The model of the capital that has pride of place on the London Stand at MIPIM has a history over the past quarter of a century that is almost as rich as that of the property industry itself. The model’s story takes in recession, recovery and reinvention. And in 2015 it is about to be reborn.
In a warehouse in Kent over the past few weeks a team of craftsmen at modelmaker Pipers has been putting the finishing touches to what is only the fourth large model of London the team has built.
There have been refinements to the model between versions, but this latest version is both the first to capitalise on advances in technology and to reflect the ascent of London to become the world’s most successful city.
But first the history. Pipers moved from pure model making into exhibitions back in 1992. The then chair of the City of London’s policy and resources committee, Michael Cassidy, suggested to Pipers’ Barry McKeogh that he use his recently completed City of London model to help sell the capital against Canary Wharf and Frankfurt. “Eight companies exhibited around the model down in the bunker,” recalls Pipers director (and Barry’s son) Nick McKeogh. And with that a new way of showcasing cities was born.
The London Stand started to grow and the likes of Berlin soon wanted a model of their own. Back then between MIPIMs the model would be housed in an empty building looking to be let. This too began to change. The first City model went on display in the City of London marketing suite, with a second central London model built for MIPIM and displayed at the GLA building when it opened in 2002. Permanently on public display, it began a life beyond property, becoming a useful tool for the then mayor, Ken Livingstone, to sell London.
It was the Olympics that triggered the third model. In 2003, the London Development Agency’s Tony Winterbottom asked Pipers if it would build a model of the Olympic Park site to take to Athens as Livingstone was considering a bid for the Olympics. It was a rush job but ultimately a successful one.
It also encouraged the McKeoghs to look for a permanent home for an extended version of this model. Landing on a site in the West End – the Building Centre on Store Street, WC1 – they established a permanent public exhibition space about future London development in collaboration with Peter Murray. The opening of “New London Architecture” was planned for the day after the decision to award London the Games was taken. Depending on the decision, the Pipers team was ready to swap the Olympic Park section of the model in or out. The Games were won, the opening went ahead, but the day, 7/7, became better known for a terrorist atrocity.
Then the downturn hit. “Within three years the market in London had gone pop,” says McKeogh. “Fortunately, in 2008 Abu Dhabi asked us to build a model.” It was this sophisticated version, with a bank of 18 projectors across the top, that sowed the seed for the 2015 reboot.
With MkIV to be unveiled at MIPIM on Monday – Sir Edward Lister, deputy mayor for policy and planning, will cut the ribbon – even the McKeoghs have not yet seen the finished article. It will be crated up and shipped in sections. A little bigger than the previous model, it pushes west to take in Old Oak Common, Earls Court and Ealing. In all it showcases £100bn of development. A son et lumière show will allow exhibitors to highlight areas of London, individual buildings and infrastructure once it returns to London.
And whereas previous wooden models had taken 10 months to build, this latest one has taken barely a third of that time. Use of Ordinance Survey data, 3D printing, laser cuts and computer-controlled CNC milling have sped up the process. “It has all removed a lot of the labour-intensive work but increased accuracy,” says Patrick McKeogh, also a director of the family firm.
Out, for instance, went the need to count buildings’ floors from aerial photos. “Now you can download the information you need to print the BT Tower,” says Patrick. “The whole thing still needs to be hand-sprayed, though.” And 3D printing an entire model is some way off, however, says Patrick. “A 3D print is still pretty fragile,” he adds.
Support from developers for the new model came thick and fast. Meanwhile, enthusiasm from politicians for what is a unique selling tool for London is undimmed. But with London – and technology – changing fast, will this latest model have the decade-long impact of its predecessors?
