David Zambito built the smallest recognizable Aztec pyramid out of Lego using stacked corner panels to imitate the steps of the structure. Now the gods demand the sacrifice of your microfigs.
Tag Archives: Architecture
A distinctly British castle
As someone who likes to build castles out of LEGO, I know how tricky it can be to effectively construct round towers. It’s also a daunting challenge to find the perfect balance between too much detail in the build and not enough. Isaac Snyder posted this great example of how to achieve both of these delicate techniques earlier this week for the 13th Colossal Castle Contest.
I’m not familiar with all the castles they have over in Europe, but I’ve seen Bodiam Castle in Britain, in picture books and websites many times. I think it’s especially neat when someone goes the extra mile and builds a close-to-scale model of a real piece of architecture.
I also liked this shot of the very detailed back with the towers and doors going every which way.
The overall effect is very impressive.
An Altered Fate
David Frank and his wife, Claire, have a great collaboration going on. She writes the novels and he builds the scenes. David’s most recent build features a manor house, battle scene and giant river boat from Claire’s newest book, An Altered Fate.
David is famous for his massive builds, crowded with incredible detail, and this one is no different. The architectural detail on the manor itself is awesome and really catches the eye. However, unlike many gorgeous buildings that I’ve seen done in LEGO, David has continued on and given life to his mammoth manor. The battle scene, many small details, a blown out wall, the cliffs and the landscaping all combine to give this huge creation a real sense of “life”. Not to mention the beautiful river boat, which is in a class all of its own. I had the pleasure of inspecting this build up close and personal at BrickCon and there is a really a plethora of detail packed into this thing. Definitely check out the other pictures for more details of this wonderful build!
Oscar Niemeyer’s Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasilia
Earlier this year I visited MoMA in New York City, where I saw a wonderful exhibit titled “Latin America in Construction: Architecture 1955-1980.” I was particularly impressed by the architecture of Brasilia, the new capital of Brazil built in a lightning blitz of construction between 1956 and 1960. Daniel Stoeffler has built a microscale LEGO version of the Metropolitan Cathedral, designed (as were most buildings in the city) by architect Oscar Niemeyer. I’d love to see Daniel extend this LEGO series with the dome and bowl of the National Congress Building, the president’s residence, and so on.
The icing on the cake
Shockingly, it’s been almost three weeks since I last posted a LEGO model of a urinal, so I’ll rectify that oversight immediately with this charming scale model made by Flickr member Ashton6460. I’m not sure what possesses people to build these things, but I’m not gonna overthink it. Enjoy…
Microscale basilica
This microscale basilica by Jens Ohrndorf is adorned with details. I love the creative use of the Death Star part for the dome as well as a lug wrench for the cross. Check out this edited photo of the creation, which could pass off as an actual basilica to those not familiar with Lego bricks.
Desert Monolith
Another brick in the wall
This beautiful section of medieval wall is part of a much larger display put together by the folks over at THE BRICK TIME for the SteineWahn LEGO exhibition in Berlin earlier this month. As much as I enjoy the ‘tumble-down’ style of castle building that is very popular right now, it is kind of refreshing to stumble across a crisp piece of German engineering like this! The texturing and color palette are to die for:
Luxury living
The talented César Soares has been churning out one masterpiece after another, and his latest is a luxury beach-side residence featuring beautiful modern architectural design. I can’t decide which I’d like to do first: relax in the infinity edge pool, lounge on the balcony and enjoy the seaside view or go for a swim at the private beach. Check out more photos of the creation on Flickr.
That’s one classy Dame
The name Notre Dame may be most widely associated with a certain cathedral in Paris, France. But the cathedral of Notre Dame is Strasbourg (also in France) is actually more than twice as tall. In fact for over two centuries it was the tallest building in the world – taller even than the Great Pyramid of Giza – eventually being surpassed in the Victorian era by such behemoths as the Eiffel Tower and the Washington Monument. But it still remains one of the finest surviving examples of late Gothic architecture, and is nicely captured here in microscale LEGO form by Daniel Stoeffler.
Rio de Janeiro’s Cristo Redentor statue in LEGO
Looking like something right out of LEGO’s own Architecture series, this microscale model of the iconic statue of Christ The Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is the work of German builder Jens Ohrndorf. Proportioning, detail and texture are hard to get right at this scale (especially with a human figure) but Jens nails it, and the result is immediately recognizable.
TBB Cover photo: September 2015
The kids are back in school, and the weather in some parts is changing. Yes, I guess Summer is slowly on the way out! So in a desperate act of defiance, this month’s chosen cover photo is a model of the pier at Brighton (a traditional British seaside resort) built by Greg Dlx:
Wanna see your creation featured across TBB social medial for a month? Then submit a photo of it today! Just make sure to read the rules first – we’re getting tired of submissions that won’t work as cover photos.
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