Zaha Hadid’s flattened architectural models on display in Clerkenwell

An unusual exhibition of architectural models has opened, of models that look as if they’ve all been flattened.

These are a collection of paper linear models created by Zaha Hadid’s architecture practice to show off a building development without fussing over the full details of what the building would look like as an end product.

They sit partway between flat design and fully three-dimensional models that architects show prospective clients. They’re also quite pleasing aesthetically, and unlike large models, they were also designed to be hung on walls, almost as works of art in themselves.

They certainly have a feel of the semi-origami reliefs that many of us would have created at school and have a clean appearance shorn of decorative detailing.

There’s a range of commissions on display, most of them won by the company, although not always built in the end as economic situations changed in the late 2000s. It’s a small exhibition — just one room — but interesting from both a visual point of view and from the perspective of how architects present their designs to clients.

The exhibition, Zaha Hadid: Paper Museums is at the Zaha Hadid Foundation in Clerkenwell until 16th November.

It’s open Thur to Sat from 12pm to 6pm – buzz the gate to be let in.