It’s been a year or two since I last saw a LEGO version of the Seattle Space Needle, but Erwin te Kortschot’s is worth the wait. Erwin’s version is edged with clean lines, and the disk at the top is about as smoothly pretty as LEGO can make.
Tag Archives: Architecture
Incredibly detailed Sydney Opera House, two years in the making
Eco-house of the future
Architecture isn’t usually a theme I build in, but I do appreciate when it’s done well. TBB newcomer Adam Hollings (Night Hawk_) has built a really nifty Eco friendly house:
It’s an example of a very nice and clean build, and looks almost too simple… until you take a closer look. There is some really nice detailed styling he accomplished by building studs out creating some nice vertical lines. But the really cool part are the windows. Using levers to hold glass is nothing new, but using technic axles to frame the windows? Now that’s a new trick I have to remember.
Villa Amanzi is an amazing holiday-getaway
If Phuket in Thailand tickles your fancy and you’ve got some money to burn, perhaps Villa Amanzi is just the place to rent for your holiday.
This spectacular model of the villa was built by Robert Turner (rt_bricks). It’s roughly half minifig scale, but still measures a respectable 96 studs x 64 studs x 61 bricks and has a detailed interior. The house is fantastic, but I particularly like the rock face and the tropical foliage above it. Robert’s description sounds as though it could be from a holiday brochure: “It features a 15 metre infinity pool overlooking the Andaman Sea, 6 bedrooms, and a contemporary modern design nestled into the edge of a ravine and up against an impressive rock face that penetrates into the house on multiple floors”
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Healy Are Looking as Sturdy as Ever
Architectural guru Erwin te Kortschot is back to creating brilliant LEGO skyscrapers. His most recent is a translation of one of the artist Achilles Gildo Rizzoli’s drawings, a portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Healy in architectural form. Erwin’s interpretation of the sketch into brick form makes a very visually interesting tower.
The City & RG-400
I am sure Andrew can provide some translation as to what is actually going on in these cityscapes by 62778grenouille. But really I think the images can speak for themselves.
Absolutely Beautiful.
EDIT (AB): The photo description in Japanese just notes that the train is a mag-lev, and that the builder used LED light sticks from Ikea for the lighting effects.
Minifig Scale LEGO Hebrew Tabernacle
Simon Pickard (brick.spartan) has made a minifig scale model of the ancient Hebrew mobile tent-temple known as the Tabernacle. Working from the Bible’s detailed descriptions of the temple dimensions and contents, Simon makes great use of LEGO’s limited palette of gold pieces to create the Ark of the Covenant, altars, and other accoutrements used in the temple.
Gothic SHIP Ahoy
Giving a whole new meaning to “flying buttresses,” Awesome O’Saurus provides us with this stunning rendering of a Gothic-architecture inspired space battleship. After seeing dozens of space tankers and flying boxes with striping (which are cool, to be sure), this spaceship is a welcome new style. Already I want to go design my own space-worthy cathedral of doom.
Clad in gold
Yo-Sub Joo created a replica of the world’s tallest gold-cladded structure, the 63 Building in Seoul. Staying true to the appearance of the landmark, the builder used chrome gold colored tiles to coat what must have been an expensive creation.
Architectural double-shot
It’s time once again for a Saturday exploration into the always fascinating world of architecture. Both of today’s selections are from TBB neophyte Erwin te Kortschot (buildingmaster 1966), who has a very small but high quality stable of models on Flickr. We begin today’s ruminations with an 1898 Art Nouveau structure and National Heritage Site from Rotterdam, Netherlands called the “Witte Huis“. Designed by architect Willem Molenbroek, it is considered the first high-rise of Europe.
Don’t blink, because our tour ends as quickly as it began in Oxford, England, with the Radcliffe Camera designed by James Gibbs in the English Palladian style in 1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library.
If you’re a fan of the genre don’t miss Erwin’s outstanding Aloha Tower from Honolulu Harbor in Hawaii.
Cincinnati Music Hall
Builder Mark Clark let us know via Facebook that he recently displayed his model of National Historic Landmark Cincinnati Music Hall in the venue itself to the delight of its many visitors. The model was constructed to appear as it existed in 1896, in 1/50th scale, with an interior that includes the acoustically acclaimed Springer Auditorium and Corbett tower.
Like many builders who attempt a project of this scale, Mark indicated on one of his photos that it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of his family. Kudos Mark, for a an accurate tribute to a fascinating structure.
Take me to 311 South Wacker, and step on it!
Inspired by the collected works of Spencer Rezkalla, TBB newcomer Rocco Buttliere has slowly amassed a fine collection of microscale skyscrapers with a focus on the architecture of Chicago Illinois. For his latest project, Rocco takes on the 961 ft tower at 311 South Wacker in downtown Chicago. According the the builder, “311 was the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world at the time of its completion. It is the seventh tallest building in Chicago, and sixteenth in the US. It is also the tallest building in the world whose address is also its formal title.” Considering the limited availability of Medium Dark Flesh colored elements, the building seems all the more impressive. Enjoy today’s slice of architectural history.
