Lloyd's 1 : 1 - The Currency of the Architectural Mock-Up

The Lloyd's building in London was constructed in the early 1980s based on a visionary design by Richard Rogers and Partners. Its planning and construction transformed the ideas of megastructure and intelligent environment into built reality. Mock-ups (prototypic full-size models) played a crucial role in this, enabling Rogers' team to test and refine the necessary novel constructions and procedures to minimize the risks of such an ambitious project. Lloyd's 1 : 1 is the first case study of one of the most important building projects of the late modern era. It showcases previously unpublished material from the archives of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Josef Gartner and Arup to reconstruct the planning process and demonstrate the working methods. Examples of how mock-ups were used as research or planning instruments highlight their relevance for further developing building culture.