I’ve made no secret of my love for Jonathan Lopes’ urban landscapes and was a little sad to hear he’d destroyed his latest town. Luckily he’s back with a new project which promises to be very interesting: starting a new town in a sub-minifig scale. By my guess this is about half to 2/3rds the size of a regular train layout but so far seems to have most of the details I’ve always loved. I’m very excited.
The Supreme Court of Canada building was designed by architect Ernest Cormier and opened in 1946, after Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) laid the cornerstone in 1939. For Christmas 2011, -greenglo- built a LEGO version of this important Canadian building for his wife, who works for the Department of Justice. The LEGO model now decorates her office.
Brickshelf user icare‘s microscale model of the Musée du quai Branly in Paris captures its vibrant architecture. Even though I’m not familiar with the actual museum, this creation is still a treat for the eyes.
Signal boxes are one of the most common trackside accessories built by LEGO fans. But I think this beauty by lafabrick is the first time I’ve seen a modernist[1] version done in LEGO. I like it. There’s a lot of clever use of half-stud offset on this one.
[1] I think actually brutalist, perhaps our architecturally inclined readers can inform me.
Amazon.com keeps dropping the price of the recently released LEGO Architecture set 21010 Robie House.
Price was one of the big complaints when this was released, so quit complainin’ and get shoppin’! Looks like it’ll make a great dark red parts pack.
Via FBTB.
Oftentimes we see applications of a new building technique on a small experimental model, but rarely do we see them applied to a large creation. I am delighted to see tiberium_blue‘s T’Met Monastery, which not only uses Technic liftarms for its massive stone walls but also depicts a refreshing subject of a fictional sanctuary inspired by a Star Trek Vulcan monastery.
One of my favorite new themes at BrickCon this year was “World Architecture,” organized by Anu Pehrson. Her own contribution was one of my favorites — this gorgeous Hindu temple in the Nagara style of Indian architecture.
Anu provides a bit of background:
This is an Ancient Temple from India. This is the Nagara style of Architecture which was fully developed in the 10th century. Such Temples exist till date and are very much in use as a place of worship and pilgrimage. In Hinduism the devotee offers flowers and fruit to the ‘deity’ as a form of worship. Therefore we always see stalls selling garlands, flowers and fruit outside a temple. A visit to the Temple is not a sombre event, and could be and evening outing for the family or a ‘picnic’ Therefore one finds a ‘fair’ like atmosphere around the entrance.
Her beautiful diorama deservedly won “Best Architectural Style” at BrickCon.
Over at Eurobricks Luke Hutchinson (Derfel Cardarn) is running a ‘live’ how-to guide to building a medieval village. It’s a great way to learn some new tricks and follow a builders approach to construction. Just be ready to buy a lot of 1×1 rounds if you want to build as you read.
Lasse Vestergård built this in the style of LEGO’s architechture sets and it came out quite nice. I’m really liking the austere look of this build.
Nelic73 has built a very detailed recreation of the famous statue of Christ that overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro. The detailing on the face and the folds of the robe is first-rate.
I didn’t know until just now that this statue is the largest Art Deco statue in the world. I guess you do learn something new everyday.
Sean Kenney recently built a 10 feet tall model of the Trump International Hotel and Tower with 65,000 Lego pieces. Different from other skyscraper sculptures I’ve seen, this one simulates the effect of the reflective glass on the actual building. This was achieved by building a pattern of the reflected skyline inside the transparent “glass” bricks. The illusion is simply stunning.
See more details and the techniques used on MOCpages. The model is on permanent display in the Chicago Lego store.
The latest LEGO Architecture sets 21010 Robie House and 21011 Brandenburg Gate
have just been released on LEGO.com.
The original (non-LEGO) Robie House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1910, 25 years before Fallingwater. Designer Adam Reed Tucker’s LEGO version is built from 2276 bricks and costs $199.99.
The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was built in Berlin between 1788 and 1791. The LEGO version has 363 pieces, including quite a nice batch of sand-green cheese slopes, and goes for $34.99.
There is also free shipping on orders over $75!