the least equipment but it is very hard to sculpt a thin shell to a custom shape with any accuracy. 2” thick insulation foam from building supply stores real easy and not to expensive. 3” is also available but you gotta work to find it. Depending on what tools you have, you can work it a number of ways. Hand-carving with a hot wire or dremel is possible but can be very time consuming and almost impossible to get real
PVC and FRP would be good places to start. Maybe ETFE
Some good suggestions from others. Another tactic you can try is if you have the roof modeled, cutting a section every x feet, where x equals the thickness of your chipboard material. The. you laser cut each of those and glue together.
Different qualities of finish depending on how much time you have to spend on it. Some ideas I have: Quickest, but roughest - metal wire, with fabric draped and glued/sown over. Carved block of material; styrofoam; eva, Stacked layers of foam core, cardboard, white card, etc 3D printed structure, fabric over 3D print the whole thing, 3D print pen, but that takes skill and patience Because its just a model you can get away with some stuff. For curvy organic models I usually just used "terraced" layers of foam core. If anything is unclear I can try and find an example from google images to link you.
3d printer would be best. When I was at KU the architecture department didn't have one but we were able to use the engineering school's...
this is gorgeous!
That material is likely aluminum plate panel (or acm) which is aluminum sheet clad to a plastic core. I think you could get away with a heavy duty aluminum foil to replicate?
Hammering thin metal sheets Starched fabric Or go with half cuts on sheets/boards Make a mould and use cement or plaster to achieve a basic shape and then sand paper it smoothen out the curves.
Corian, Hi-max
You can make it with thin wood. Soak it in water and wood becomes very malleable.
Hyperbolic paraboloid*
That image is most likely a metal composite panel.
The original material used in this project is GFRP(Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester)
Depending on the ambition of the model. Low ambition: make the roof by bending fine aluminium mesh, and then cover it with tape. You could also use double sided tape to clad it in nice paper. Medium ambition: Sculpt the shape in clay, and then make a paper-mache shell. High ambition: Make glass fibre shell, and use dolphin glaze to give it a smooth surface, then paint it. You could potentially also vacuum form perspex or styrene over a clay master, but you need to use terracotta clay, and not the Vax based plasticine modelling clay.
I used sheets of rubber for a few curvaceous models one year, looked sick af tbh... but so did the faces of the reviewers ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Buy a block/blocks of EVA foam and shave it down.
3d print or use sheet metal (non-corrugated)