Staufen tower Frankfurt
Historical Museum Frankfurt
Completed: 2012
This model of the medieval Staufen Tower in its original form was produced for the new permanent exhibition in the old building of the Frankfurt Historical Museum. The building still exists; it is part of the museum, but has undergone substantial changes over the course of the centuries.
The model is particularly notable for three things: its large scale (1:50), the fact that parts of it can be opened up or folded away to give the visitor a better view of the inside and, finally, the use of 3D viewers to show stereoscopic images of the interior.
Because of the large scale and the movable parts it made sense to use traditional model-building techniques in combination with rapid prototyping. The façade and the roofs were made in the traditional manner, the architectural details, for example the tracery of the windows or columns with capitals and bases, were 3D printed in a synthetic material and fitted into the façades, which were then painted.