Making Matters Exhibition at Material Source Studio Manchester
Case Studies, Events, Inspiration, News
Running from 2 March to 2 April 2026, Making Matters brings together architects, modelmakers and practices from across the UK and beyond, exploring how ideas are developed, tested and communicated through physical models.
Presented by the Architects Index of Modelmaking (AiM) in collaboration with the Manchester Society of Architects, the exhibition builds on a project first launched at last year’s Venice Architecture Biennale with the European Cultural Centre (ECC), championing modelmaking as an essential, and often overlooked, part of design practice.
Thinking through making
The exhibition positions models not simply as outputs or methods of client communication, but as instruments of thought. As Scott Miller, creator of AiM and Workshop Technical Manager of the Manchester School of Architecture’s B.15 Modelmaking Workshop, explains, modelmaking is “a tool to not only communicate to other people but also to communicate to yourself.”
The exhibition brings together work at multiple scales, from conceptual studies to refined presentation pieces, offering insight into the processes that sit behind completed buildings, not just the buildings themselves. Each model is accompanied by information panels detailing the author, its purpose, and a short statement on the role of modelmaking within that practice.
An exhibition landscape with Calvert
In response to the temporary nature of the exhibition and the range of media on display, sixteen3’s Calvert micro architecture system was used both as a display framework and as spatial infrastructure.
Scott Miller’s design establishes an exhibition landscape using standard Calvert components in a number of configurations, creating a variety of display conditions. Exhibits, materials and information panels are easily adapted to connect to Calvert’s hackable frame, accommodating the inevitable variation in models from a wide range of contributors. As Scott explains, “the flexibility of the system allowed us to make use of existing components as well as employing saddle-bracket fixings for bespoke display of selected pieces. The varied nature of model types made this adaptability essential for the display.”
While the permeable nature of the system provides practical fixing and hanging points, it also allows for controlled shifts in openness and translucency within a single structure. Glimpses of adjacent displays are revealed through the frame, encouraging movement, while also drawing visitors back to revisit pieces seen from a different angle. Elsewhere, panels, exhibits and fabric weaves introduce moments of division and screening.
The steel frame is finished in Ruby Red, referencing AiM’s crisp red and white identity, paired with neutral white and timber elements. The palette anchors the system within both the space and the exhibition’s graphic language, bringing order and clarity without becoming visually dominant.
Why making matters
In an industry increasingly shaped by digital tools, Making Matters reasserts the value of the physical. The models on display sit between idea and outcome, holding decisions in progress and traces of revision. They are not simply representations of buildings, but expressions of ideas and processes made tangible.
Through making, ideas are tested, challenged and refined, revealing spatial relationships and tactile qualities that resist translation to screen – not in opposition to digital tools, but as a necessary counterpoint.
Alongside the exhibition, a programme of talks, workshops and events explores making as both craft and method. For more information, and a full list of exhibitors, visit: https://making-matters.the-aim.co.uk/
If you work as a modelmaker or architect in practice and want to join the index, set up your profile for free at https://www.the-aim.co.uk/sign-up to promote your work and join the network for future exhibitions and events.
All photography by Oliver Webley