lgorlando

MOC: 2010 Lego City Hospital CC style

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I've been a Eurobrick fan for a long time but I've recently taken up a member role in the EB community and so this is my first MOC on Eurobricks, a hospital built in Cafe Corner Modular style called Mercy General.

MOC: 2010 Lego City Hospital: Mercy General

“Medicine is of all the arts the most noble…” The First Law of Hippocrates

In the heart of Lego city is a great institution of healing and hope, Mercy General Hospital. From emergencies to injury and disease, Mercy General is set up to deal with the urgent care needs of Lego citizens. With it’s state of the art design, the hospital measures 64 studs wide and has 3 and 5 floors of space over a massive layout. Facilities includes emergency vehicle drop off, a helicopter pad, a doctors office, a maternity ward, overnight rooms, a surgery center, radiology room, administrative offices and a gorgeous lobby for guests. There’s even a triage center and a pharmacy! Reconfigure the hospital with just the twist and turn of the buildings for a layout that best fits your city! Whether you arrive by car, ambulance or helicopter the professional doctors and staff of Mercy General will know just how to take care of you!

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Introduction

I’ve been hoping for a hospital from TLC for some time. We’ve had police stations, fire stations, more fire stations but the hospital situation has been dire for some time (check the Eurobricks post on health care for a good take on the situation). I decided that my little plastic city couldn’t afford another chipped hand or scratched up face thus I set out to design a hospital that my town would be proud of. The result is Mercy General, the most comprehensive health care system in the world! (my world is a small table in my garage).

About the Design

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During the planning of Mercy General, I did a lot of research on hospitals and medical facility design. From a city planning perspective a hospital is a major landmark and the real estate for most hospitals usually consists of many city blocks. Many major city hospitals house multiple medical buildings that may be set up as a vertical cityscape of towers or as a sprawling citywide campus. Around the world I noticed that a lot of new hospitals have very distinct architectural features that are fresh and modern ranging from the playful (seen in modern children’s hospitals) to the very contemporary and high tech. The larger modern structures seem vast and expansive incorporating clean materials like steel and glass; the long design lines and the use of certain material seem to invoke the kind of calmness that would one would come to expect in a care facility yet behind the façade of materials is a practical medical facility.

Having found inspiration in modern hospitals, my dilemma was building a “modular-sized” hospital for a modest table town city. I love the large scale hospitals that are often done by professional builders and LUG groups but I didn’t want to overuse materials. I also did not want My Own Version of a production set (or some other existing MOC on the web).

Thus, I set out to incorporate MOC hospital would complement my existing modular buildings as well as fit perfectly with TLC production CC style sets like Green Grocer and Fire Brigade as well as non CC style buildings (one that I call “playscale” ) like 7641 city corner and the 7744 Police HQ. I determined that the proportions of my MOC would have to scale to the CC buildings yet the final design shouldn’t appear to dwarf other playscale buildings. For inspiration I turn to the existing TLC production hospitals 7892 and my personal favorite 6380 emergency treatment center.

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7892 has a modern feel to it with the tall tower and straight lines. I never did like the molded “rock” platform baseplate and the ramp for the paramedic seemed awkward. 6380 on the other hand was a model that I always kept fully constructed in my collection. It was a great addition to my young city in its heyday and 6380 just seemed functional, metropolitan, and the layout felt “hospital-like” (comforting and functional).

Seeing the potential in the 7892 and 6380 inspiration, I also wanted to maintain that classic red and white hospital color scheme, though my original hospital was meant to be a modern color scheme of greys, blues and whites; the red and white just screamed classic. Funny enough however, choosing red and white really hampered the style process. I literally spent months revising the design because a red hospital seemed too harsh yet a mostly white hospital was too dull.

How to solve this color problem? I use red as an accent (like a beacon of emergency) rather than a base color. I definitely wanted a mostly white building and to keep the white from looking plain I use the power of shape, texture and depth to bring out the light and shadow of the “colorless” element.

The results: Basic Red bricks as the tower (the beacon) and jumper plates, tiles and textured bricks to create depth in the white building.

My original concept was for a modern facility but I decided after seeing classic European and early American hospitals that the building should have some classical architecture.

ADVICE: classical architecture works well for any city layout if it is not overdone.

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I love the Greek revival style that is used in courthouses, universities and banks so I formatted the focal front of the main white building applying the fundamentals of classic Greek temple design (columns, capitals, architrave, etc). The Greek style design was especially relevant given the symbolism in medicine which is borrowed from the ancient Greeks (Hippocratic Oath anyone?).

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The rest of the main white building has a classic European style to it with the stone offsets on the walls and corners; there are arches above the windows throughout and I strategically place the arches to tie in the design of the entire facility. An obvious trait of to many modern hospitals is the vast number of windows so I was sure to place lots and lots of windows throughout (184 window pieces!). Spare no expense!

OK, enough about the architecture, The build itself…again, lots of jumper plates, flat tiles, 1 x 1 bricks with the headlight stud, Lots of long plates (which are actually pretty difficult to incorporate in a building because long plates flex and long-wide plates are rare or non existent.) I use dozens of the new 1 x 2 x 3 windows (hard to find, I had to buy them by the hundreds from PAB online), and it was very important to plan out the understructure so that there were no inadequate or unnecessary connections for the entire structure to lock together and to stand firm.

The main hospital has 3 levels in two buildings. The space will be used for the majority of modular rooms that I have planned (the Rooms will be detailed in Part 2 of my Mercy General Hospital Review). The Modern portion of the facility has the tower, the emergency vehicle parking and drop off port and of course what hospital would be complete without the helicopter pad? The red tower is mostly patient overnight rooms with beds (see Part 2).

As for my favorite part of the design; the hospital is convertible! (no not drop top) it transforms using hinge bricks along the inside walls.

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Set on four 16x32 plates I noticed the potential late in the design phase for a hospital that could be configured into multiple facilities; if I could set each building on a separate plate each could stand alone hinged together. I spent a lot of days on and off tweaking this feature. I placed the main building on the center two 16x32 plates (or one 32x32 plate) and the outer two buildings, the main care facility and the Emergency vehicle port, on hinges. I layout out windows and doorways to match up perfectly in any open or closed configuration so that when the building is reconfigured it will have doors, windows and walls that connect uninterrupted to the building. The end result is a six hospital configurations out of one design! My four favorites configurations: Mercy General Health Care System (1), University Research Hospital (2), Metro Memorial Hospital (3), City System Urgent Care Hospital (4).

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Like all good CC style buildings, I added a few minfigure characters to the mix to bring out the personality of the facility. Doctors, Surgeons, Nurses in hospital “themed scrubs”, A family with newborn baby, and various patients; a police officer in serious condition, as my town gets bigger my city streets can get kind of rough, there is also a wheel chair which is loosely based on a concept learned here.

I think my favorite item is the Angel of Mercy statue, it is simple yet gives you that feel good feature.

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I’ll be back with a much more brief part two presentation of Mercy General showing the various modular rooms that I built. These were actually more fun than the hospital build (I even made a custom sticker sheet!). Overall I am pleased with the design, the CC style proportions and the color scheme. I hope you enjoyed the tour and the presentation. See you in the city!

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UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE

FOR PART II, CLICK HERE

Edited by Phred

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It's rare that I comment on people's MOCs, but for yours I must, it's absolutely fantastic. I don't know if everyone will like it, but the white with a little bit of grey works beautifully for me. I don't know if was intentional or not 9you probably did mention it in your detailed explanation, but I'm at work and sneaking looks at Eurobricks), but the red part reminds me of a later add on to a hospital after it became too small, so to me it just makes it even more authentic. Were they turnstyle doors I spotted at the entrance?

Anyway, brilliant work and thanks for sharing!

Edited by hewman

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Wow!!! It is a very big and beautiful hospital, the color in white and red are simple and matched. It has very nice western building style. The minifigures' beings are so attractive. It is special to see the ground sheet can be changed, the different development s can be seen. It has car park and helicopter parking, great.

Oh! Do it has lift? Otherwise, the patients are difficult to go to the upper floor.

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I'm the same... I hardly ever comment on MOCs unless they particularly appeal to me.

I love the fact that there are two architectural styles at work here... a lot of hospitals I'm familiar with have that kind of frankenstein appearance. The one down the road from me is a mixture of old, grey, 70s utilitarian blockishness and spanking new modern curves and glass and wavy shapes and shiny bits.

I would have thought making something almost entirely white would look bad, but it actually looks quite elegant. The grey bits add just the right amount of contrast. Looking to see how the details were made can be extremely rewarding.

The only thing I find a little odd is that the helipad isn't on top of the building, like it is at the hospital down the road... where it is now seems like such a tight spot to land a helicopter.

I think having the helipad on the roof would even add to the mix of building designs - the old part has the sloped roof, the modern part has the helipad.

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This is absolutely amazing! I really like that you've fitted it in so nicely with the Modular Building scale, and that you've added the possibility to reconfigure it. The modern expansion on the old hospital is a really neat design aspect. The outside already looks spectacular, can't wait for the presentation of the interior.

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Love this build - what a fanastic MOC ! :sweet::thumbup:

Can't wait to see some interior put in !

Keep up the great work - Doctor is in da house ! :classic:

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Very nice! :thumbup:

That is one big hospital (for being a Lego one) with an amazing architecture. So much details, I really like the classical look (you should try building a real Greek temple :wink: ) The fact that the whole building is convertible is just fantastic! All the different versions look stunning, I can't decide which one I like best.

I'm eagerly awaiting more pictures! :sweet:

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Absolutely wonderful MOC! :cry_happy: Nicely CC style designed and detailed, and I must say the first CC style Hospital I've seen and a real pleasure for City lovers. BRAVO! :thumbup:

I look forward for those interiors :wink:

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Lego City's healthcare issue has just taken a turn for the best. This is fantastic Lgorlando ! I can't begin to mention all the wonderful details. I love the blue print image of the design (very clever).

I think most would agree that this deserves front-paging. :wub:

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I don't know if was intentional or not 9you probably did mention it in your detailed explanation, but I'm at work and sneaking looks at Eurobricks), but the red part reminds me of a later add on to a hospital after it became too small, so to me it just makes it even more authentic. Were they turnstyle doors I spotted at the entrance?

Funny you should say this hewman, that was how I ended up with the classic look. I figured the hospital got an upgrade after they ran out of space and so added a new wing during expansion. And yes the doors are actually sliding doors. I had to lift my whole building up by one plate just to fit those darn things in. What a mess!

- Oh! Do it has lift? Otherwise, the patients are difficult to go to the upper floor.

The red tower is designed to allow a lift (each floor is open from the 5th floor down.) I didn't design the actual lift, though I am open for suggestions.

The only thing I find a little odd is that the helipad isn't on top of the building, like it is at the hospital down the road... where it is now seems like such a tight spot to land a helicopter.

I agree, the helipad was something I moved around a lot. The design was only going to be 1 32 x 32 base plate with helipad on top but I remember seeing a hospital during my research with the helipad on a separate building. I added the paramedic drive thru and the trauma center was born!

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:oh:

What an amazing creation!

You 've done an incredible work lgorlando! At last, we see a decent hospital for the minifigs!

The details are amazing! What I really love is that the building is not symmetrical. The different wings-sections have their own design and height and that makes your hospital interesting to the max!

I was wishing for a hospital of the size of the latest police HQ and this is almost what I had in mind. Well, yours is better now that I'm thinking it over. :wink:

Thanks for this great creation!

P.S

I hope that TLG's officials will motivate from this for an actual official set.

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This is every bit as impressive as your other wonderful modular designs, lgorlando... Great job mate, to me you've definitely become a great source of inspiration and one of the best modular CC-style builders!

Off to check out all the cool details of your hospital now....

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Well hey, look at this!

This is the most brilliant hospital i've seen so far! There is detail enough,

and the addition of your minifigs stand out excellent.

The building fits exactly the rest of your work, so kudos to that as well.

The helicopter platform part is a great idea, which swings on a hinge

like the old 375 castle!

I do apologise for being a little critic here, but i miss the 'modular' idea

here a little bit. Is there any posible way to part this building in several

layers with interior build in it? That would make this one completely a

winner for me! :)

I really like to see some pics of all your mocs fixed together in your street!!

Cheers,

JJ.

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Awesome work. We don't get too many hospitals in our LEGO world.... Yours is a great piece of work!

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This MOC is brilliant. :oh3:

It really is something special.

Keep up the great work and I cannot wait to see your next MOC.

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I don't even know what to say besides Brilliant.

The architectual design is as good as you'd see in a real building and to replicate that with LEGO is simply amazing. It really looks like a hospital should.

Although the helipad isn't on top, i see your dilemma and you handled it very well. It is afterall a LEGO's. I think it's stunning, I've been looking at the pictures for a few minutes now. :thumbup::thumbup:

Send pics to TLG and let them know your price, they'd be foolish to turn you away.

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I do apologise for being a little critic here, but i miss the 'modular' idea

here a little bit. Is there any posible way to part this building in several

layers with interior build in it? That would make this one completely a

winner for me! :)

JJ.

Good question JJ. The only traditional modular section is the red tower and only the top. There is a slice of tile plate bricks to allow the top floor to be removed as well as the roof but that was only so I could "dig around" on the floor levels. It turns out that if I made copies of the top floor of the tower it would be stackable. The real modular feature are the rooms I built for this. They can be moved to any level due to a "rail" system on each floor made out of flat tile parts allowing the rooms to slide in and out. Glad you mentioned this (I really gotta get that BL order back as soon as possible to finish my rooms!)

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Good question JJ. The only traditional modular section is the red tower and only the top. There is a slice of tile plate bricks to allow the top floor to be removed as well as the roof but that was only so I could "dig around" on the floor levels. It turns out that if I made copies of the top floor of the tower it would be stackable. The real modular feature are the rooms I built for this. They can be moved to any level due to a "rail" system on each floor made out of flat tile parts allowing the rooms to slide in and out. Glad you mentioned this (I really gotta get that BL order back as soon as possible to finish my rooms!)

Looking forward to the next pics then! Haha.

I'm sure you can take this even a step further!

I absolutely dig this moc, and 'die' to take a tour inside

your hospital... I like your thinking about where everything

can be found like the operation rooms, emergency rooms...

Top job! :thumbup:

Cheers,

JJ.

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P.S

I hope that TLG's officials will motivate from this for an actual official set.

Between you and me (And Big Cam) I'd die to have this MOC considered for production! But really I desire any production hospital from TLG but I suppose emergency service doesn't sell well with YFOL's. I was thinking TLG could create medical units for educating the YFOL's like Circulatory prints on torsos or Skeleton's with details that have parts you can add on (like hearts and lungs etc). The idea is to have the Emergency collection to in fact be interesting yet educational! Hey...somebody vote for that!

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This looks amazing, probably the best lego hospital I've ever seen.

And there's not a single boring part due to the excellent variations in texture, height and colours.

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Between you and me (And Big Cam) I'd die to have this MOC considered for production! But really I desire any production hospital from TLG...

I hope TLG's yuppies won't notice that three letter word...Remember the last official hospital set? :wink:

That's why we need hospitals like yours! :sweet:

You remember of course this topic. I do, because this great creation of yours made its debut there.

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Fantastic! Best hospital I have ever seen. You have that classic old hospital look to it but my favorite part of this creation is the various sections of the building. Most of these old hospitals undergo many expansions and remodels over their lifetime which makes them look like strange buildings because you'd never set out to build a building like that from scratch. You captured that effect evolutionary aspect brilliantly. I really love the MOC :thumbup:

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