Gallery: The World’s Coolest Buildings Begin as the World’s Coolest Models

  • Image may contain Vehicle Transportation Aircraft Airplane Sphere Machine City Town Urban Building and Metropolis
    Scott Harrington
    01

    Alberta-Museum.jpg

    Architectural models, the small-scale versions of buildings, are an important step in the design process.
  • RSAAGAMODELPIC3
    Scott Harrington
    02

    RSA-AGA-MODEL-PIC-3.jpg

    Here you see the Art Gallery of Alberta by Scott Harrington.
  • Image may contain Lighting Wood Flooring Human Person Indoors Interior Design Screen Electronics and Monitor
    Erich Koyama
    03

    detail.jpg

    Building a model is another form of architecture, but on a smaller scale.
  • Image may contain Building Architecture Convention Center Office Building Urban Town City and Metropolis
    Erich Koyama
    04

    Illuminated.jpg

    Every model involves some degree of visual trickery, to convince you that you’re looking at a perfectly shrunken replica of a full-sized building.
  • Image may contain Building Architecture Flooring Banister and Handrail
    Scott Harrington
    05

    Dome-Aerial.jpg

    Every model builder uses techniques to achieve certain visual attributes. The screen on Abu Dhabi's parliament building was created through photochemical etching.
  • Image may contain Architecture Building Flooring Floor Arched and Arch
    Scott Harrington
    06

    Ehrlich-0759.jpg

    A detailed look at the etching. The main structure is 3-D printed.
  • Image may contain Architecture Building Dome Urban and Neighborhood
    Scott Harrington
    07

    Front-Aerial2.jpg

    From above.
  • Image may contain Office Building Building Architecture Convention Center City Town Urban Condo Housing and Campus
    Scott Harrington
    08

    Project.jpg

    Harrington designed a miniature replica mixed-use project in Moscow.
  • Image may contain Banister Handrail Human Person Interior Design and Indoors
    Erich Koyama
    09

    interior-2.jpg

    If you don't look too closely, you could mistake the image for a photograph of the actual building.
  • Image may contain Human Person Banister Handrail Flooring Building Wood and Plywood
    Erich Koyama
    10

    Interior-3.jpg

    An interior sculpture made at scale.
  • Image may contain Tub Hot Tub Jacuzzi Electronics and Furniture
    Kennedy Fabrications
    11

    Abu-above-1-Copy.jpg

    Michael Kennedy constructed a model for the entirety of Abu Dhabi's Sadyiatt Island.
  • Image may contain Condo Housing Building Office Building Outdoors City Town Urban High Rise and Apartment Building
    Kennedy Fabrications
    12

    IMG-64141.jpg

    Most of the time a model is the first time a building is realized in 3-D.
  • Image may contain Crystal
    Kennedy Fabrications
    13

    P11808071.jpg

    Part of a model's job is to view the building in its surrounding context.
  • Image may contain Building Office Building Urban Town High Rise City Condo Housing Architecture and Wood
    Kennedy Fabrications
    14

    Marion-Road-Dublin1.jpg

  • Image may contain Flooring Floor Interior Design Indoors Wood Door and Hardwood
    Kennedy Fabrications
    15

    P11808601.jpg

  • Image may contain Hotel Building Resort Tree Plant Palm Tree Arecaceae Summer Human Person and Outdoors
    Kennedy Fabrications
    16

    Unknown.jpg

Read More
What’s Worse Than Romance Scams? Adoption Scams
This week in WIRED Book Club, we recap the final chapters of The Yahoo Boys.
Kate Knibbs
Beatbot’s New Pool Robot Cleans Itself (Mostly)
The AquaSense X brings self-cleaning technology to pool robots for the first time, but is it worth nearly twice the price of Beatbot’s flagship cleaner?
Christopher Null
Skylight’s Touchscreen Calendar Got my Whole Family on the Same Page
The Skylight has become the informational and organizational hub of my household. My touchscreen-native kids have also gained more agency over our family activities.
Jaclyn Greenberg
The Samsung Micro RGB R95H Is a Good, Not Great TV
There’s a new fleet of TVs using new mini and micro RBG display tech, and Samsung’s R95H model isn’t as impressive as it should be.
John Brandon
AI Found a Root Bug in Linux That Everyone Missed for 15 Years
Plus: The Pentagon is training amateurs to become part of its hacker army, a Flock license plate reader error led to cops surrounding a car reviewer, and more.
Dell Cameron
We Make Lovely Home-Cooked Meals for Ourselves. Why Not Do the Same for Our Dogs?
More dog owners have begun cooking for their canine companions in recent years. When my own dog fell ill, I became part of this growing group.
Alicia Kennedy
The Best Hiking Boots and Shoes for Any Adventure
From strenuous hikes and serious summits to weekend rambles in the park, these boots help you make the most of your time outdoors.
Chris Haslam
China’s Tianwen-2 Space Probe Has Rendezvoused With Earth’s Quasi-Moon
The probe sent back the first pictures of the asteroid Kamo’oalewa. Next step: landing on the surface and collecting samples to send back to Earth.
Ritsuko Kawai
El Niño Is Already Wreaking Havoc on Pacific Fisheries
As the climate phenomenon sends warm water surging across the eastern Pacific, some parts of the fishing industry are suffering—but other regions are seeing a windfall.
Joseph Winters
Exclusive: How Jay-Z Pulled Off a Surprise-Filled Show During New York’s Wildest Summer
Summer 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Jay-Z’s debut Reasonable Doubt. To honor it, he put on a massive concert at Yankee Stadium—complete with performances from Beyoncé, Nas, and Alicia Keys.
Angela Watercutter
OpenAI’s Head of Safety Is Leaving the Company
Johannes Heidecke’s departure comes as OpenAI tries to further integrate its research and safety teams.
Maxwell Zeff
Microsoft Reports a Massive 25 Percent Jump in Emissions
Data centers are driving up the company’s use of electricity—and carbon pollution.
Molly Taft