Model-Making and Waste Management in the UT School of Architecture

For both the practitioner and student, the physical model is a manifestation of ideas. Modeling presents the opportunity to test, explore, speculate, compose, capture, iterate, and further the design process. Physical model making is central to architectural education and its design studios, a course type required each semester for undergraduate and graduate architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design majors. These studios and closely related fabrication courses are project-based and the primary means for students to develop their design skills. Sustainability, including social, environmental, and economic factors, is a core focus of the School’s curriculum and a key operational principle of the larger University community. However, waste generation from repeated design iterations, inefficient fabrication practices, and unclear or absent disposal guidelines stands in opposition to the sustainability envisioned by the School and UT Austin.1 Questions of waste generation are often considered lowpriority, and the problems created by the large volume and material diversity of UTSOA waste have not been holistically tackled yet.