ABSTRACT
One of the earliest reports on the use of a model in the technical design process surfaces in a town council document concerning a bridge project over the river Elbe in Meissen Germany in the year of 1657. The council noted in being possession of an old and a new wooden model of the main span of its covered bridge, one being “built by a good master and appearing to be artistic”. What exactly was its function and how did it serve the construction process? The Meissen models and others like them are more than just a superficial presentation, they prove that the structure can be assembled, they show the designer flaws and weak spots in the design and allow him to iron them out before real construction and real consequences start. They also carry his reputation and allow us to recreate the erection of some of the most spectacular gravity defying and now lost structures. This paper will summarize the information known and briefly describe in those 17th to early 19th century models to document the current state of historical research.
