Wimbledon BA Theatre Design scale model project

Wimbledon first year BA Theatre Design students were tasked with creating a 1:25 scale model of a scene from the local area.

Scale model making is one of the most important skills for a theatre designer, which is why each year this project is one of the first that the students will work on. This is just one example of how the course prepares students to become competent, innovative and creative theatre design professionals.

Student Elisa Jacobacci recounts her experience of working on the project:

“The model making project was incredible. I had no previous experience in this subject and did not really know what to expect from it. Through the help of peers and tutors, I was not only able to pass the first unit of my course, but create something from scratch that I can be proud of. I will look back on this model one day and think this is the first model I ever made and actually, it’s not so bad!

I chose to create a model of a residential home just outside college because it had caught my attention several times since starting in September. It didn’t have anything out of the ordinary, except for the amount of ivy growing on the side of it which became the most important feature in my model. I was inspired by materials I found in a model-making shop, and the staff gave me the idea of changing some of the details of the house to create a scenario for the set. I wanted my model to look different without changing any of the actual structure of the house, so I opted for a futuristic look for the windows, doors and roof.

It felt really good to have such freedom in what I was creating, and I can happily say that this first project made me more eager to learn new skills and processes.”

Photography Guillaume Valli.