India’s most famous piece of architecture is also the world’s most famous mausoleum and the final resting place of Mumtaz Mahal, a 17th-century empress consort. Builder Brick Point brings us a lovely microscale LEGO rendition complete with the tomb and its surrounding grounds, including the long reflecting pool in front.
And if you want to see how the builder created this, they’ve made an excellent 55-second time-lapse video of the construction showing the process layer by layer.
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the late 1700s and saw a shift from manufacturing within people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines, to powered machinery, factories, and mass production. Factories and steam locomotives were signature developments of the times. Toltomeja has used both of these icons of the industrial revolution in his LEGO diorama. There’s a large factory with tall chimneys emitting clouds of smoke (the part used is the cloth spider’s net) and a steam train loaded with coal. The bridge and the factory are very nicely put together, but it was the brick-built lettering and the little horses and carts that really caught my eye.
The steam locomotive is cleverly built at this scale, using a telephone handset as the coupling rod connecting the drive wheels, while a few treasure chests become the open wagons containing coal.
Residents of Birmingham, Alabama will surely recognize this creation by Wesley Higgins. It’s the McWane Science Center, a real-life building in Birmingham that’s been transformed into a place where minifig families can spend an afternoon learning about science.
The focal point of this LEGO creation is the Science Center’s iconic mosaic-like rotunda. But Wesley’s version includes the entire building including furnished interiors and even a parking garage. Wesley says it took 12 months to complete the LEGO McWane Science Center and he spent a lot of time working on it while simultaneously watching television with his family.
If you happen to be in the Birmingham area, you can see Wesley’s creation in real life! It’s currently on display at the McWane Science Center and there’s even a contest to guess the total number of bricks in the creation. Pretty neat, right?
Through decades of planning and cultivation, Singapore has earned the name of a “Garden City”. Within 277 square miles a population of 5.7 million resides, one of the top 3 major global financial centers. Singaporean local Gavin Foo showcases the core of this economic hub with a skyline built entirely from LEGO bricks. This jungle of towering concrete structures hosts the banking and finance industry, whilst along the Singapore river is the place to head for a cold beer at the end of a hard day’s work.
The Château de Chenonceau is a historic building in the Loire Valley in France, spanning the River Cher. The current château was built in the early 1500s on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. While not the original owners, the château was acquired by the Menier family, who are famous for their signature chocolates, and they still own the château to this day. Isaac Snyder has managed to capture the architectural essence of this beautiful, grand building in LEGO microscale.
The complex collection of varying roofs that depict the chapel and library areas at that Northeast end of the château are very nicely built, but my favourite section is definitely the multiple archways with the flowing river below.
A Federal Constitutional Court building might not sound the most obvious inspiration for a LEGO creation. But the resulting microscale creation from Pascal Schmidt is just lovely. Designed by Paul Baumgarten, the original German building was one of the first truly modern court building, avoiding the traditional use of oppressive architecture designed to intimidate and impress. Pascal has perfectly captured the lighter, airy, Modernist feel of the structure. And those trees — fantastic.
While this particular cathedral is not actually based on a real building, Swedish builder O Wingård was inspired by some of the world’s most beautiful Gothic architecture. He mentions Notre Dame in Paris, Kölner Dom in Cologne, and Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden. There are so many details to enjoy, but I have to highlight some of those key Gothic characteristics: the flying buttresses (seen in the centre-right of the photo), the lancet arches, and those impressive spires that give vertical emphasis.
Taking a closer look at the main entrance allows a great view of the stained glass rose window and all the many and varied bricks that depict the intricate details of this grand building. The steps lead up to the ground floor lancet arches, cleverly constructed using a series of bar holder with handle parts.
This is not just a façade, as the build is a 360 degree creation that is beautifully detailed, irrespective of the angle from which it is viewed. There are more photos on the builder’s Flickr album, and even a video tour of the cathedral.
In her ongoing Iron Builder challenge, Cecilie Fritzvold has built a crumbling bridge. I always enjoy seeing decay built in LEGO, whether it’s fast like this one or a more tranquil style, which we often see in post-apocalyptic creations. What I also love is bridges, so Cecilie delivers on two of my soft spots at the same time.There are loads of details to be explored in this creation, like the great cracking effect or the subtle use of Nexo-Knights shield piece as the edge of the sidewalk.
If you want to see more great use of the Nexo Knights shield pentagonal tile (the “seed part” in their current challenge), be sure to check Cecilie‘s and Chris Maddison‘s Flickr pages.
French builder Anthony Séjourné has captured exactly how I imagine an architect’s office — drawers full of supplies, shelves with inspirational books, and a well-lit, comfortable work area in which to imagine the next great monument, home, or skyscraper. Given all that loose paper, though, I’m vaguely concerned about that black fan…
Anthony has built a substantial series of excellent LEGO furniture and accessories. The coffee machine on the rolling shelves looks ready to dispense some much-needed caffeine to keep the inspiration flowing.
This week we were able to talk with Anu Pehrson about her beautiful architectural builds, as well as many other aspects of the hobby. Anu lives in Seattle with her husband David and volunteers a lot of time to help make many different behind-the-scenes aspects of BrickCon run smoothly. She is a very easy person to talk to. If you ever get the chance, spend some time with her. You will be well-rewarded. Until then, however, this interview will have to do! Let’s dive in and explore the mind of a builder.
TBB: Can you give our readers some background on yourself? What is it about LEGO that draws you to it?
Anu: I’m from India. Growing up, there wasn’t much Lego to play with. Someone had gifted my brother a Lego systems set that I commandeered. Every time I sat down with the set, I tried to build something different. That’s how the story of building my own creations started. Then came my dark ages and in 2001 I moved to Seattle where I found Lego in abundance and rekindled my love for building. I built by myself for a few years and then accidently found the local LUG, BrickCon and the online Lego community. I see Lego as more of a medium of Art, rather than a child’s toy. Something that can be used to express one’s feelings, maybe like paint for a painter… As I build more, I use its limitations of being a finite piece of plastic to push its own limits and try to give models an organic and natural feel. Some of the newer parts definitely help in this process.
Dohodno Zdanie is an architectural masterpiece with over 110 years of history, art and culture located in the heart of Rousse, Bulgaria. This imposing Neoclassical building can be found in Freedom Square, within the city centre of Rousse, and continues to hold a busy events calendar of theatre, show and art. Thomassio has done an impressive job of capturing this stylish edifice in LEGO, with a host of detailed textures. I really like the tiled roof in between those arched segmental windows, the occasional use of a dark blue tile is very effective. He utilises a good variety of parts use to add texture to this build, Technic gears, 2×2 dishes, turntables and even some handcuffs.
There is a slight Dr. Who twist to Thomassio’s version as he has replaced the winged Mercury statue that appears on the top of the original building in Russia with a Weeping Angel, just don’t catch her eye!
We’re in New York City today covering LEGO unveiled at Toy Fair. LEGO unveiled two new LEGO Architecture sets this morning that will be released in April 2017.
New York’s own home of Modern and contemporary art, housed in a Frank Lloyd Wright building, gets a redesigned second edition with a new 21035 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The set will retail at $79.99, with 744 pieces.
Another Paris landmark joins the LEGO Architecture series with 21036 Arc de Triomphe, retailing at $39.99 with 386 pieces.
Don’t miss the rest of our Toy Fair 2017 coverage here on The Brothers Brick:
