Building model

A building model is either a physical (real) or virtual (computer) representation of a building. Very often, the physical model is smaller than the original (scale model).

There are three basic types of building models: architectural, structural and mathematical (virtual).

Architectural building model
An architectural model is a type of a physical model of a structure to study an architectural design or to share design ideas to clients, committees, and the general public. Architectural models are a tool which may be used for show, presentation, fundraising, getting permits, and sale purposes. Such models are a good tool for three-dimensional understanding of a design, used by architects, interior designers and exhibit designers.

Structural building model
Scale structural building model is the best choice for the engineers who need to test the likely performance of a designed structure at an early stage of development without paying for a full-sized prototype.

Virtual building model
Virtual model is a digital model of the object (typically greatly simplified) that can be used in a computer simulation or virtual reality.

The most common examples of virtual models are those created in 3D for the purpose of visualisation - seeing how the structure looks before it is built. The field of architecture has greatly popularized the use of virtual models to animate fly-throughs of yet-to-be-built buildings.