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It's been a while since I posted a MOC, but I've been working behind the scenes to bring new projects. I'd been wanting to do a model of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao for quite a long time, but had never got around to doing it. A recent trip to the city of Bilbao reignited that idea, but also made me realise the diversity of Bilbao and how well-suited it would be for an Architecture Skyline set. I therefore set off, trying to make the best buildings possible in the finest layout, but making them within a piece margin (none less than 300 pieces and none more than 600), as if I were to be a real designer. The final model has 415 pieces right in between Sydney and Chicago at an estimate price of ~ $40. I've tried to make the buildings like real designers would, but I also added some smaller low-height structures like a metro entrance (a "fosterito"), and two sculptures "Maman", by Louise Bourgeois and "Tall Tree and the Eye" by Anish Kapoor. Here are all the buildings and structures included: By clicking the image, you can find an interactive image in Flickr with links to images of the real buildings. Some information of the structures chosen Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa: A must-have. Gehry is the closest we have today to an artist-architect, so his work in general is something I adore. The Guggenheim is, without a doubt, his finest work. Building this small model was rather tough, because I couldn't pull off all the angles in Gehry's building and opted for a more simplified and less realistic version. I'm particularly proud of the tallest point in the build, the one that, in the real building, gives to the atrium a flower-shaped ceiling, as I've been able to tilt it using a sausage element! This was rendered in Blender using the magnificent Mecabricks material palette. I chose the "Silver Ink" colour, which is one that is applied on other pieces that has sort of a grainy surface. I changed slightly the material of the template to give it a warmer, yellower tone. "Maman" and "Tall Tree and the Eye" are the sculptures located on the side of the Guggenheim that faces "la ría". Both Bourgeois and Kapoor's sculptures have single pieces in Lego that represent them well, one a spider, the other the ice cream cone piece. I wanted to add "Puppy" by Jeff Koons, but I had no space for it as, in real life, it sits on the opposite side of the museum, and I found no good way of representing its flowery surface. Iberdrola Dorrea: This tower is the tallest on the whole Basque Country and is quite imposing. I must admit that I think it's too close together to the Guggenheim, but the tower itself is very pretty and contrasts it nicely. Unlike in official skylines, these two buildings and Isozaki Atea are positioned exactly like in real life. The real tower has the shape of an isosceles tringle with rounded sides, which I translated with the piece 6575 (https://brickset.com/parts/design-6575). Isozaki Atea: These towers are a product of what is called the "Guggenheim effect", architects of worldwide importance building projects around the Guggenheim. I chose these two towers as they have quite an impact on Bilbao's skyline and because the unaligned buildings on the bottom part as just very interesting. Isozaki Atea is comprised of several other buildings of less interest. Carola Garabia: After so many modern buildings, I had to somehow represent Bilbao's industrial past. Bilbao was famous for the iron manufacturing that took place, especially the boatmaking industry. This red crane is located on an old shipyard (in real Bilbao, it would be right of Iberdrola Tower). The crane adds a splash of colour to an otherwise rather dull-coloured skyline. The crane gets its name from a woman named "Carola", who always walked across the bridge in front of the shipyard. She was apparently so beautiful that the workers stopped working just to admire her. "Fosterito" (Bilbao metro entrance): Sir Norman Foster, the architect and engineer is responsible for the design of the Bilbao metro. One of the most recognisable features of his design are the glass curved metro entrances that locals have nicknamed "fosteritos", honouring him. Note: The names are in Basque, the original language of the Basque Country before Spanish became official. Note 2: I promise I’m working on a new modular, it’s been a while since I posted Disco 2000. Note 3: This was built in LDD and Mecabricks and rendered in Blender. A 3D model can be found here: https://www.mecabricks.com/en/models/KZvm9MeQvG6 Hope you like this model, but please, if you don't like something, just say it and be honest; it's the only way for me to become a better builder. Have a nice day!
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This is probably the most complex model I've designed (and built) up to now. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is one of the most spectacular buildings of the recent decades. Its style of deconstructivism and seemingly random but also very organic curves make for a magnificent view. It was a real challenge to build this in LEGO. I decided to use white bricks for the titanium surface - metallic parts are too rare in LEGO and grey seems too dull for the highly reflective surfaces. The building is surrounded by water and some large works of art, most noticeable the tulips (represented by violet cherries in the model) and the puppy by Jeff Koons. More pictures can be found here if you are interested: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=571042
