Tag Archives: library

Vancouver library recreated in brick by local LEGO legend Paul Hetherington

Paul Hetherington has a knack for building real-world locations in LEGO, and he’s at it again with this rendition of the West Vancouver Memorial Library, built to celebrate its 75th anniversary. You can tell what a grand place for the community this must be, with the ample greenery and curated outdoor space. Those umbrellas? Hub caps from the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine! But cutaway sections also let us get a good look inside at the library’s main hall and children’s sections. And, if you want an even better look at this 17,850-piece model, you can see it on display inside the actual library.

Paul is a LEGO institution in the Pacific Northwest, whose large-scale architecture and pop culture models have delighted the community for over 20 years. This model is particularly special for the builder as it’s the same library he visited as a child where he discovered the comics that would go on to inspire his LEGO building.

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From Sunnydale to Belville, Bricktoria’s LEGO library slays

If you’ve been lucky enough to visit LEGO House over the past year, then you probably saw the incredible Belville-scale dioramas of Victoria Worsley on display at the Masterpiece Gallery. Victoria’s latest doll-scale creation is a bustling library where young readers busy themselves among the stacks.

As much as I love minifgs, there’s something charming about LEGO’s larger family of Belville figures that were produced between 1994 and 2009. These days, the accessories and textiles from the line show up in MOCs from builders looking to push the envelope with creative parts use, but very few builders base their creations around the dolls themselves. It’s magical to see the dolls transported into immersive LEGO scenes the way that “Bricktoria” does.

The library is such a cozy, innocent place. And yet there’s something familiar about the U-shaped design, the crimson stairs… and that print of a counting… vampire?

Guitar lick. It’s Buffy time, after the jump!

LEGO to put you in a Roman Empire state of mind

2025 has been a great year for Italy and LEGO with both Trevi Fountain and 21359 Italian Riviera, but for former Junior Classical League kids like me, what we really crave is a trip back to the SPQR. The classical world has only shown up in LEGO via the Coliseum Architecture set and a handful of collectible minifigs, but thankfully, we have fan creations from builders like Michael Crewe to keep the flame alive. Michael shares two minifig-scale scenes of ancient city life on the Ideas platform that I would gladly clear out shelf space to bring home. First up is a magnificent library that could be the famed Library of Alexandria, pre-sacking. The impressive columns evoke a Corinthian style with their ornate fern tops.

Inside the two-story building stand an impressive statue. I might have gone with Athena/Minerva rather than this more muscular fellow, but those marble abs are impressive.

Click for more pics of the ancient world in LEGO

Mickey’s Library LEGO fan build hides a trove of Disney Easter eggs

From Princess minidoll playsets to collectible minifigures to 100th anniversary display pieces, Disney and LEGO have built up an impressive catalog of sets referencing blockbusters and deep cuts from the Disney vault. In this delightful scene, titled Mickey’s Library, builder Candy Bricks arranges dozens of uniquely Disney elements in a cozy tribute to the House of the Mouse. It’s fun to see little bigger tableaus for Snow White and Beauty and the Beast, as well as subtler tributes, like Aladdin’s carpet integrated into the floor by the fireplace. Looks like Mickey even stuffed and mounted one of those troublesome brooms from his Apprentice days to hang above the hearth! How many references can you find?

Behold! Busy bibliophiles blissfully browsing

If you’re the sort who lives to read, chances are you’ve dreamed of having a gigantic library filled with every book your heart desires. Consider that wish granted, even if it’s in tiny LEGO brick form. The “Scriptorium,” an eye-popping build by Paweł Michalak (Kris Kelvin), has everything a book lover might want. Cozy reading chairs! Cool quasi-medieval ambiance! And of course, enough books to keep Albus Dumbledore (spotted on the fourth floor) or William Shakespeare (on his way to the third-level floor terrace) occupied with ample reading material. Said books come in different thicknesses and heights; along with actual minifig book elements, I can spot 1×2 plates with a slide thingy, stacked 1×1 slopes, ingot bricks, and even candle pieces (to represent scrolls), to name a few. (Who cares if you can’t actually read any of these books? They look darn good on the shelf.)

A library for those who aren’t tirelessly building...

After over 30 years of building with LEGO, I can’t tell you how many rubber tires I’ve amassed in my collection. And as someone who never designs anything automotive (primarily due to lack of skill), they have sat collecting dust for far too long. But Tom Studs gives me hope for their eventual use with this brilliantly floored scene. Utilizing forced perspective, Tom gives us a view out the building’s main portal into a green wilderness, complete with a perfectly positioned minifig to convey all those feelings of wanderlust. The interior of the door is beautifully designed, with plenty of intricate brown designs that stand in stark contrast to the verdant outdoors and its winding stone path. But, again, the real star of the show is the cobbled black floor, comprised of a multitude of brick “nuggets” each wrapped in an appropriately-sized tire.

Art Nouveau book covers

LEGO has been into books as of lately. We got the LEGO Ideas 21315 Pop-Up Book, the Hogwarts Moments books, the Disney Storybooks, the 40410 Charles Dickens Tribute, and more. So as a LEGO fan, why not hop on the trend? That is exactly what Ted Andes must have thought. They created a series of lovely hardcover books with Art Nouveau-inspired cover art to go along with the Wasp-wing Table Lamp we featured a while back.

The blue book looks quite elaborately embellished with golden details which make the satin white jewels pop. The green book uses Spider-Man’s web as a very artistic cloud and the minifigure butterfly wings are used to represent a magical transparent butterfly. Most of all this is a very ingenious way to display minifigures you like and it can be translated to any theme.

A place of inspiration for knowledge, culture, and innovation

Beyond the books, libraries provide a place for community building and collaboration. Builder Ben Vijle saught to commemorate ‘De Krook‘ city library in Ghent, Belgium with this 1:500 scale model. This architectural beauty uses brown grille plates to mimic the steel beam facade that stands out on the river bend. The stacked levels provide a home for the businesses and organizations which collaborated for the library initiative. Ben uses sideways building techniques to achieve the thin profile of each level without any unnecessary gaps. The builder certainly had an eye for detail when modeling this relatively recent addition to the city.

As you can see, this microscale build features the river, nearby roadway, and the various levels of greenspace integrated into the riverbanks by the library. The brown grilles continue beyond the building structure to the bike path and footbridge. A red blade, bone, and needle hidden in the walkway peak out as Ben’s version of the sculpture of a man and woman by De Krook’s entrance. The printed 1×1 crosswalk tiles from the LEGO Architecture Tokyo set and the clips as bike racks by the road are also simple but awesome little details.

Don’t miss Ben’s lovely microscale renditions of other Belgian landmarks: Ben Vilje LEGO on TBB

Lounge in this library with style

Libraries are more than book repositories; they also provide educational services and activities for their surrounding communities. Thanks to Łukasz Libuszewski’s, the little citizens of LEGOLAND can now enjoy everything a library has to offer. It looks both modern and inviting, complete with enough glass to let the sunshine in. The library sports a modular design, in which sections can be removed to reveal the service desk and bookshelves. Especially impressive is the motorized glass elevator. Be sure to watch Łukasz’ video to view the library from all angles, the interior and elevator in action. You might even want to sign up for a library card!

A bookmobile to behold

Some vehicles are more than meets the eye. While this 1959 Salem Ameriliner Library Bus by Chris Elliott doesn’t change into a walking, talking robot, it has been transformed on the inside, from a passenger carrier to mobile library with a fully detailed interior. Even without the interior, the bus is a beautiful creation. The combination of slopes used on the roof place it indisputably in the 1950s, and the other details are seamless: doors on their side as luggage compartment doors and zip line handles as side view mirrors.

If you’re not impressed by the exterior, open it up and be prepared to be blown away. The interior of this bookmobile is spot on to the last detail. It starts with enough books to actually be called a library, stowed everywhere they could possibly go: on the walls, in the luggage compartment, and even in the floor. There’s even a comfy couch in the back to curl up with whatever good book you’ve found on the shelf!
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