massing models, in cube form, solid surfaces all round are at best, a REPRESENTATION of imagined reality. therefore they are ABSTRACT by nature, served as neither a "scaled down reality" nor "sample of reality", they are simply an embodiment of its creator's imagination. caution shall be exercised when this method of working is deployed in architectural design process due to its ambiguity nature as a reality representation. 
this method excel in capturing an imagined scenario in the shortest amount of time possible hence the fidelity of concept can be visualized in its highest possible quality. this is because the temporary muting of details could help creator focus on the big picture of a imagined built form. however this is not a "scaled down reality" because it simply is not a reality representation; the said cube does not reflect the structural reality but logic; the said cube does not contain any spatial elements within itself but indication; the said cube does not reflect any properties of material texture in reality but the existence of a surface. it is a geometrically defined vessel carrying our concept from our brain to our eyes through hands, in order to establish a level of feasibility of a concept in reality, both imaginatively and effectively to brain.
this method excel in capturing an imagined scenario in the shortest amount of time possible hence the fidelity of concept can be visualized in its highest possible quality. this is because the temporary muting of details could help creator focus on the big picture of a imagined built form. however this is not a "scaled down reality" because it simply is not a reality representation; the said cube does not reflect the structural reality but logic; the said cube does not contain any spatial elements within itself but indication; the said cube does not reflect any properties of material texture in reality but the existence of a surface. it is a geometrically defined vessel carrying our concept from our brain to our eyes through hands, in order to establish a level of feasibility of a concept in reality, both imaginatively and effectively to brain.
coupled up with the notion of proportion, massing model is a powerful weapon in any creators' arsenal to address issues in real world design challenge. this weapon could be fired rapidly and in multiple direction, even in multiple dimension. this must be done correctly. a synchronization between reality's paradigm and creators' angle of approach must be established in the form of abstract identity as massing model before anything else. the parameters must be well defined, duality or multiple identities on one representational element is perfectly fine, but avoid any ambiguity in the definition. through this practice, one should be able to find the very essence of any real world's situation, hence focus the efforts on what is deemed essential in tackling all the issues on big picture. any architecture form can now be tested faithfully against the distilled and represented real world situation, through this process, inspiration, solution, issues will start to emerge. where does proportion come in? well every single moment! try to imagine a group of massing (including creator's massing) that is physically defined by not its measurements in decimal or imperial units, but by its RELATIVE DIMENSION: BIGGER, SMALLER, LONGER, TALLER & ETC. they are put together as one situation that has multiple characteristic being proportionately related to each other. one can plug in and test a new built form in this very situation by understanding the consequences and implication in proportion to those are there in context.
making a "scaled massing model" is not a mistake, however one has to avoid the situation where they are deceived by the simplicity of this strip-down, bare looking model. some are even trapped within the realm of this "imagined reality". the consequence of this is
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