Iconic Structures

Objective

Recreate one landmark or famous building using 3D modelling techniques.

Enhance your understanding of scale, proportion, and detail.

Build a deeper understanding of how to precisely align and copy repeated elements using Tinkercad.

Success criteria

You will first create a paper-based plan that:

• is made on wide-format graph paper
• includes a clearly labelled scale
• has a sketch of at least one, preferably two faces of the building or landmark
• has received feedback from another student in class
• is initialled by Mr. Gordon prior to beginning work in Tinkercad
• is shared with a photograph in a portfolio post on Notion

NOTE

In your plan, you may choose to eliminate extremely fine detail that is unlikely to print correctly. Consult with Mr. Gordon or Mr. Jones regarding what detail might be reasonable to omit.

Your 3D model in Tinkercad must:

• accurately represent the chosen landmark or building
• demonstrate attention to scale, proportion, and detail as shown in your plan
• have dimensions and features that align closely with the real-life structure
• be free of obvious errors or structural flaws
• be improved over time based on feedback that is clearly documented in your portfolio – importantly – you must submit your work at the end of each class period

Original work

This task will be completed entirely within class time.

It is expected that all work, designs, and models are of your own creation.

IMPORTANT

Handing in work as your own that is in fact sourced online, or through assistance from a large language model such as ChatGPT or otherwise, will be considered an academic honesty violation and handled according to procedures outlined in the 2024-25 Lakefield College School Academic Guide.

To be clear, copying designs or using pre-existing models from others and submitting them as your own is strictly prohibited and will be treated as plagiarism.

You are expected to independently design and create your model from scratch – a blank workplane – using Tinkercad.

Your unique approach, creativity, and problem-solving skills are crucial to this task.

NOTE

This assignment is not just about the final product, but also about the process of learning, designing, and creating.

Exemplar

Sadie chose to model the Arc de Triomphe in Paris:

Here is her plan – based on some discussion with and feedback from Mr. Gordon, she has made a reasonable decision to omit some of the sculpture details from the arch:

Note that has Sadie has recorded that one square is equal to five feet in real life.

She has also made a sketch of two sides of the structure, to make it clear what she intends to reproduce in Tinkercad.

To determine the scale, Sadie took the height of the structure in real life, and divided it by enough squares so that her drawing would mostly fill the height of the page:

$$\begin{array}{rl}\text{dimensions of a square on paper}& =\frac{\text{height of structure}}{\text{number of squares}}\\ & =\frac{164}{35}\\ & =4.6857\\ & \approx 5\text{ feet}\end{array}$$

To determine the width of the drawing in terms of squares on her page, she then divided the actual width of the building by her newly determined scale:

$$\begin{array}{rl}\text{squares to use for width of structure on paper}& =\frac{\text{width of structure}}{\text{dimensions of a square}}\\ & =\frac{148}{5}\\ & =29.6\\ & \approx 30\text{ squares}\end{array}$$

This means that on her drawing, the structure is 35 squares tall by 30 squares wide.

A calculation similar to the one above was done for the depth of the structure:

$$\begin{array}{rl}\text{squares to use for depth of structure on paper}& =\frac{\text{depth of structure}}{\text{dimensions of a square}}\\ & =\frac{72}{5}\\ & =14.4\\ & \approx 15\text{ squares}\end{array}$$

So, on the second drawing showing the side view of the structure, which illustrates the depth, Sadie has drawn the structure so that it is 15 squares deep.

When moving to the modelling phase in Tinkercad, Sadie worked with Mr. Gordon to set the size of the workplane so that it matches the width of her structure:

Please be certain to do the same when you set up your drawing in Tinkercad.

By sizing the workplane to either the width or depth of your structure, you can:

• easily reason about sizing
  • e.g.: one square in Tinkercad = one square on sketch = 5 feet in real life, in Sadie’s case
• use the “snap to grid” feature to your advantage
  • e.g.: snapping to 1 mm on the grid means 0.5 feet in real life, for Sadie’s drawing
• have a larger canvas upon which render the architectural details of your building

Here is a short video explaining how to set this up in Tinkercad:

Peer feedback

Share your plan with another student in class.

You will receive at least three pieces of constructive feedback on your sketches, and then do the same for the other student.

Once you begin work on your design in Tinkercad, you will engage in a second round of feedback with a different peer in our class.

Be sure to document the feedback given and received (both the content of the feedback, and to whom it was provided to, or received from).

REMEMBER

Constructive feedback is:

1. Helpful
2. Specific
3. Kind

These kids can do it – you can too. 🚀

Choosing your landmark

NOTE

One person per landmark, please.

If two students really want to do the same landmark, Mr. Gordon will officiate a best-of-three rock-paper-scissors duel to decide who gets to create the landmark for this task.

Iconic Structures

Here are possibilities involving five iconic buildings from France alone:

Widely recognized and well-known globally; these structures carry international fame and symbolize larger ideas or eras:

1. Eiffel Tower (Paris, France): Metal latticework, tapering shape.
2. Taj Mahal (Agra, India): Symmetrical structure, domes, minarets.
3. Colosseum (Rome, Italy): Elliptical structure, arches, exterior ruins.
4. Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia): Shell-like roof structures, waterfront setting.
5. Empire State Building (New York, USA): Art deco style, height, symmetrical windows.
6. Big Ben (London, UK): Clock faces, Gothic Revival details, height proportion.
7. Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain): Complex facades, spires, Gaudi’s style.
8. The Louvre (Paris, France): Historical palace and modern glass pyramid.
9. Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy): Tilt, Romanesque architecture, cylindrical shape.
10. Chrysler Building (New York, USA): Art Deco style, terraced crown, steel cladding.
11. The Great Sphinx of Giza (Egypt): Colossal statue’s body and face, desert setting.

Landmarks

Significant, often locally or regionally recognized for historical, cultural, or architectural importance:

1. Saint Basil’s Cathedral (Moscow, Russia): Colorful onion domes, and facade patterns.
2. Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany): Romanesque Revival, towers, turrets.
3. Forbidden City (Beijing, China): Traditional Chinese architecture, symmetry.
4. Machu Picchu (Peru): Incan architecture, terraces, mountainous landscape.
5. Stonehenge (United Kingdom): Stone arrangement, a sense of antiquity.
6. The Kremlin (Russia): Palaces, cathedrals, walls, and towers.
7. Mount Rushmore (USA): Carved presidential faces, facial features, and scale.
8. The White House (USA): Neoclassical architecture, porticos, facade.
9. Himeji Castle (Japan): Traditional Japanese architecture, white exterior.

Submitting your work

Each day, share your current work-in-progress in a portfolio post, by submitting the .STL file from Tinkercad along with a fly-through video.

Reflection questions

When you are finished your 3D model, and have submitted your final design, please copy these questions into a portfolio post and respond to them:

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced when creating your 3D model, and how did you overcome them?
2. How did you ensure your model maintained accurate scale and proportion?
3. What specific details in your model do you think best represent the landmark or building you chose?
4. How did using reference images or measurements impact the accuracy of your final design?
5. How did the modeling process help you better understand the importance of planning and problem-solving?
6. In what ways did this task improve your understanding of 3D printing and its applications?
7. How does your final model demonstrate growth in your skills compared to when you started the task?