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As I didn't have much time to concern myself with this year's Summer Joust, I decided to just build a few Architecture models, mostly inspired by the African Setting category. They're all UNESCO World Heritage sites, as this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and coincidentally they're all (more or less) from the 13th century. Okay, the first one is technically from the the 20th century, specifically 1906/7, as it is the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali. However, it is supposedly recreating the original mosque that was built in the 13th century but left to fall into disrepair in the 19th century. And while it is debated how much influence the French administration had on the building, it has been built by the local masons' guild using traditional techniques and is a prime example of traditional Sahelian clay architecture. I captured it on the small scale of 1:400 with the primary driver for the design being the 1x2 tooth plate for the characteristic clay design and studs for emphasizing the rodier palm sticks. Then I built a model of one of the rock-hewn churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia, which were actually among the very first sites to be declared UNESCO World Heritage in 1978. These churches were cast right out of the volcanic ground in their entirety in an effort by King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela to recreate Jerusalem in the Ethipian Highlands in the 12th and 13th century. I built one of the most prominent ones, the cross-shaped Bete Giyorgis (House of St. George), which fits quite well into the LEGO grid on a rather large scale of 1:100. It's not a particularly complicated building with a lot of facade detail to begin with, but it is a rather interesting building nevertheless and a neat addition to my repertoire of mostly European churches. Finally and more or less spontaneously, I also built a rather small model for the 12x12 Vignette category. I recently rediscovered my 6-wide octagon technique and it fits just perfectly for a model of Castel del Monte at a very small scale of 1:900. This building, built under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in Apulia, Italy is mostly known for its characteristic octagonal design, so gettting that right was the most important thing for capturing it. The towers (although originally also octagonal) then fit quite naturally around it in the correct spots. A little entrance and the whole thing is done. Building instructions for all three models can be found on my Rebrickable profile. I also want to thank the Zamani Project, a research project for documenting mostly African heritage, which among other resources also provides freely browsable 3D models of the two African sites above, which were very helpful in designing the corresponding LEGO recreations.
