Construction mockups are an interesting component of almost every construction site. They are physical manifestations of a typically small but significant portion of a project: a corner, a window, a special façade element. Builders use them to practice the assembly process, and owners and designers use them to verify and finalize material and color choices. In some cases, mockups even serve as test specimens for e.g. air infiltration or leakage testing.
While they are crucial for the success of a construction project, mockups are never kept past building completion. Their existence is ephemeral, yet they explain so much about a building’s layers or the thinking that went into the design and construction process.
Whenever I walk past a construction site, I look for mockups that typically get placed somewhere at the perimeter of the project. In my many years of photographing construction, I have come across several of these and am using this website to share them with the world.
I hope you find this archive interesting, inspiring, and possibly a good reference for various construction methods. If you happen to also have images of mockups, feel free to send them to me and I will add them here (with credit, of course).
Finally, a word of caution: Since the details in these mockups were used for practicing with materials and methods, what is depicted in these images may not include everything that eventually got built. Consult the terms of use page and use the information contained in these images with a certain amount of caution.
A Project By
Alexander Schreyer, Senior Lecturer II, UMass Amherst