Experimenting with some Modernist architecture

Today I decided to try something a little bit different. Inspired by Farnsworth House (which sits very close to my computer), I thought I would design a house that is a little more contemporary.

Farnsworth House. Key for Scale :P

Front of the House

Side View

Back/Side

Ground Floor

The ground floor features a long entrance corridor, dining space, living space and kitchen.

First Floor

On the first floor are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I am reasonably happy with my first attempt at this style of architecture. This sort of thing might be the next one I purchase... a long time in the future though, because for now I can't afford it! Haha

More Modular Buildings

Yesterday I did up a really quick modular building. It is reasonably simple. It features a shop on the ground level and a studio apartment on the next two, accessed via a set of stairs at the rear. 

The building with Cafe Corner

Rear of the building

Ground Floor

First Floor - Kitchen and Toilet

Second Floor - bedroom and bathroom

California Bungalow

My latest project was a small-scale house; and Australian, California-Style bungalow. I found a picture on the internet and modelled the building from there.

Source: http://www.insideoutcolouranddesign.com.au/tag/architecture/

It is difficult to get the scaling completely right in Lego, because if you work off minifigure scale you end up with slightly more squat buildings than in reality. I find roofs to be particularly challenging, as Lego gives you the choice of 25 degree or 45 degree slopes. What is really necessary in this case is 35/40 degrees. I opted for the 25 degrees. 

Here is the result.

Front

I think I have captured the essence of the bungalow. 

Looking down one side

Back

I had to use some artistic license here - I had no idea what the building did at the back, so I added a little patio.

Inside

I decided on a two bedroom - one bathroom arrangement for the house, with a living area at the front, and a kitchen/diner at the back. 

Now all I have to do is decide on what I am going to build next :)

Finished Library

I finished off the library model that I showed in the previous post.

Front of the library

The library is designed, as I mentioned in the previous post, to fit as a modular set with Cafe' Corner. There is a missing piece from the front: An open book which goes in the space above the door. I can't put that in the digital version because LDD doesn't allow you to place any brick anywhere you want. You'll see it floating behind the building in the next images.

Ground Floor

On the ground floor are some suspiciously empty looking bookcases, some study areas and a desk. The bookcases are high enough to accommodate the standard Lego books when they are closed. They would slot in each of the spaces. The ladder slides along so that a minifigure could retrieve the books from the highest shelves, all the way along.

First Floor

The first floor has some additional bookshelves and some places to sit and read in front of the windows. 

Second Floor

The top floor features research areas for individual study and reading. 

The library with Cafe Corner.

I wanted the library to look grand and old, a symbol of learning but also stature in the community. Libraries are, after all, a place where learning and inspiration can begin.

Clearly I am Lazy

It has now been about 6 months since I posted last - and mostly this is due to the fact that I was just finishing off my final semester of uni (and I'm done!!!!) So now I have a qualification in Design, not that it has got me anywhere. Basically I have had a bit more time on my hands, but I haven't really put it to great use.

I decided that as a graduation present to myself, I would again take advantage of the pick a brick service, and by another set that I designed myself.

Front

Side/Front

Ground Floor

First Floor

Second Floor

It is a modular terrace designed to fit with Cafe' Corner. Although I own Cafe' Corner, I just sort of guestimated how tall each level was, and the result is that it doesn't actually fit precisely with the Cafe' Corner, but it doesn't look too shabby either.

Proof that I own Cafe' Corner

The actual thing

In situ

In my infinite wisdom, I made some mistakes in the ordering, so the actual thing uses some clever fudging to make it actually stand and work.

I decided that for future terrace designs both virtually and to perhaps purchase, I would make Cafe' Corner in LDD.

While I was building it, I noticed this little sneaky move from the designer....

The tiling underneath the seating area says 'CAFE'. I'd never noticed that before because I hadn't really been viewing the real thing in the same sort of light. I wondered why the design of the tiling was so overly complicated. Well played designer, well played. I like it. 

I then decided to add some of my old models to this new template to see how they worked. 

DAMN I messed up some calculations in this one.

This is a pretty old one, back from the days when LEGO Factory was still running and there was nowhere near the range of pieces to choose from.

Seen this somewhere before

So this is just like the above, but a digital version of it.

It's like steps!

Added to another terrace.

Another old design

This is one of the terraces from my streetscape. This one probably works the best in terms of scale.

The next modular building I am tackling is a library. So far, LEGO have not released a modular library (to my knowledge). So far I have only completed the ground floor, but it is certainly benefiting from having a template to work to for scale. 

You may see a book floating in the abyss. This is because I can't actually place it in the LDD model, as the program will not place objects where they cannot be secured. The book would slot in above the door. I am happy with it so far, and will hopefully complete it in the coming days.

The other thing I worked on in my absence was a birthday present design for my best friend for her 21st birthday. Her nickname is 'Princess' so I decided to design her a 'Princess Palace'. Given budget and time constraints (completing this right at the end of semester 8 of university! HAHA), it is not a particularly detailed model, but I also put time and effort into making it a professional looking set. 

I actually put together a box and instructions that made sense (LDD's are notoriously difficult to follow). I also personalised the box: the set number is her birthdate, the age range is 21+ in honour of her birthday. You can just see the instructions below. I used Adobe Indesign to put together the instructions, and Illustrator to design the box pieces. 

I think that's all for now :)