Richard Armiger

Richard Armiger is a professional, international architectural model maker and the founder of Network Modelmakers (established 1983).[1] He is one of the foremost authorities on the design, research, construction and restoration of historic, culturally important architectural models.[2][3] Armiger’s architectural consultancy models, for Sir David Chipperfield, Zaha Hadid, Grimshaw Architects, John McAslan,[4] John Pawson, and the late Jan Kaplický have appeared frequently in architectural exhibitions worldwide, and examples of his work can be seen in museums in the UK and internationally, including the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum[5] and regularly at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. During a career spanning 4 decades, 35 of his models have been chosen for display in the annual Royal Academy of Arts Summer Show.[4][6] In 2014 he was chosen to make a timber model of Westminster Abbey as part of the planning process for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

Early career and education

Armiger first attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1975, studying painting and sculpture, before studying industrial design model making at the Medway College of Design in Rochester under inspirational Arup[1] modelmaker George Rome Innes, graduating in 1978. He then spent time working at Arup before setting up the in-house modelshop for Festival of Britain chief architect Sir Hugh Casson of Casson Conder and Partners, and then establishing his own company, Network Modelmakers in 1982. During this period he was also mentored by the Boston, USA designers at Cambridge Seven Associates.

In 2002, as consultant Model Coordinator to Crossrail (now 'The Elizabeth Line'), Armiger helped clarify the project's complexity to the Parliamentary Select committee and other design laymen.[7] In 2006, Armiger and his team created a lit model measuring 4 meters square[8] that became the winning entry for Singapore's Gardens by the Bay competition after an exhibition to display the model to the public.[9] The competition was won jointly by Grant Associates landscape designers and Wilkinson Eyre architects.

Many of his models have been shown in international architectural design competitions including several winning designs by Architects Nicholas Grimshaw. These include the Caixa Art Gallery, A Coruña, Spain; National Space Centre, Leicester, England; Southern Cross station, Melbourne, Australia; Enneus Heerma Bridge, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Frankfurt Exhibition Hall, Germany; and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri, USA.

He is also the Director of House Portrait Models, a brand established in 1998 within the studio to market handcrafted ‘model portraits’ of private homes and estates.

Armiger has long been a proponent for the recognition of the artistic, creative and inspirational role and general contribution of the architectural model maker to the architectural design process.[10]

Notable Models

Westminster Abbey

The model of Westminster Abbey, one of Armiger’s largest and most ambitious models, was designed and built in collaboration with Simon Hamnell of Millennium Models and George Rome Innes.[11] The model was built to assist with the planning process  for The Weston Tower which allowed access to The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, which opened in 2018. Armiger presented the Abbey model at Buckingham Palace in June 2014. In 2018 the model was displayed in the Royal Academies 250th Summer exhibition as a work of art, and more recently it was on display in the RIBA “Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds" exhibition in London until May 2025.[12]

Le Corbusier - Villa Stein De Monzie (1987), Victoria & Albert Museum

The Crystal Palace (2001), Victoria & Albert Museum[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Lund, David (31 May 2021). "Entangled Dependencies: The Architect, the Model, and the Professional Modelmaker in Britain, 1969-90" (PDF). Architectural Theory Review. 24 (3): 342–359. doi:10.1080/13264826.2021.1919724.
  2. ^ Porter, Tom; Neale, John (2 October 2000). Architectural Supermodels: Physical Design Simulation. London: Architectural Press. p. 96. ISBN 0750649283.
  3. ^ Lund, David (2022). A History of Architectural Modelmaking in Britain: The Unseen Masters of Scale and Vision (1st ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003298007. ISBN 9781003298007.
  4. ^ a b Gibberd, Matt (5 June 2025). "The Modern House meets ... Rick Armiger". The Modern House.
  5. ^ a b Victoria and Albert Museum (5 June 2025). "Model of the Crystal Palace". Collections - The Victoria and Albert Museum.
  6. ^ Connor, A. J. (14 June 2007). "Architecture Room With A View - RA Summer Exhibition". Architects Journal.
  7. ^ Arnold, Damian (28 May 2004). "Crossing The Line". Building Design: 8–11.
  8. ^ Design Week (14 May 2009). "Top models".
  9. ^ Gardens By The Bay (5 June 2025). "Media releases on the Gardens - Year 2006". Gardens By The Bay.
  10. ^ "Architectural models in context: creativity, skill and spectacle · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Westminster Abbey to welcome visitors to its attic". Design Week. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  12. ^ "vPPR — Difficult Sites: architecture against the odds – RIBA". vppr.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
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