Problematizing the model-building duality: Examining the New Sacristy at S. Lorenzo, Florence, Italy

Abstract

This reflection paper considers the epistemological implications of constructing a digital model of an existing building. The paper compares, in detail, three distinct approaches to constructing a digital model of the New Sacristy at S. Lorenzo in Florence, Italy. Each of the three approaches explores the effects of problematizing the model-building duality. This problematization implicates two conventional assumptions about existing-building models, namely, that they must be geometrically accurate and semantically predictable in order to be useful for research purposes. Proposed counterstrategies of “frictional reciprocity” and “emergent semantics” draw attention to often-overlooked knowledge-production capacities of existing-building models. Thereby, the paper aims to highlight and recommend these strategies as necessary to visioning possible futures, as a viable alternative to conventional modelmaking approaches.