Papercraft Skyscraper Collection

Pictured is just a sample of the dozens of skyscraper paper models created by "Ginseng" at the Skyscraper City forum. Each of the models is 1:1500 scale. The majority of the models are buildings from New York City. However, other cities are represented including (but not limited to!): Los Angeles, Dallas, Minneapolis, Denver, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London, Montreal, Toronto, and Shanghai. The PNG templates for each of the models may be downloaded here.

Other Architecture Collections:

Historic Illinois Buildings
German Village
N Scale Commercial Architecture
Czech Churches
Cute Micro City

Mannheim Water Tower Paper Model

The ornate water tower in the city of Mannheim, Germany was completed in 1889. After being severely damaged in World War II, the tower was finally restored to its former glory in 1963. It continues to this day to stand as a symbol of the city of Mannheim. Sometime before 1999, a paper model of the tower was released by the Mannheim Supply and Transport Company in cooperation with publisher J. F. Schreiber. A copy of the template for this model may be downloaded here. The scale of the model is 1:220 or Z Scale. There are no instructions for the model other than the numbered exploded view diagram contained on one of the four pages of the template.

Other Papercraft Towers:

1934 Eiffel Papercraft
Vienna Wasserturm Bastelbogen
World Trade Center
Lukenwalde Market Tower
Japanese Cityscape

World Trade Center Paper Model

Not long after the events of September 11, 2001, paper model designer Joe Cangero created a simple paper model of the twin towers. Joe offered the model to others for free, with the encouragement to donate to one of the World Trade Center relief funds that were in place at the time. In the nineteen years since the loss of the towers, many have found building Joe's model therapeutic. May the world never see such a tragedy again. The PDF template for this model is still available and may be downloaded at cardmodelers.org.

Tower of Babel Ziggurat Pop-up

Some scholars associate the Tower of Babel in the Bible with the ancient city of Babylon. So it is no surprise this Tower of Babel paper pop-up was designed by Elod Beregszaszi to be in the form of a Babylonian ziggurat. A PDF template for the tower may be downloaded here.

Previous Paper Pop-ups:
St. Paul's Cathedral
M. C. Escher's Relativity
Masonic Trestle-Board
8-Bit Video Game Characters
Parthenon

Architecture Papercraft: German Tower and Church

These two free architecture paper models are offered on the website of the Administration of Teltow-Fläming, a district in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. On the left is the market tower of the city of Luckenwalde. On the right is the village church of the city of Mellnsdorf. Both these landmarks were under construction in the first half of the 13th century. The scale of the paper models is 1:87 (HO). High resolution photographs of the actual buildings were used to create the PDF papecraft templates which may be downloaded here.

Other Paper Models of Historic Architecture:
45 Paper Models of Czech Churches
Native American Architecture Paper Models
Alhambra Palace
Victorian Vienna Water Tower
48 German Village Buildings

Papercut Eiffel Tower Model

The papercraft family tree has many branches. One branch of which I only recently became aware is the art of paper cutting. Typically, papercut art is 2d and looks like lace. However, some artists, using the same cutting techniques, build 3D paper sculptures.  This model of the Eiffel Tower is one such example. The tower was designed by an artist from Vietnam known only as Yee.  As cutting is my least favorite part of building paper models, I doubt I will be trying this model any time soon. ;) If you are braver than I, the pattern for the tower may be downloaded here. The Eiffel Tower has graced the center of Paris since 1889.

Roman Watchtower Paper Models

These paper model towers are recreations of what military watchtowers may have looked like in different regions of the Roman empire. The distinctive style of each tower is based on research into archaeological evidence by the creator of the models, Hans-Dieter Richter. The four watchtowers shown are a sampling of the eight different towers available. Template downloads can be found on Richter's web pages here and here. Bonus papercraft models to accompany the watchtowers include palisade walls and a small horse drawn wagon.

High Elf Tower Papercraft

Here is another great papercraft from the world of miniature gaming: a High Elf tower. There are several nice things about this tower model. First, the roof is removable. Next, it is constructed so that the interior has as much color and detail as the outside of the tower. Finally, the window shutters can actually be opened and closed. A free download of the template for the tower is available here. 

Vienna Water Tower Paper Model

This paper model of a Victorian Era water tower in Vienna, Austria is uncommon for an architecture papercraft in that its template is hand drawn. The ornate brick tower, located in the Favoriten District of Vienna, was finished in 1899. The building was closed in 1956, but a late 80's renovation gave the tower new life as a museum and cultural venue. The details of the paper model are somewhat simplified when compared with the actual building, but the finished papercraft still has a nice look. The four page template for the "Wasserturm Favoriten" can be found here.

Antique Papercraft - 1934 Eiffel Tower

Here is a simple yet elegant papercraft of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is 8 inches (20 cm) tall and has only four parts. According to Agence Eureka, the blog where this papercraft can be found, this particular template was produced in 1934. The French instructions included with the template say to paste the parts on "strong, but flexible" paper implying that it was originally distributed on thinner paper, possibly in a book or magazine. Thankfully today, with the invention of the computer and printer, we can skip the pasting step and print a scan of the template directly onto heavy paper. A copy of the template for the tower can be found here.