MOC: Riad

[snaillad]

Hi all, my latest project is inspired by Moroccan riad courtyards. I've done a variety of tilework both on the ground and on the walls much like you would find in a real riad. It would usually be fully enclosed as a square or rectangle so the curved balcony is just for show! I went through quite a bit of source material, most courtyards have balconies, columns and a water fountain or pool. I have incorporated all of these things here. It was nice to experiment with the nougat colour as I seldom have before. Anyway just a couple of shots shown below;

You can find the same pics also on my flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52656812@N04/

Any questions on construction or comments, I'll do my best to answer!

Cheers

 

[Stuartn]

That looks incredible. The use of the 1x1 plates with the exposed undersides works perfectly. The cheese slopes for the tile pattern work well and the snot pieces add so much detail, The composition is perfect and the subtle amounts of negative space enhance the build.

That wooden door is fabulous, and I like how you've mastered the placement of those (very nice) trees (with genius trunks) and plants so they don't obscure any detail. The top of the building is finished well with those round bricks, tooth pieces and exposed studs, which is always a hard part of a MOC in that style.

I especially appreciate all the subtle details: that no part of the building is an afterthought, like the way you've even used the reverse of the brick pattern bricks on the walls of the top floor for detail and put such effort into the doors, even when they're harder to see.

It feels very authentic with the arches, round pillars and the colour scheme, which works so well. The use of lighter colours at the bottom is a good choice and using those white arches at teh top not only looks great but lightens up the darker area.

[JintaiZ]

Great build like always!

[koalayummies]

You captured the style and feel perfectly Snaillad! The dark orange, brick yellow and blue go together so well here and that floor is amazing. Iconic Moroccan, splendid design and construction!

[Captain Dee]

Now that is beautiful! So many great details to look at. Fantastic design and use of color. I love it.

[Vilhelm22]

Amazing!  It was even better because I misread the title as 'Raid' so expected something completely different...

 

[EVE]

It's beautiful! I love islamic architechture and this captures it so well.

[blackdeathgr]

Wow this is so great! Fascinating techniques and attention to details make this moc unique! Floor is the best part imo!

[snaillad]

On 2/8/2021 at 12:48 AM, Stuartn said:

That looks incredible. The use of the 1x1 plates with the exposed undersides works perfectly. The cheese slopes for the tile pattern work well and the snot pieces add so much detail, The composition is perfect and the subtle amounts of negative space enhance the build.

That wooden door is fabulous, and I like how you've mastered the placement of those (very nice) trees (with genius trunks) and plants so they don't obscure any detail. The top of the building is finished well with those round bricks, tooth pieces and exposed studs, which is always a hard part of a MOC in that style.

I especially appreciate all the subtle details: that no part of the building is an afterthought, like the way you've even used the reverse of the brick pattern bricks on the walls of the top floor for detail and put such effort into the doors, even when they're harder to see.

It feels very authentic with the arches, round pillars and the colour scheme, which works so well. The use of lighter colours at the bottom is a good choice and using those white arches at teh top not only looks great but lightens up the darker area.

Thank you @Stuartn! It pleases me you've spotted many of the details. I experiment a lot with colour and I think this kind of architecture is great for bright colours and geometric patterns. I've learned after so long not to make huge swathes of walls without interesting and varied details to fill in the gaps. I'm quite happy with the way the doors turned out but I agree its hard to see them clearly on the main image. Thanks again!

On 2/8/2021 at 1:41 AM, JintaiZ said:

Great build like always!

Thanks!

On 2/8/2021 at 7:17 AM, koalayummies said:

You captured the style and feel perfectly Snaillad! The dark orange, brick yellow and blue go together so well here and that floor is amazing. Iconic Moroccan, splendid design and construction!

Thank you, it was nice to work with a sand and water colour palette, suppose it'd make sense they'd go together!

On 2/8/2021 at 2:47 PM, Captain Dee said:

Now that is beautiful! So many great details to look at. Fantastic design and use of color. I love it.

Glad you like @Captain Dee!

On 2/8/2021 at 5:06 PM, Vilhelm22 said:

Amazing!  It was even better because I misread the title as 'Raid' so expected something completely different...

 

Thanks!

17 hours ago, EVE said:

It's beautiful! I love islamic architechture and this captures it so well.

Thank you @EVE

14 hours ago, blackdeathgr said:

Wow this is so great! Fascinating techniques and attention to details make this moc unique! Floor is the best part imo!

Thanks @blackdeathgr I started with the floor, I guess you could say everything else was an afterthought!

[Pendra37]

Wow, very nice Arabic scene. If I was in modulars, I would totally build it!

Edited February 10, 2021 by Pendra37

[Merlict]

Nougat is such an under rated Lego color haha

[Itaria No Shintaku]

This is outstanding.

[Sam Sinister]

Like it!

[Zepher]

Love it! The name of the game in this MOC seems to be both texture and pattern, and both are delivered perfectly. Love the floor, love the recessed walls and the alternating dark and light blue! All great stuff!

[Bricked1980]

Looks really lovely. I love the colouring and the tiled patterned floor. Also as other have mentioned, using the backs of of 1x1 tiles for the wall texture gives a very nice effect.

[peedeejay]

Total eye candy as always!

[snaillad]

On 2/10/2021 at 2:41 AM, Pendra37 said:

Wow, very nice Arabic scene. If I was in modulars, I would totally build it!

Maybe thats something TLG should do in the future!

On 2/10/2021 at 3:18 AM, Merlict said:

Nougat is such an under rated Lego color haha

I've found it hard to use, 5 years since I last did, but I really like it.

On 2/10/2021 at 9:24 AM, Itaria No Shintaku said:

This is outstanding.

 

On 2/10/2021 at 6:41 PM, Sam Sinister said:

Like it!

Thanks guys!

On 2/10/2021 at 11:07 PM, Zepher said:

Love it! The name of the game in this MOC seems to be both texture and pattern, and both are delivered perfectly. Love the floor, love the recessed walls and the alternating dark and light blue! All great stuff!

 

On 2/11/2021 at 1:56 PM, Bricked1980 said:

Looks really lovely. I love the colouring and the tiled patterned floor. Also as other have mentioned, using the backs of of 1x1 tiles for the wall texture gives a very nice effect.

Thank you very much, I spend too long blending colours together!

On 2/11/2021 at 8:48 PM, peedeejay said:

Total eye candy as always!

Cheers @peedeejay

[Redhead1982]

This looks very eye-catching. It's hard to distinguish between different patterns, colors and textures, as it's all connected in a way that's very pleasant to the eye, and realistic as well. Not an easy task to do, but you built it very seamlessly. Fantastic scene.