MOC: Modular Double Storey Bank Shophouse

[paanjang16]

The place where I work which is the Masjid Jamek area in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia have alot of shophouses. Most are 2 storey and not that wide. Add in the fact that my father and grandfather used to live in a shophouse, I decided to go ahead and try to build a MOC based on a shophouse. For those who are wondering what a shophouse is, you can have a look at this wikipedia entry

It all started with a simple design in LDD (Lego Digital Designer) where I choose a 16x32 baseplate and add white walls all around. I then added in windows, slopes, plates and tiles to finish off the design. Using a 3rd party software, I was able to get the required amount of bricks used and order the bricks.

Thanks to Yakimurai, a forummer in our local forum who bulk ordered alot of bricks from Bricklink, I was able to build it for real!! ;) Of course not all the pieces were ordered from Bricklink as I have a large stash of plates and windows. What I did order was a huge amount of 1x6 white bricks and 2x2 grey tiles. :o

The base building is simple enough, but I wanted to fit it out so that it will go along with my Green Grocer and Grand Emporium. Since we are long overdue for a bank, I decided to take parts from my Classic Town bank set and incorporate it into my modular shop house. As you can see on the ground floor there are glass doors and large glass windows at the entrance. A large bank sign is placed at the front of the shop. The original windows I choose in LDD was replaced with the large windows from the bank set. Above the front door is a huge alarm horn.

I did not change the side and back that much since it will require more modifications to the original design.

The other side meanwhile is a full wall. This is assuming of course that the bank is attached to another shophouse.

At the rear I have 4 narrow windows in a rising up arrangement. This is because there is a staircase behind the windows. A small door is provided for access to the back lane.

Like any modular building, all the floors and roofs can be taken apart with ease.

On the ground floor is where the normal banking activities take place. There are 2 counters to deal with the bank customers. Each counter has a seat and a terminal. There is also an atm in 1 corner and a notice board in another corner. A small gate is provided next to the counters to access the area behind the counter. Noticed the rear windows follow the steps of the staircase. Also, the ENTIRE grd floor is tiled! That is why I had a huge order of 2x2 dark grey tiles.

Upstairs is a large safe and a security checkpoint. I have not tiled the upper floor yet as I have ran out of 1x2 tiles. :-[

The safe can be opened as shown below. Now our dear man have a safe to store is money after waiting almost 20 years! The previous classic town bank came out in 1990!!

Now how does it looks like together with the Green Grocer and Grand Emporium? Quite well I would say!!

A view from above

Some close up shots.

Comments and criticism appreciated :D ;D

And yes, some of my bricks are yellow and really stick out like a sore thumb compared to the 'whiter' bricks. I also forgot to order more 1x2 bricks and some inverted slopes for the front. Also for the roof I could not order any 1x3x1 white slops hence some of the parts are using black 1x3x1 slopes. Then I did not order the trans clear pieces for the windows as I have already reached my budget to order the bricks. Other problems encountered was the height of the door; the door chosen in LDD (rear door and the door on the 1st floor) was 6 bricks high while the one I have is only 5 bricks high. The cost per brick/tile was on the high side, but it was worth it!!

[Fuzzylegobricks]

Great Job!!!!

[The Yellow Brick]

Nice little bank you've made. I must admit it is a bit small to be sandwiched between the GE and the GG but it doesn't look that bad .

Those old white bricks are abit out of place and I think they could be replaced with some better ones

Keep up the good work Pannjang16.

[buddy]

Great MOC! It is realistic and goes quite well with the Green Grocer and the Grand Emporium.

Very well done.

~buddy~

[XimenaPaulina]

Very nice work on this modular building paanjang16! I understand the lack of the usual Lego-modular-building details in the front as it is accurate to the real shophouses in the reference that you gave. I like the fact that this was well-planned, designed in LDD first then realized in brickbuild. The interiors are quite nice too, though I'm not sure it looks good beside the official modular buildings. Still, good job on this one!