A Word From The Artist - LEGO Architecture Robie House Building Instructions

A Word from the Artist

As an architectural Artist my desire is to capture the essence of a particular
architectural landmark into its pure sculptural form. I fi rst and foremost do not view
my models as literal replicas, but rather my own artistic interpretations through
the use of LEGO® bricks as a medium. The LEGO brick is not initially thought of
as a material typically used in creating art or used as an artist's medium. I quickly
discovered the LEGO brick was lending itself as naturally to my applications as
paint to a painter or metal to a blacksmith. As I explore how to capture these
buildings with the basic shapes of the bricks and plates, I fi nd the possibilities
and challenges they off er almost magical.
Robie House
™
Our third architecturally signifi cant home, after Fallingwater and Farnsworth, the
Robie House sets itself apart as being the largest, most detailed set in the
™
LEGO Architecture line to date. This model has been nearly 3 years in the making;
starting back in 2008 this structure was originally being considered alongside
Fallingwater and a few other Wright masterpieces. Due to the complex forms,
specifi c architectural proportions and subtle accents it became evident that an
accurate representation would take some time to develop.
The entire model is based on the 33-degree LEGO roof slope element. One
of the most identifi able characteristics of the structure is its shallow roof pitch,
lending to the strong expressive horizontality. This one piece would establish
the scale and thus the level of detail. Some of the details required sideways
construction to achieve upper window placements and the iconic vertical wedge-
shaped points found at each end. Other notable details include the use of 1x2
plates to show the texture of the brick façade and its coursing wrapping the
entire home and the sunken courtyard highlighted by 1x1 tile steps.
Lastly, this model was originally and intentionally left open inside so that a
fl ameless tea light or small battery-powered light bulb could be used to illuminate
the 88 windows from within.
– Adam Reed Tucker
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