At Full Scale. Mock-ups and Project Temporalities

Department of Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The research investigates the architectural mock-up as a full-scale (1:1) projective device, redefining its role beyond representation and technical verification. Rather than treating the mock-up as a subsidiary artefact within linear design processes, the study interprets it as a temporal construct that mediates between ideation, construction, use, and after-life. Through a critical historiographical revision—from eighteenth-century normative models to twentieth- and twenty-first-century experimental practices—the paper traces a shift from the model as an instrument of conformity to the mock-up as an operative and cognitive tool embedded in non-linear temporalities. The methodology combines bibliographical research, archival investigation within Italian and French contexts, and primary sources, including interviews with architects and researchers. Case studies demonstrate how mock-ups function as experimental interfaces where materiality, scale, perception, and performance are negotiated in real time, revealing discrepancies between projected intentions and built reality. Particular attention is given to the multiple “lives” of mock-ups, including their reuse, adaptation, exhibition, and regulatory codification across different national frameworks. The research ultimately positions the mock-up as a central instrument of architectural projection across times, proposing a taxonomy that links different types of mock-ups to specific temporal roles—anticipatory, iterative, verificatory, and residual—thereby framing architecture as an open, time-based process rather than a fixed outcome.