How do you curate a space that doesn’t exist yet? Enlist Boston model maker Architectural Illusions to create three floors of gallery space in miniature, all to scale. Equip the walls to hold magnetic maquettes (small models of artworks) that let curators add, remove, and shift works of art from one space to another with ease.

Along with floor plans, display case mock-ups, and computer renderings, our gallery models of our new building give curators a way to visualize relationships between works of art, architectural features, and visitors. Departments such as Collections Management, Security, and Design have also used the models to inform their own planning.

There’s nothing like seeing works in the actual space, but until then we’ll do our best with models, mock-ups, and a little imagination.