Scale Figure Workshop with Peer Mentor Program

Make your own scale figures with students from NOMAS Tulane and the peer mentor program! Populate your drawings with more entourage, by translating images to vectors in Rhinoceros! The workshop will begin by downloading the prepared Rhino file for all on FileZilla. The facilitators will then demonstrate finding the right images, importing them into Rhino, commands/methods for tracing, and methods for representing depth in elevations, sections, and perspectives.

why:

The commonplace–a baby stroller, elderly folk, Covid testing–quickly becomes esoteric in a Google search for “architectural scale figure png.” While pre-masked pngs and cadblocks are convenient, the drag-and-drop nature of their insertion results in renderings that look dragged and dropped together. General image searches for existing figures also tend to emphasize broader industry trends of overrepresenting young, able-bodied white people in renderings. Though it isn’t always possible to develop bespoke scale figures for every single drawing, you can streamline the process a bit by drawing your own, which develops a more consistent style and makes editing easier while intentionally building in diversity.

Developing a narrative of inclusivity is essential in school. A quick demographic study of contextual area may also inform the diverse representation in your drawings. It also challenges you to examine how design elements support or inhibit that spirit–for example, a wheelchair user drawn in a building only accessible via stairs may undermine notions of universal design, and prompt reconsidering access.