Sensational architecture makes headlines as if its architects were one-man shows, when they are more frequently the the front man for a much larger operation. Though he has won awards including the Pritzker Prize and AIA Gold Metal, Glenn Murcutt spends his time designing area-appropriate buildings to suit local needs rather than seeking out the spotlight.

He has no signature style as some architects do, but there are common themes to his work: simplicity, efficiency, and a respect for the beauty and primacy of the natural environments in which his works are to be built.

His pragmatic approach leads to the frequent use of simple and durable materials like corrugated metal, used in rainwater catchment barrels, on roofs and as siding (in addition to glass, wood, stone and brick as appropriate). Single-story, open-air dwellings, often on stilts, also reflect his region of practice: mainly Australia, with hot weather but also prone to floods in places.

Born in London and raised in New Guinea, taught of Henry David Thoreau as well as Mies van der Rohe, his architecture reflects modern sensibilities and an appreciate for simple living with the pragmatic differences between geographical regions.

If his life story and work has a message, perhaps it is this: don’t lose track of what you want to do or what you are good at doing … his work has become famous, certainly, but he remains a single-architect firm and sticks to regions he understands and can best design for (all the while with a never-ending list of clients wanting him to work for them).

Plans and sections provide blueprints for building, but a three-dimensional slice along the horizontal or vertical axis through a house provides subjective spatial and experiential data almost impossible to capture (or show) in other graphics.

Sectional slices of entire sites can show how views, daylight and shade work within and between neighboring houses. Detail cuts can illustrate relative heights and provide a snapshot of space shapes, and hybrid models give glimpses into three dimensional-complexity hard to capture in two-dimensional pictures or images.

Plans add dimension and depth to flat drawings, modeling the most important features by slicing below the ceiling to show the inner workings of a level and its relationship to outdoor volumes.

But beyond bland the bland slice, dice and be done approach lies a rich set of possibilities for layering a sectional photo of a real model (or digital file) with additional annotations, information and sketches, either to explore or simply represent a design in progress.

For all the versatility of computer models, though, there is still something to be said for the act of creating physical ones – particularly if they are treated as evolving rather than finished works, like this 1960s Sydney Opera House section assembled in part to resolve engineering and architectural decisions.

Canadian interior designer Robert Bailey completed a draft Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver. Penthouse 595 sq.m. area occupies the upper two levels of 48-storey building Fairmont Building and has access to the roof, which is fully equipped as a place to rest.