history
Models are increasingly used in exhibitions on historical themes.
However, far from being merely an aid to representation, architectural
modelling invariably acts as a highly effective aid to research.
Architectural modelling as a form
of research
Alan Williams
The models that accompanied the Hugo Häring
exhibition at the RIBA, London, in spring 2001 were
the culmination of several years’ research into the
largely unbuilt works of the architect, led by Professor
Peter Blundell Jones at the University of Sheffield. In
contrast to their highly crafted external appearance,
the story behind the models is one of detailed
investigation and speculative reconstruction.
The largest piece in the exhibition, which has
occupied the author for over five years, is the model
of Garkau farm [1a–c], generally thought to be
Häring’s masterpiece. As this paper shall
demonstrate, the process of modelling can be much
more demanding, but also rewarding, for the
researcher than other forms of investigation.
Introduction
Located in northern Germany on the shore of the
Pönitzer See near Lübeck, Garkau was conceived as a
large integrated farm complex, arranged about a
common yard and incorporating the latest
agricultural techniques. Häring’s involvement with
his client, the farmer Otto Birtner, seems to have
begun as early as 1922 with a design for the
farmhouse. By the spring of 1924 Häring had
prepared the masterplan for an entirely new farm,
while development of the farmhouse continued in
parallel. The same key buildings are present in all
versions of the farm. These include the cowshed with
its hayloft above, an adjoining pigsty and stable
block, the main barn and a group of vehicle and
utility sheds opposite [2].
Although the masterplan was never fully executed,
the completed cowshed and barn became the subject
of much attention, not only from architectural
circles including Behne (1926), Platz (1927) and Taut
(1929), but also from other progressive farmers who
saw the development as a major breakthrough in
agricultural practice.
The 1960s saw a renewed interest in the buildings,
and in particular the expressed construction and
functionalist planning of the cowshed [3, left], which
was seen by Banham (1960), Joedicke and Lauterbach
(1965) as a forerunner of the new functionalism. Still
recognized as one of the most important landmarks
of 1920s Modernism, Garkau has nevertheless
received less scholarly attention than other
comparable works. It was therefore decided to
explore the origins and evolution of the design,
particularly the unrealized buildings, and Häring’s
intentions for the farm as a whole, using scale
models as a vehicle for the research.
Before any attempt was made to model the
individual buildings, a full study of the existing
archive material was undertaken.1 The known
drawings for the farm were all made over a two year
period, between May 1924 and September 1926,
during which time the scheme rapidly developed
through several versions. Unfortunately, no single
version was developed in full detail, and no
contemporary model of the farm is known to have
existed. Many of the extant drawings were worked
over by the architect, giving a sense of the constant
changes being made.
Even the most completely documented version of
1924, comprising axonometric, plan and elevations,
reflects an interim phase of the design, and differs
significantly from the built reality. Lacking a
complete drawing record, the idea of the model
representing a particular design stage, or ‘snapshot’
in time, would have been severely compromised. A
further problem arose with the discovery that the
existing buildings and their context had never been
fully measured or recorded to scale.
The photographic record was more promising,
thoroughly documenting all aspects of the farm,
including several piecemeal extensions beginning as
early as the 1930s. By the 1970s, changes in farming
practice had effectively rendered Häring’s cowshed
obsolete, leading to the threatened demolition of the
farm buildings in 1973. An appeal was immediately
launched by the local society of architects resulting in
a major restoration programme.2 Although the works
were executed with considerable sensitivity, some
features of the original buildings were inevitably lost.
As a result it became clear that a full survey would
be necessary, and this was finally made possible by a
research grant in 1998.
history arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 337
338 arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 history

1a

1b 1c

Alan Williams Architectural modelling as a form of research

 history arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 339

1 The author’s Garkau 2 pigsty/stable cowshed (centre),

model formed the 3 cowshed later pigsty building,
largest item in the 4 utility sheds barn
Hugo Häring 5 hen-house
exhibition. The farm c Overview of the 3 Neustadt, Garkau
was designed by exhibition held at seen from the track
Häring between 1922 the RIBA, Portland to the south-west.
and 1924 Place, London in the Interest in the
a The model of Gut spring of 2001 buildings revived in
Garkau from the the 1960s.
north, the land 2 The buildings Threatened with
falling to the lake on surrounding the demolition, they
the left farmyard, from left were restored in the
b Key to model: to right: utility sheds mid 1970s
1 barn (with canopy),

The survey common with Häring’s final design. It is known that

Before the visit to Garkau, preliminary models and
accompanying scale drawings were prepared. These
were used as the basis of the survey, and to identify in
advance particular problem areas where
information was lacking. The survey was to include
full building measurements, site layout and levels, in
addition to a detailed photographic record and a
close study of construction methods.
The visit to the farm itself led to the discovery of
valuable undocumented evidence. The hitherto
neglected utility buildings had survived largely
unaltered, with most of their original finishes. Also
of interest was the structural design of the barn, not
only for its innovative lamella roof construction, but
also the supporting reinforced-concrete frame and
composite driveway floor. On the other hand, much
had been changed, mainly by the numerous
adaptations of successive farmers.
Certain aspects of the farm merely provoked
further questions. The pigsty was eventually
completed by an unknown architect in the 1930s, yet
its internal arrangement and situation have much in
work at Garkau had ceased due to an economic crisis,
and it remains a possibility that construction had
begun on Häring’s abortive link building, which was
eventually completed to other designs.3
Once plotted to scale and compiled, the new
information was evaluated in relation to the
documentary evidence, and the models gradually
refined. To demonstrate the kind of problems that
arose during the reconstruction, there follow three
examples in which the process of modelling acted first
as a vehicle for interpretation, and later as a medium
of communication. The issues explored are the
relationship between drawing and building, the farm
and its context in the landscape, and the particularly
crucial issue for Häring of expressed construction.
Case 1 – the cowshed: geometry and drawing
The cowshed is the best documented of the
structures at Garkau, and the only one for which
working drawings survive. Häring closely supervised
the construction of Garkau, and his detailing was
fastidious, leaving nothing to chance.

Architectural modelling as a form of research Alan Williams

340 arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 history

An under-drawing for the north elevation [4a]
demonstrates the level of detail at which Häring
worked. Brickwork in particular was meticulously
planned, with courses of headers and stretchers
differentiated, and corbelled piers or rubbing-strips
developed in both elevation and section. It is fairly
certain that this drawing was made during the final
stages of the project, as its correspondence to the
finished north elevation it represents [4b] is exact
down to the individual brick. One can only assume
that similar drawings, now lost, were made for all of
the completed buildings at Garkau.
The reinforced-concrete frame of the cowshed is
perhaps its most striking feature, and its complex
geometry presented particular problems of
interpretation. In an essay for Die Form, Häring (1925)
outlined a number of innovations he had made in
his design for the cowshed:
‘A new solution has been found for the awkward
problem of ventilation, for the ceiling slopes
upwards by a gradient of 1 in 8 towards the outside,
conveying the rising warm air out through a
continuous slot in the outside walls at ceiling level:
there is an additional gradient along the axis of the
feeding floor … The roof is a reinforced-concrete slab
8cm thick, and as it slopes inward, needs no edge
gutter, the water falling instead towards a single
hopper and downpipe at the end of the building.’
Trans Blundell Jones (1999), p59.
In the earliest schemes, however, the cowshed is

4a

4 The cowshed is the show the cowshed

only building for with a flat roof. The
which working widely published
drawings survive – sectional drawing of
and reveal the level 1924, redrawn here
of detail at which by the author, shows
Häring worked the butterfly roof
a Drawing for the form as constructed
cowshed north b Resolving the
elevation cowshed’s complex
b Photograph of structure was a hard
north elevation task. CAD analysis of
the individual bays of
5 Exploring the the cowshed’s
development of a reinforced-concrete
complex structure frame, with plan
a Early drawings above

4b

5a

Alan Williams Architectural modelling as a form of research

 history arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 341

shown with a flat roof, falling slightly to the south.

Only later, in the widely published sectional drawing
of 1924 [5a], does the butterfly roof form emerge, and
then with a slope of 1 in 14. The quoted gradient of 1
in 8 is indicated only on the final working drawing,
as built.4
Although conceptually straightforward, the
resulting structural form was far from simple. The
double gradient of the floor and roof, combined
with the asymmetry of the plan, results in a
geometrically complex frame, in which no two
members are alike. Moreover, as the roof slab falls
northwards to the hopper, the hayloft floor falls
southwards towards the feed hatch, resulting in
columns of different height throughout. In plan
also, the beams do not run straight across, but are
arranged perpendicular to the outside walls, and
meet in the centre at an angle. Even with the aid of
computer modelling, the cowshed structure is
difficult to resolve [5b]. Häring must have
coordinated work on site very closely, and perhaps
enlisted the help of a specialist engineer.
From the outside, there is little evidence of this
structural tour de force. The gradient of the first
floor combined with the taper of the plan is such
that, above the continuous perimeter glazing, the
slab runs horizontally. Internally, the frame appears
to be a great cantilever, the loading from above being
carried on pairs of haunched columns, while the
beams taper towards the outer wall. What is not
immediately apparent is the perimeter framing,
concealed within the thickness of the ground floor
walls and only emerging within the void between
two skins of strip glazing.
Evidently Häring felt it important that the frame
should feel right, visibly bearing the dished volume
of the hayloft above, leaving the horizontal glazing
to run beneath the slab unimpeded by structure.
Unfortunately, the cowshed interior is no longer a
true reflection of Häring’s intentions. The elegant
concrete frame, the subject of a photomontage by El
Lissitzky, may have proved too daring, as the original
slender members were at some time before the 1960s
encased in a second layer of in-situ concrete. The
subsequent conversion of the cowshed to a pigsty
resulted in the loss of what remained of the original
interior.

Case 2 – the barn: structure and expressed construction

The barn is of particular interest for its lamella roof,
an economical form of construction employing
short interlocking timber planks [6]. The system was
probably used under the patent belonging to the
architect Friedrich Zollinger who had developed the
technique in response to the postwar housing crisis.5
It must have held a strong appeal for Häring, as its
Gothic vaulted form directly reflects the line of
thrust while allowing large spans virtually free from
ties and supports.
The structural legibility of the roof is extended by
the treatment of the supporting concrete frame.
Essentially a rigid shell, the lamella system requires a
continuous edge beam, which to the lakeside Häring
5b
chose to support upon massive tapered buttresses,

Architectural modelling as a form of research Alan Williams

342 arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 history

7a

6 Researching an a The barn as seen 8 Until the

innovative form of from the jetty onto construction of this
construction. the Pönitzer See. A model, Häring’s final
Interior view of the boathouse was plan for the
model barn’s lamella projected near the abandoned pigsty
roof, with one side jetty had never before
removed b The unrealized been seen in context.
pigsty/stable Research revealed
7 Buildings in their building with the that his drawn
context. Häring’s monopitched pigsty scheme integrated
vision for Garkau was fringed with reed perfectly with the
rooted in the thatch and massive constructed
traditions of its rubble walling. buildings. View of
landscape and Author’s the farmyard, where
materials axonometric the cowshed and
reconstruction pigsty meet
7b

Alan Williams Architectural modelling as a form of research


lending the barn an imposing appearance. On the
farmyard side, this simple trabeated logic is
developed further to create a storage bay alongside
the cartway, with cellars beneath. The cartway floor
is essentially a cantilever, slightly higher than yard
level, and counterbalanced by the heavy retaining
structure of the cellar.
This idea of structural balance is recurrent at
Garkau, as noted earlier in the apparent cantilever of
the cowshed frame. A similar approach may also be
seen in the projecting canopy to the utility
buildings, which is held in balance upon a
continuous concrete lintel terminating in a large
bulkhead. In side elevation this results in a
surprisingly dynamic composition, now concealed
by a later structure.
Similar concerns of expression extend to the use of
materials. The brickwork between the barn’s lakeside
buttresses is non-structural infill, only one brick
thick, yet Häring allowed it a more expressive role,
corbelling out decoratively beneath the eaves as it
might in a traditionally constructed building. Most
of the brickwork at Garkau is of English garden wall
bond, but as Häring admitted in his 1925 essay, the
external walls of the cowshed, ‘half brick and half
lightweight in-situ concrete, are not load-bearing,
but only provide insulation and fire protection’.
Even the interspersed header courses are essentially
decorative, apart from an area of solid fireproof wall,
where the cowshed would have joined the pigsty.
This play with the techniques of construction
extends throughout the farm, and cannot be entirely
justified in functional terms. Instead, Häring uses
the language of building both for compositional
effect and rhetorically, making visible the use and
history arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 343
performance of the architecture. For Häring,
construction was not simply a case of ‘truth to
materials’ at all costs, but a more complex synthesis
of ideas about craftsmanship, symbolism and the
nature of building.
Case 3 – landscape and context
The situation of Garkau has seldom received the
attention it deserves. The buildings form an inward-
looking arrangement around a long, tapered
farmyard, bounded on one side by the shore of the
Pönitzer See, while on the other the fields belonging
to the farm rise gently. From the main road at this
higher level, the setting of the farm in its
surrounding countryside is a picturesque one; soon
after its construction, the farm was captured on a
contemporary postcard.6
Häring’s vision for Garkau was very much rooted in
the traditions of this landscape. While it was clear
that he had little time for the romanticism of ‘folk
art, earthy traditions, Saxon gables surmounted with
horses-heads’, he did however believe Garkau ‘to
belong more essentially to its site and landscape than
older structures nearby’, Häring (1925). This is the
result not only of detailing and the use of
appropriate materials, but also of the way that the
buildings relate to the ground and each other.
Although most of the surviving drawings tend to
deal with each building individually, providing little
evidence of the relationship between one structure
and the next, Häring was very aware of the complex
topography. The result of survey measurements
shows the farmyard to be quite level, which is
perhaps unsurprising given Häring’s concern for the
ease of vehicular movement between the various
Architectural modelling as a form of research Alan Williams
344 arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 history

9a

9b

9 Further models of spaces: Häring’s sophisticated in

Häring’s work built by unbuilt 1943 scheme three dimensions:
University of Sheffield for a dairy farm, the uncompleted
students led to many researched and Neustadt sausage
new discoveries constructed by factory researched
a A complex sequence James Potter and constructed by
of interlocking b Unexpectedly Andrew Dobson

Alan Williams Architectural modelling as a form of research


buildings. Behind this apparent simplicity, however,
the structures surrounding the yard adapt in various
ways to their particular terrain. The barn is cellared,
with a raised driveway slightly higher than the yard
accessed by a gentle ramp at both ends. This driveway
originally overlooked the main floor of the barn,
which was at a lower level cut into the lakeshore. The
buttresses that give the lakeside elevation its
characteristic appearance do not form part of a
retaining wall as might be expected, but take the
outward force of the lamella roof.
A similar strategy seems to have been intended for
the projected boathouse, known only through roof
plan and axonometric. Stairs led down from
farmyard level into the sheltered space of the
boathouse, intended to sit just above water level.
Although there is no evidence to suggest that
construction of the boathouse itself had begun, an
area of excavated ground with rough retaining walls
and a Prussian bond brick-paved platform still leads
onto a jetty over the lake, perhaps the only remnants
of this abortive structure [7a].
Häring also exploited the fall in the land to the
lake to best advantage in the design of the pigsty and
stable block. The pigsty was to have opened out on to
a lakeside foraging ground, contained on three other
sides by the blind wall of the barn, the side of the
unbuilt boathouse and a steep stone retaining wall
to the east [see 1, foreground left]. The stables
occupied an intermediate level, with large doors to
the eastern track, running behind the cowshed. A
floor dedicated to the sorting and handling of seed
was on yet another level, admitting a high-level
loading door to the farmyard (similar to that of the
barn’s south elevation) with the largely glazed
threshing room and associated seed store above. The
cowshed and utility buildings work with the levels in
a straightforward way, forming an impervious
boundary to the fields beyond, their sheer facades
forming a natural back to the farm complex.
Häring’s handling of details also reflects the local
architectural context. Decorative brickwork
corbelling can be found on agricultural buildings
throughout Schleswig-Holstein, and Häring freely
borrowed other elements of the local vernacular.
Most remarkable is the final scheme of 1926 for the
pigsty and stable block, in which the monopitched
pigsty is fringed with reed thatch and massive rubble
walling [7b]. Yet this was not the gesture of a
traditionalist, but an attempt to exploit the benefits
of ‘low technology’ methods in a modern context.7
Even among the realized structures, traces of this
synthetic approach may still be seen. For the ceilings
of the utility buildings, Häring used closely packed
reed ‘laths’ as a substrate to lime render, a technique
that would have been both more economical and
more familiar to the local workforce. Within the
same buildings the range of technologies employed
includes timber framing, load-bearing brickwork
and cantilevered reinforced concrete – an indication
of how the completed farm might have been.
history arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 345
The models
On the basis of the historic and theoretical
background, the question remained as to how these
findings should be represented. The scale of 1:50 had
been established by the earlier mock-up models,
being detailed enough to permit accurate
reproduction of textures and materials, yet still
keeping the model to a manageable size. A limited
palette of materials was selected to represent the
qualities of specific material types, rather than on
the basis of colour: soft, grained wood for brick,
always running in the direction of the bond;
smoother, harder fibreboard representing concrete,
capable of being formed into curves. Timber
weatherboarding and tiles were fabricated to scale
from different grades of wooden strip.
Structural legibility was also a concern. To
demonstrate the thinness and strength of the barn’s
lamella roof, the decision was made to leave one side
exposed. The self-supporting lamella and
lightweight weather-boarded gables demonstrate the
structural principle more effectively than drawings
or photographs. The form of the land itself was
represented by smoothly-contoured strata leading
down to the flat surface of the lake, allowing the
effects of level changes and retaining walls to be
more readily perceived.
Häring’s final scheme of 1926 for the pigsty had
never before been seen in context, connecting
cowshed and barn as originally intended. During the
investigation it was discovered that the paper
scheme integrated perfectly with the completed
buildings at Garkau. Upon closer examination, the
cowshed was found to still contain vestigial traces of
the proposed extension, including a redundant
concrete beam that would have carried the hayloft,
and a large area of unadorned brickwork where the
two buildings would have become one [8]. Even the
footprint of the later pigsty block, while not actually
designed by Häring, follows his final plan for Garkau,
corresponding almost precisely with Häring’s
proposed location. In this sense, a full
understanding of the existing buildings is only
possible in the context of the whole.
Further projects
Following Garkau, diploma students at the
University of Sheffield were invited to develop
further projects by Häring in model form on similar
principles, which produced equally interesting
results and led to further new discoveries.
One such example was Häring’s 1943 scheme for a
dairy farm [9a], which although never built, is
preserved in plan, section and elevation.8
Construction of the model revealed it to be a
complex sequence of interlocking spaces, much
more tightly integrated than Garkau. The farmhouse
and dairy barn were to have been connected by a
transitional utility space, with other utility
structures forming a yard to the rear. The heart of
the complex is marked by the rising roof form of the
Architectural modelling as a form of research Alan Williams
346 arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 history
central hayloft, once again directly above the
semicircular cowshed. The simplicity of its
appearance belies the intricate arrangement of
spaces below: its dramatic sectional profile is
generated by the presence of a mechanical conveyor,
lifting hay from the lower level. The sloping soffits of
the Garkau cowshed are further developed into a
dished floor, supporting the dual function of easing
the distribution of hay and improving the
ventilation of the cowshed beneath. The silo, which
at Garkau was expressed becoming the best-known
image of the farm, here sits within the slope of the
main roof, twisting to avoid the stables below.
The Sausage Factory at Neustadt [9b], built in the
same year as Garkau, also proved unexpectedly
sophisticated in three dimensions. The main roof
structure was a variation on the hammerbeam
system, adapting along its length to the particular
spatial requirements of each part of the factory.
Similarly, the final smoking-chamber of a row was
extruded upwards to form a water tower. The factory
housed the complete process, which was realized as a
linear sequence beginning with the delivery of live
animals, through to the packaging of the produce.
Although the factory was built it remained
incomplete, lacking the intended manager’s house
across the yard. Aspects of its construction were also
compromised, resulting in the loss of some details.
Working from archive drawings these missing
elements were as far as possible reinstated, bringing
the model closer to the architect’s intentions than
any other individual source. The tighter, more linear
processes of the sausage factory are reflected in its
orthogonal, interlocking plan, while the diversity of
tasks carried out at Garkau is implicit in the
buildings’ looser juxtaposition, united by the
common farmyard. The later farm plan, while
sharing much of the functionality of Garkau, was
clearly a dedicated dairy farm, more conducive to
closer formal integration.
In both cases, as with Garkau, the process of three-
dimensional reconstruction depended on a
thorough understanding of the intended function of
the building and the development of its design.
Conclusion
Architectural modelling is all too often seen as
peripheral to the work of architects, the model being
regarded as a final presentation tool, outsourced to
specialist model-makers long after the completion of
the design. This was not always the case – historically,
models played a vital role in the practice of
architecture, with large-scale wooden models
commonly executed before any building would
commence, as much for the benefit of the builders as
the client.9 Notable examples still exist, such as
Wren’s oak and plaster ‘Great Model’ of the proposed
St Paul’s cathedral, or the large collection of Sir John
Soane preserved at his house-museum, but many
more have been lost.
Scale models have also been successfully adapted
to the investigation and exhibition of unbuilt or
demolished works. The impressive range of models
which accompanied Howard Burns’ 1975 exhibition
Alan Williams Architectural modelling as a form of research
of Palladio’s works fulfilled a variety of functions,
from analytical models of existing buildings to a
conjectural reconstruction based on a single
woodcut.10 More recently, models have been used in
close conjunction with computer reconstructions,
such as Robert Tavernor’s reconstructions of the
works of Alberti, exhibited in Mantua during 1994.11
As with the models created for those exhibitions,
over the course of the Häring project, it was often
asked what exactly was to be gained by building from
the drawings of other architects’ designs, that it
must simply be a matter of transcribing plans,
sections and elevations in card and wood? Implicit in
this question is the assumption that drawings are
capable of representing the ‘complete’ building,
from which all spatial relationships can be recovered
by the trained eye. In fact, drawings often represent
only the shorthand for a building. In the case of
Häring’s work, many details were intentionally
omitted from the general arrangement drawings, to
be explored later by working drawings, or even in
mid-construction on site. To interpret these
projected works in model form is, in a sense, to
participate in the design process; the fuller one’s
knowledge of the designer’s own techniques and
intentions, the more satisfying the reconstruction.
Even when working from existing buildings, the
process of modelling demands a thorough
understanding of spaces, structure and use, without
which the model is merely a mute witness to form. In
the case of the cowshed, the necessity of working
with diverse sources – covering its early
development, construction and later modifications –
led to a much richer understanding of the building
than would otherwise have been possible.
Contradictory evidence could not be overlooked, but
had to be confronted, leading sometimes to fresh
interpretations.
It is perhaps unsurprising that Häring’s own
models were limited to his more experimental free-
plan designs. As one of the most immediate tools
with which to represent complex relationships of
form and space, exploratory models must have been
indispensable to the development of the non-
orthogonal architecture of the early twentieth
century, a subject yet to be fully explored. Häring’s
work, due to its complexity in plan and section, the
rapid reworking of themes and close integration of
parts, is an ideal subject for investigation in model
form. The results not only help one to understand
the spatial complexities of his built work, but offer
an insight to his creative process and its context.
More generally, scale models can play a vital part in
architectural education. As the focus of a research
project, a model can become the framework for a
variety of different disciplines: the use of drawing
conventions, archival research and the
interpretation of historical sources, land and
building surveying, structural design, and even
architectural theory. Depending on the scale of
project, students can work either individually or in
small groups, and within a group the various tasks of
research, planning and fabrication may be shared
equally or allocated to group members. The results
 history arq . vol 6 . no 4 . 2002 347

of research can also be made more accessible when
related to models. Sophisticated architectural ideas
may be conveyed more readily than in plan and
section, particularly to lay audiences.
Despite the increasing use of computer
visualizations in design, the virtual model need not
inevitably displace the physical. On the contrary, the
closer integration of digital models and physical
output and the potential for ‘round-tripping’, as
illustrated by Porter and Neale (2000), promises a
renewed interest in the use of scale models, and can
only increase their value to the designer. At a time of
great progress in rapid prototyping and improved,
more affordable CNC cutting and machining, it is
hoped that the art of architectural modelling will
continue to develop in importance to both
architectural education and practice.

Notes James (1998). Building the Georgian Illustration credits

1 The Hugo Häring archive is held at
the Akademie der Künste, Berlin; a
short catalogue was included in
Joedicke and Lauterbach (1965).
2 Documented in a pamphlet Garkau
soll nicht sterben, Kiel: Der
Architektenkammer Schleswig-
Holstein (1973); Eberhard Zell was
the restoration architect.
3 Towards the end of 1925 Häring
noted that ‘An additional structure
containing stable and straw-house
along with some storage, is
intended to link cowshed and barn
at a later date’, Häring (1925). The
final drawings for this building
date from September 1926.
4 The most commonly published plan
and section of the cowshed, while
similar in general arrangement, do
not represent the structure as built.
Joedicke and Lauterbach (1965), figs
36, 37.
5 For further details see Allen, J. S.
(1999–2000). ‘A short history of
“Lamella” roof construction’,
Transactions of the Newcomen Society,
71, pp1–29.
6 Four-view postcard of the Garkau
estate before 1933, in the possession
of the author.
7 In this Häring was not alone, for
around the same time Mendelsohn
had also proposed reed thatch
roofing for a characteristically
dynamic nursery-garden scheme.
See Mendelsohn, Erich (1930). Erich
Mendelsohn: Das Gesamtschaffen des
Architekten, Berlin: Rudolf Mosse
Buchverlag, p113.
8 The drawings were first published in
Blundell Jones, Peter (1985).
‘Unknown Häring’, The Architectural
Review, June, pp40–45. Also see
Blundell Jones (1999), pp158–160.
9 See, for example, the description of
the architect’s role in Campbell, R.
(1747). The London Tradesman,
London: T. Gardner; also Ayres,
City, New Haven and London: Yale
University Press, pp23–27.
10 The models were first shown in 1973
by the Centro Internazionale di Studi
di Architettura ‘Andrea Palladio’ at
the Basilica, Vicenza; subsequently at
the Hayward Gallery, London, with
an accompanying catalogue: Burns,
Howard (1975). Andrea Palladio
1508–1580, London: Arts Council of
Great Britain, pp232, 251.
11 Many of the models are to be found
in Tavernor, Robert (1998). On Alberti
and the Art of Building, New Haven:
Yale University Press. See also
March, L. (1999). arq, 3 (3),
pp259–269.
References
Banham, Reyner (1960). Theory and
Design in the First Machine Age,
Architectural Press, London.
Behne, Adolf (1926). Der Moderne
Zweckbau, München; translated as
Behne (1996), The Modern Functional
Building, Getty Research Institute,
Santa Monica, California.
Blundell Jones, Peter (1999). Hugo
Häring, Menges, Stuttgart/London.
Blundell Jones, Peter (2001). Hugo
Häring and the Secret of Form, A3
Times, London (exhibition
catalogue for the RIBA exhibition).
Häring, Hugo (1925). ‘Funktionelles
Bauen: Gut Garkau/das Viehhaus’,
Die Form, 1, October; translation in
Blundell Jones (1999), p59.
Joedicke, Jürgen and Lauterbach,
Heinrich (1965). Hugo Häring, Karl
Krämer Verlag, Stuttgart.
Platz, Gustav Adolf (1927). Die Baukunst
der neuesten Zeit, Propyläen-Verlag,
Berlin.
Porter, Tom and Neale, John (2000).
Architectural Supermodels, physical
design simulation, Architectural
Press, Oxford.
Taut, Bruno (1929). Modern Architecture,
Studio, London.
arq gratefully acknowledges:
Akademie der Künste, 4a
Author, 1a and b, 2, 5a and b, 6, 7a and
b, 8
Peter Blundell Jones, 3, 4b
Peter Lathey, 1c, 9a and b
Images of original Häring drawings
in the Häring Archive, Akademie der
Künste, are reproduced from slides
taken by Peter Blundell Jones, and the
cooperation of the Akademie is
gratefully acknowledged.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Eberhard Zell and
Dietrich Röders for their generous
assistance with the survey in
Germany, and Professor Blundell
Jones and the University of Sheffield
for the research funding which
enabled the work.
The model of Gut Garkau was built
by the author and Rachel Hain;
Neustadt Sausage Factory by Andrew
Dobson; 1943 project for a dairy farm
by James Potter.
The exhibition, Hugo Häring and the
Secret of Form, opened at the RIBA in
London (22/01/01–24/03/01) before
travelling to the Architecture Centre,
Bristol (15/05/01–22/06/01) and CUBE,
Manchester (18/07/01–04/09/01).
Biography
Alan Williams is a PhD student at the
University of Sheffield, and is
preparing a thesis on the typology of
industrial buildings.
Author’s addresses
Alan Williams
School of Architectural Studies
Arts Tower
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield
s10 2tn
alanwilliams@dsl.pipex.com

Architectural modelling as a form of research Alan Williams

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