1/4”=1’ (1:50) scale model was constructed of aircraft-grade model plywood, basswood, and museum board. Primary structure components were laser-cut to ensure precision and consistency in model assembly.
Ave Maria Oratory scale model frame that is identical to the actual steel structure.
These interlacing structural steel elements, which rise to over 100 feet (30 meters), form a dramatic web of space and form, lending the interior volume dynamic strength.
The Oratory’s structural steel buttresses, which recall the stone buttressing of the great historic cathedrals of Europe, rise from the stone plinth and pierce through to the interior. The buttressing is the exterior expression of the interior structural steel lattice supporting the Oratory, the dominant element within the nave.
The Oratory’s structural steel buttresses, which recall the stone buttressing of the great historic cathedrals of Europe, rise from the stone plinth and pierce through to the interior. The buttressing is the exterior expression of the interior structural steel lattice supporting the Oratory, the dominant element within the nave.
Models’ large scale served as both a tool for design approvals and a daylighting study model.