View allAll Photos Tagged GoBricks
The raffle for the high school graduation ball will be very rich - Webrick has also contributed to it.
Many thanks for your support :)
Here's our Christmas page: www.webrick.com/christmas.
And a special 12% discount code: František Hajdekr.
• Parts: 36,800+ (~1,130 unique)
• 📐 Scale: 1:650
• 📏 Dimensions: 32in x 51in (80cm x 130cm)
• 📚 Research, Design + Build Time: 4 months
• Photography: James Vitullo 📷
• ©️ MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
___________________________________
During a brief stint in Washington D.C. in 2023, I spent the better part of a summer evening exploring the grounds of Capitol Hill. Few landscapes invite as much inquiry along winding paths paired with plenty of moments for quiet introspection on marble benches; all in picturesque view of the Capitol dome. These on-site experiences are exactly the form of anecdotal justification I seek when considering whether to recreate such monumental places in the first place.
In tackling any work of such storied precedence as the US Capitol, I always seek to expand the conversation beyond existing works in the medium of plastic bricks. While the consistent 1:650 scale among my works has always ensured some level of originality, it is no guarantee of further insight that cannot already be gleaned from existing works by other artists. With this in mind, I set out to capture the full 100-acre site currently maintained by The Architect of the Capitol. What's more, the diorama depicts a particular time of year - specifically late March to early April - as illustrated by the iconic presence of hundreds of cherry blossoms rendered in two shades of light pink.
The diorama starts downhill at the trapezoidal Capitol Reflecting Pool, with the Grant Memorial taking pride of place along its eastern edge and the US Botanic Garden across the street to the south. The diorama expands from there, capturing the radiating pathways meandering uphill, as designed by Frederick Law Olmsted within the parcels laid out in the city plan by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The piece culminates with the widely imitated US Capitol Building, perched atop a plinth projecting from the Capitol Visitor Center on the opposite side.
Topping everything off is a custom-made representation of the Statue of Freedom (as designed by Thomas Crawford), steadfastly overlooking the National Mall from atop the dome. The statue was designed in collaboration with BigKidBrix and was sized comparably to the minifigure statuette / trophy element.
The piece was designed over the course of about two months: first in December 2023 through January 2024, paused during the build-out of SPQR - Phase II, then resumed between March and April. The build-out lasted from July through August and was completed by September. The piece will soon be added to my personal gallery of works, now available for touring exhibitions.
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ChicagoArtist #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #LEGOArtist #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #USCapitol #USCapitolBuilding #CapitolHill #WashingtonDC #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #America #USA #Diorama #AmericanHistory
Design Insights XLVIII
Telltale signs of a bygone era are positively replete across the city of Rome; that is, if you know where to look! For many visitors, Piazza Navona is among the first stops of any respectable itinerary. It was there, at Bernini Ristorante, where I had the first meal of my inaugural trip to the Eternal City in 2019. Admittedly, it's a bit of a tourist trap, but one that felt right given its namesake's (Gian Lorenzo Bernini's) influence over the urban design of the modern city.
More than anyone else since the emperors of antiquity, Bernini left his mark on the city with an unassailable volume of architectural, sculptural and urban development projects, including the design of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi at the center of Piazza Navona. Much of the canvas on which Bernini and his contemporaries built, however, was put down by the emperors of Rome. One such emperor, Domitian, was himself responsible for the shape of Piazza Navona. Domitian built a Stadium on the site in the late first century CE, alongside countless other projects to restore the grandeur of the Campus Martius in the aftermath of the fire of 80 CE.
To this day, the cobblestone pavement of Piazza Navona echoes the gravel terrain on which athletes competed in quadrennial games, in the Greek tradition. The buildings which encircle the piazza were built atop the cavea of this ancient stadium. These partially excavated foundations are accessible today, and are included in these insights. Let's now explore this ancient landmark hidden - if just below the surface - in plain sight.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity #Domitian #Stadium
Design Insights XL
📜 The year was 13 BCE. Lucius Cornelius Balbus, proconsul in Roman Africa, was arriving in quite peculiar fashion to the dedication ceremony for his newly completed theatre in Rome's Campus Martius area. The means of arrival happened to be by boat. Normally, disembarking would occur roughly three-quarters of a kilometer south of the Theatre of Balbus. On that day, however, the Tiber had flooded quite significantly, sending its overflow deep into the former and occasionally recurring floodplain of the Fields of Mars.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity
Design Insights XLIV
The Sæpta Julia (pronunced: Sipe-ta You-lia) covered a vast expanse of the Campus Martius. The open-air space was completely paved in travertine and enclosed within a quadriporticus which once housed exquisite works of Classical art. The Sæpta was originally conceived of as a place for the gathering of eligible voters in the election of magistrates, but was gradually repurposed for the staging of public spectacles as the importance of voting waned during the imperial era.
It is often the case when discussing grand projects of Roman antiquity that the true scale of these undertakings is not readily apparent. Among a body of work such as mine, it has always been necessary to exhibit the SPQR diorama alongside other, more well-known and consistently 1:650-scaled works. Without the visual aid of other brick-built monuments on nearby tables for the timebeing, I'll instead compare the size of this week's DESIGN Insights subject, the Sæpta Julia, to something the brick-building community know well; convention halls.
The Sæpta Julia covered an area of more than 350,000 sq ft. To put that into perspective, the much-loved Brickworld Chicago convention typically boasts a 100,000 sq ft exhibition hall. The Sæpta could have easily accommodated more than three-and-a-half times that! The best spatial comparison I can conceive of would be to stand at the middle of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool looking toward that same monument. Then, imagine gleaming travertine pavement over the surface of the water, from the midpoint of the pool all the way to the steps of the monument. You'd be hard-pressed to find any convention centers with that kind of uninterrupted square footage, let alone any which might rival such a richly decorated and neatly paved outdoor venue.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity
For the entirety of my formative architectural years, Taipei 101 had hovered within the list of top-ten tallest buildings in the world. I fondly recall designing an assortment of digital skyscrapers in the OG Lego design software, LEGO Digital Designer, some time in 2008 before I had settled on a scale of 1:650. My budding interest in architecture manifested in a fascination with tall buildings from around the world, and I distinctly remember iterating a small Taipei 101 alongside Willis Tower and others in a now-long-lost file. Lost, but not forgotten.
This hypothetical project always represented what I knew would be a formidable challenge. Since settling on a scale of 1:650 in 2009, the primary limiting factors in recreating this skyscraper were the inward and outward tapers of the tower façade as well as the unique blue-green color of its curtain wall; both of which could not quite translate well enough to existing elements. As it turns out, these limiting factors may have largely been self-imposed, as I resorted to creating my own unique elements shortly after beginning design efforts in earnest last year.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting the digital design of my latest piece depicting Taipei 101.
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this work on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #FineArt #ChicagoArtist #sᴍᴀʟʟʙᴜsɪɴᴇssᴏᴡɴᴇʀ #GoBricks #LEGO #Architecture #Engineering #Creativity #Taipei101 #Taipei #Taiwan
Brick-built scale model of the Bergün railway station building.
This station is located in the beautiful Albula Valley (Graubünden/Switzerland), on the famous railway line from Chur to St. Moritz.
We regularly spend our winter holidays there, so it was an obvious choice to recreate this station in 1:42 scale for my other RhB models.
Phase 2 is now complete, with the entire station building.
100% self-designed (MOC), with the exception of the ticket machine and the snack machine (designed by Dennis Tomsen).
First floor with interior fittings
Scale: 1:42
Parts: approx. 6500 building blocks (LEGO, GoBricks)
Lighting: Light-my-Bricks
Design Insights XLII
📜 "... everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses."
This particularly insightful excerpt of Juvenal's first-century work, Satire X, speaks as much to the modern era as it did to those living in the Roman empire. The concluding phrase "panem et circenses" refers to the artificial appeasement by which the ruling elite ensured the masses would remain pacified. To this point, we've explored many of the "circuses" referred to by this saying in their various forms. Today, for the first time in my ongoing SPQR project, we'll be taking a look at a space dedicated to "panem," specifically the 'grain dole' known as 'cura annonæ'.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
PORTICVS OCTAVIÆ ️
Design Insights XXXIX
📜 Welcome to the Portico of Octavia! This next slice of Ancient Rome comes in the form of a literal wedge-shaped subsection. Like the Augustan namesake of this monument, these works were overlaid onto the urban fabric of the Eternal City, just as their patrons' versions of history were grafted onto the founding myths of the Roman culture.
No sooner had we discussed an ephemeral form of Augustan propaganda in last week's Design Insights covering the Circus Flaminius, do we now find ourselves confronted with physical architecture attesting to this broader movement toward imperium. It bears repeating just how emblematic the Campus Martius is of this period in Roman history. This legacy is part of what informed my decisions on where to draw suitable boundaries for Phase III.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/posts/porticvs-design-116461195
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity
Brick-built scale model of the Bergün railway station building.
This station is located in the beautiful Albula Valley (Graubünden/Switzerland), on the famous railway line from Chur to St. Moritz.
We regularly spend our winter holidays there, so it was an obvious choice to recreate this station in 1:42 scale for my other RhB models.
Phase 2 is now complete, with the entire station building.
100% self-designed (MOC), with the exception of the ticket machine and the snack machine (designed by Dennis Tomsen).
First floor with interior fittings
Scale: 1:42
Parts: approx. 6500 building blocks (LEGO, GoBricks)
Lighting: Light-my-Bricks
️ SPQR - Phase II
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
Brick-built scale model of the Bergün railway station building.
This station is located in the beautiful Albula Valley (Graubünden/Switzerland), on the famous railway line from Chur to St. Moritz.
We regularly spend our winter holidays there, so it was an obvious choice to recreate this station in 1:42 scale for my other RhB models.
Phase 2 is now complete, with the entire station building.
100% self-designed (MOC), with the exception of the ticket machine and the snack machine (designed by Dennis Tomsen).
First floor with interior fittings
Scale: 1:42
Parts: approx. 6500 building blocks (LEGO, GoBricks)
Lighting: Light-my-Bricks
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
• Parts: 36,800+ (~1,130 unique)
• 📐 Scale: 1:650
• 📏 Dimensions: 32in x 51in (80cm x 130cm)
• 📚 Research, Design + Build Time: 4 months
• Photography: James Vitullo 📷
• ©️ MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
___________________________________
During a brief stint in Washington D.C. in 2023, I spent the better part of a summer evening exploring the grounds of Capitol Hill. Few landscapes invite as much inquiry along winding paths paired with plenty of moments for quiet introspection on marble benches; all in picturesque view of the Capitol dome. These on-site experiences are exactly the form of anecdotal justification I seek when considering whether to recreate such monumental places in the first place.
In tackling any work of such storied precedence as the US Capitol, I always seek to expand the conversation beyond existing works in the medium of plastic bricks. While the consistent 1:650 scale among my works has always ensured some level of originality, it is no guarantee of further insight that cannot already be gleaned from existing works by other artists. With this in mind, I set out to capture the full 100-acre site currently maintained by The Architect of the Capitol. What's more, the diorama depicts a particular time of year - specifically late March to early April - as illustrated by the iconic presence of hundreds of cherry blossoms rendered in two shades of light pink.
The diorama starts downhill at the trapezoidal Capitol Reflecting Pool, with the Grant Memorial taking pride of place along its eastern edge and the US Botanic Garden across the street to the south. The diorama expands from there, capturing the radiating pathways meandering uphill, as designed by Frederick Law Olmsted within the parcels laid out in the city plan by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The piece culminates with the widely imitated US Capitol Building, perched atop a plinth projecting from the Capitol Visitor Center on the opposite side.
Topping everything off is a custom-made representation of the Statue of Freedom (as designed by Thomas Crawford), steadfastly overlooking the National Mall from atop the dome. The statue was designed in collaboration with BigKidBrix and was sized comparably to the minifigure statuette / trophy element.
The piece was designed over the course of about two months: first in December 2023 through January 2024, paused during the build-out of SPQR - Phase II, then resumed between March and April. The build-out lasted from July through August and was completed by September. The piece will soon be added to my personal gallery of works, now available for touring exhibitions.
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ChicagoArtist #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #LEGOArtist #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #USCapitol #USCapitolBuilding #CapitolHill #WashingtonDC #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #America #USA #Diorama #AmericanHistory
[This set consists of 5 photos] This is a creative commons image, which you may freely use by linking to this page. Please respect the photographer and his work.
The William Diuguid House in Lynchburg, Virginia dates from 1906, designed locally by the firm of Frye and Chesteman. This brick structure has a front pedimented gable roof. Edged by dentil moldings, the gable contains a fanlight. On the second story, fenestration is the dominant aspect of the front facade--above the door is a two-sectioned window (possibly a door) with at least 10 small vertical panes; a narrow transom of 5 rectangular panes is above this. A three-part window is just above the tripartite window on the porch, both consisting of a large 2/2 central pane with narrow 2/2 panes to each side. Windows on both levels have jack arches (straight arches or flat arches) with wedge-shaped elements. The porch is relatively small with Doric columns supporting a flat roof; dentil molding reappears in the porch roof cornice. The balustrade consists of turned balusters. Wide wooden stairs lead from the walk to the porch entrance, a single-leaf door with a centered window with various recessed panels both above and below the center pane. The transom displays the street address of 616 (Court Street). Lattice work encloses the space beneath the porch. Framing the front facade are brick corner quoins. A view of the side facade (image 2) facing the street shows a three-story structure and some sort of extension at the rear. This home is a part of the Court House Hill-Downtown Historic District in Lynchburg, Virginia, added to the National Register of Historic Places August 16, 2001 with identifying number #01000853.
A good information source for brick masonry arches is a 21-page pdf document from January 1995 by The Brick Industry of America-- www.gobrick.com/docs/default-source/read-research-documen...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
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This is my review of the Transformer Autobot Highway Patroler MOC by Alex Jones, build with Webrick parts.
Total points = [90/100] 👌
Like my latest review of the Generation 1 ("G1") Transformer Inferno (“Firechief”), you will probably recognize Prowl instantly 😊.
Again, I thought this could never work; a small car build, only 302 pieces, but you can count on Alex’s skills!
A very stable model that looks great as car and robot. The ball joint connections are very strong, allowing you lots of options to position it.
The only point of critique I would have is the fact, the mid section looks a bit “skinny” compared to the upper torso and legs 🤔.
Alex mentioned to me: the limited space, and the fact he wanted working wheels, made him choose for these 1-stud wide plates and joints👍.
Still, if you compare his Transformers to what else is available, they are among - if not - the best out there in Lego!
Review:
Build [19/20]
Detail [20/20]
Display [18/20]
Instructions [17/20]
Parts [16/20]
Details:
Parts: 302
Difficulty: light-medium
Building time: 1.5-2.0 hours
Price webrick: USD 11.00 (92%)
Price pp webrick: USD 0.04
Instructions: EUR 7.99 / USD 8.20
About Webrick:
Webrick is offering a bricks service for MOC builders. You upload the part list via their website, and you instantly get the % of available bricks and their cost.
In the case of the Highway Patroler, 92% of parts were available. The wheel arches are from Lego as well as the rubber pieces on the head.
They mainly use GoBricks parts. The pieces are really good, but for this build the black pieces had micro scratches and the metal-colored pieces are very inconsistent.
What could be a more monumental way of commemorating the 2,777th anniversary of the Founding of Rome than by debuting Phase II of my SPQR diorama?
With Phase II now successfully added, the diorama grows to roughly 211,000 individual plastic bricks and represents several thousand hours of research, design and build time executed over two-and-a-half years!
A smile would belie the resolute burden of committing to recreating the entire Eternal City over many years, but I'm grateful to be tempered by a constant knowing that so many are paying close attention to this impossible overview; which 1 million fourth century inhabitants never knew themselves, and one which I can only hope to faithfully represent at this scale and in these media for millions to learn from today.
That which is done well enough, is done quickly enough. Festina lente.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Photography: @eclarkephoto
Debut: @brickuniverseofficial
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #Exhibition #SmallBusinessOwner #WorldHistory #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #GoBricks #WeBrick #WorldHeritage #Antiquity #ForumRomanum #RomanForum #GrecoRoman #CapitolineHill #PalatineHill #QuirinalHill #EsquilineHill
• Parts: 36,800+ (~1,130 unique)
• 📐 Scale: 1:650
• 📏 Dimensions: 32in x 51in (80cm x 130cm)
• 📚 Research, Design + Build Time: 4 months
• Photography: James Vitullo 📷
• ©️ MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
___________________________________
During a brief stint in Washington D.C. in 2023, I spent the better part of a summer evening exploring the grounds of Capitol Hill. Few landscapes invite as much inquiry along winding paths paired with plenty of moments for quiet introspection on marble benches; all in picturesque view of the Capitol dome. These on-site experiences are exactly the form of anecdotal justification I seek when considering whether to recreate such monumental places in the first place.
In tackling any work of such storied precedence as the US Capitol, I always seek to expand the conversation beyond existing works in the medium of plastic bricks. While the consistent 1:650 scale among my works has always ensured some level of originality, it is no guarantee of further insight that cannot already be gleaned from existing works by other artists. With this in mind, I set out to capture the full 100-acre site currently maintained by The Architect of the Capitol. What's more, the diorama depicts a particular time of year - specifically late March to early April - as illustrated by the iconic presence of hundreds of cherry blossoms rendered in two shades of light pink.
The diorama starts downhill at the trapezoidal Capitol Reflecting Pool, with the Grant Memorial taking pride of place along its eastern edge and the US Botanic Garden across the street to the south. The diorama expands from there, capturing the radiating pathways meandering uphill, as designed by Frederick Law Olmsted within the parcels laid out in the city plan by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The piece culminates with the widely imitated US Capitol Building, perched atop a plinth projecting from the Capitol Visitor Center on the opposite side.
Topping everything off is a custom-made representation of the Statue of Freedom (as designed by Thomas Crawford), steadfastly overlooking the National Mall from atop the dome. The statue was designed in collaboration with BigKidBrix and was sized comparably to the minifigure statuette / trophy element.
The piece was designed over the course of about two months: first in December 2023 through January 2024, paused during the build-out of SPQR - Phase II, then resumed between March and April. The build-out lasted from July through August and was completed by September. The piece will soon be added to my personal gallery of works, now available for touring exhibitions.
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ChicagoArtist #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #LEGOArtist #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #USCapitol #USCapitolBuilding #CapitolHill #WashingtonDC #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #America #USA #Diorama #AmericanHistory
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
• Parts: 36,800+ (~1,130 unique)
• 📐 Scale: 1:650
• 📏 Dimensions: 32in x 51in (80cm x 130cm)
• 📚 Research, Design + Build Time: 4 months
• Photography: James Vitullo 📷
• ©️ MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
___________________________________
During a brief stint in Washington D.C. in 2023, I spent the better part of a summer evening exploring the grounds of Capitol Hill. Few landscapes invite as much inquiry along winding paths paired with plenty of moments for quiet introspection on marble benches; all in picturesque view of the Capitol dome. These on-site experiences are exactly the form of anecdotal justification I seek when considering whether to recreate such monumental places in the first place.
In tackling any work of such storied precedence as the US Capitol, I always seek to expand the conversation beyond existing works in the medium of plastic bricks. While the consistent 1:650 scale among my works has always ensured some level of originality, it is no guarantee of further insight that cannot already be gleaned from existing works by other artists. With this in mind, I set out to capture the full 100-acre site currently maintained by The Architect of the Capitol. What's more, the diorama depicts a particular time of year - specifically late March to early April - as illustrated by the iconic presence of hundreds of cherry blossoms rendered in two shades of light pink.
The diorama starts downhill at the trapezoidal Capitol Reflecting Pool, with the Grant Memorial taking pride of place along its eastern edge and the US Botanic Garden across the street to the south. The diorama expands from there, capturing the radiating pathways meandering uphill, as designed by Frederick Law Olmsted within the parcels laid out in the city plan by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The piece culminates with the widely imitated US Capitol Building, perched atop a plinth projecting from the Capitol Visitor Center on the opposite side.
Topping everything off is a custom-made representation of the Statue of Freedom (as designed by Thomas Crawford), steadfastly overlooking the National Mall from atop the dome. The statue was designed in collaboration with BigKidBrix and was sized comparably to the minifigure statuette / trophy element.
The piece was designed over the course of about two months: first in December 2023 through January 2024, paused during the build-out of SPQR - Phase II, then resumed between March and April. The build-out lasted from July through August and was completed by September. The piece will soon be added to my personal gallery of works, now available for touring exhibitions.
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The raffle for the high school graduation ball will be very rich - Webrick has also contributed to it.
Many thanks for your support :)
Here's our Christmas page: www.webrick.com/christmas.
And a special 12% discount code: František Hajdekr.
This post marks the 50th entry into the Design Insights series on my Patreon! Available to all top-tier, Corinthian patrons, these entries have extensively documented nearly every project I have digitally designed - and later, built - since 2021. I like to think of each post as a chapter in a never-ending story and a glimpse at the nearest I've come to summarizing the thoughts racing through my head as I work through any given project.
The subject of this post, therefore, is reflective of my case-by-case approach to each and every project. Represented here (from right to left) are the plaza of the Pantheon, the Templum Matidiæ and the Templum divi Hadriani. An assortment of rectangular precincts is nothing new here in the Campus Martius region. Rather, it is the order in which each was designed and the meticulous care in material / color curation which define this next and penultimate chapter of Phase III design insights posts.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity #Hadrian
Design Insights XLIX
Roman architectural history has always been a two-way street. In one lane, there are the tangible pieces of evidence attesting to provenance, like stamped bricks which firmly date a structure to a specific time period and probable patron. In the opposite lane, the breakneck speed of imperial propaganda might well be the only story that survives to this day, just as, I suspect, the patron(s) of any project would have intended.
I specifically chose the example of opposing lanes of traffic for the Thermæ Alexandrinæ as it perfectly describes the friction of evidence versus narrative therein. On the one hand, the vanishingly few excavations carried out on the site have revealed remnants of an elaborate baths complex with building material firmly dating its construction to the third century reign of Alexander Severus. On the other hand, the complex is still interchangeably referred to as the Baths of Alexander [Severus] and as the Baths of Nero. But Nero's claim to the baths on this site are far less certain and much more circumstantial.
The Baths of Nero were built on or near this site, according to multiple sources. Nero's proclivities toward excess, however, resulted in backlash which saw many of his architectural projects either torn down or used as foundations for later overbuilding. Were the Baths of Alexander built on top of Nero's baths? Were Alexander's baths arranged according to the imperial thermæ standard, or did Nero's baths set that standard 150 years earlier? These are just some of the many questions we shall ask - but inevitably fall short of answering - as we explore the Thermæ Alexandrinæ.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity #Nero #AlexanderSeverus
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
Design Insights XLV
What do you see when you close your eyes and imagine the ancient past? Visions of golden ornamentation and impossibly captured poses rendered in crisp statuary are likely to abound in your mind's eye. But what can you glean of the background; the setting in which all the trappings and fine objects are placed? You might not have a specific landmark in mind, but it's likelier than not that the surrounding architecture assumes a platonic likeness, which can be distilled to those two most primal elements, the circle and the square.
The Pantheon in Rome is one of the most enduringly iconic landmarks of antiquity and is certainly the most well-preserved large building of its time. It has succeeded on several fronts: most obviously in its remarkable durability, but also in its unrivaled structural innovations, and most importantly, I would argue, its transcendent harmonizing of the circle and the square. We find these ideal forms at the very foundation of every found object, every work of art and every architectural plan across every culture in recorded history.
It should come as no surprise then, that the Pantheon is at the very top of my own list of all-time favorite structures ever built! My relatively reticent approach toward superlatives never stood a chance when I walked through the ancient doors of the portico for the first time in 2019. It's the quintessential interlocking of the two most basic elements of design, echoing across time and a lofty interior vault, that does it for me. I can think of no better way to introduce my interpretation of the Pantheon in the latest Design Insights post, available now to all my patrons (not just the usual Corinthians).
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity #Pantheon
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
Design Insights XLIII
One of the oft-spoken dividing lines when it comes to Roman history is "after the fire." Depending on the locale, the date mentioned immediately after would be different. Tales of the fire of 64 CE infamously - and spuriously - tell of Nero fiddling while he watched the city go up in flames from the safety of his palace window. When it comes to the Campus Martius region and my present Phase III design efforts, however, it is the fire of 80 CE which more clearly marked the turning point. Before the fire of 80 CE, public monuments were few and far between among private villas with sprawling horti: after, the monuments were rebuilt in even greater splendor while much of the private land was repurposed for the construction of publicly accessible temple complexes.
Among the densest areas of redevelopment during the aftermath of the conflagration is the subject of today's DESIGN Insights post. In it, we will discover two large precincts, both built in quick succession and comparable in size to any of the Imperial Fora. One was built to reinforce the legacy of the imperial family, while the other strengthened the image of Rome as the undisputed center of the Mediterranean world.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity
Design Insights XLIV
The Sæpta Julia (pronunced: Sipe-ta You-lia) covered a vast expanse of the Campus Martius. The open-air space was completely paved in travertine and enclosed within a quadriporticus which once housed exquisite works of Classical art. The Sæpta was originally conceived of as a place for the gathering of eligible voters in the election of magistrates, but was gradually repurposed for the staging of public spectacles as the importance of voting waned during the imperial era.
It is often the case when discussing grand projects of Roman antiquity that the true scale of these undertakings is not readily apparent. Among a body of work such as mine, it has always been necessary to exhibit the SPQR diorama alongside other, more well-known and consistently 1:650-scaled works. Without the visual aid of other brick-built monuments on nearby tables for the timebeing, I'll instead compare the size of this week's DESIGN Insights subject, the Sæpta Julia, to something the brick-building community know well; convention halls.
The Sæpta Julia covered an area of more than 350,000 sq ft. To put that into perspective, the much-loved Brickworld Chicago convention typically boasts a 100,000 sq ft exhibition hall. The Sæpta could have easily accommodated more than three-and-a-half times that! The best spatial comparison I can conceive of would be to stand at the middle of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool looking toward that same monument. Then, imagine gleaming travertine pavement over the surface of the water, from the midpoint of the pool all the way to the steps of the monument. You'd be hard-pressed to find any convention centers with that kind of uninterrupted square footage, let alone any which might rival such a richly decorated and neatly paved outdoor venue.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
Design Insights XLV
What do you see when you close your eyes and imagine the ancient past? Visions of golden ornamentation and impossibly captured poses rendered in crisp statuary are likely to abound in your mind's eye. But what can you glean of the background; the setting in which all the trappings and fine objects are placed? You might not have a specific landmark in mind, but it's likelier than not that the surrounding architecture assumes a platonic likeness, which can be distilled to those two most primal elements, the circle and the square.
The Pantheon in Rome is one of the most enduringly iconic landmarks of antiquity and is certainly the most well-preserved large building of its time. It has succeeded on several fronts: most obviously in its remarkable durability, but also in its unrivaled structural innovations, and most importantly, I would argue, its transcendent harmonizing of the circle and the square. We find these ideal forms at the very foundation of every found object, every work of art and every architectural plan across every culture in recorded history.
It should come as no surprise then, that the Pantheon is at the very top of my own list of all-time favorite structures ever built! My relatively reticent approach toward superlatives never stood a chance when I walked through the ancient doors of the portico for the first time in 2019. It's the quintessential interlocking of the two most basic elements of design, echoing across time and a lofty interior vault, that does it for me. I can think of no better way to introduce my interpretation of the Pantheon in the latest Design Insights post, available now to all my patrons (not just the usual Corinthians).
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity #Pantheon
Enjoy 15% Off with code BF-MMXXIV-15 ️
Valid until December 6 ⏳
#Artist #SupportArtists #SupportOnPatreon #FineArt #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ChicagoArtist #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #BlackFriday #StatueOfFreedom #CapitolineWolf #Rome #RomanEmpire #Discobulus #ChineseLion
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
Design Insights XLVIII
Telltale signs of a bygone era are positively replete across the city of Rome; that is, if you know where to look! For many visitors, Piazza Navona is among the first stops of any respectable itinerary. It was there, at Bernini Ristorante, where I had the first meal of my inaugural trip to the Eternal City in 2019. Admittedly, it's a bit of a tourist trap, but one that felt right given its namesake's (Gian Lorenzo Bernini's) influence over the urban design of the modern city.
More than anyone else since the emperors of antiquity, Bernini left his mark on the city with an unassailable volume of architectural, sculptural and urban development projects, including the design of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi at the center of Piazza Navona. Much of the canvas on which Bernini and his contemporaries built, however, was put down by the emperors of Rome. One such emperor, Domitian, was himself responsible for the shape of Piazza Navona. Domitian built a Stadium on the site in the late first century CE, alongside countless other projects to restore the grandeur of the Campus Martius in the aftermath of the fire of 80 CE.
To this day, the cobblestone pavement of Piazza Navona echoes the gravel terrain on which athletes competed in quadrennial games, in the Greek tradition. The buildings which encircle the piazza were built atop the cavea of this ancient stadium. These partially excavated foundations are accessible today, and are included in these insights. Let's now explore this ancient landmark hidden - if just below the surface - in plain sight.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity #Domitian #Stadium
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
PORTICVS OCTAVIÆ ️
Design Insights XXXIX
📜 Welcome to the Portico of Octavia! This next slice of Ancient Rome comes in the form of a literal wedge-shaped subsection. Like the Augustan namesake of this monument, these works were overlaid onto the urban fabric of the Eternal City, just as their patrons' versions of history were grafted onto the founding myths of the Roman culture.
No sooner had we discussed an ephemeral form of Augustan propaganda in last week's Design Insights covering the Circus Flaminius, do we now find ourselves confronted with physical architecture attesting to this broader movement toward imperium. It bears repeating just how emblematic the Campus Martius is of this period in Roman history. This legacy is part of what informed my decisions on where to draw suitable boundaries for Phase III.
Don't miss this all-new DESIGN Insights post highlighting Phase III of my ongoing efforts to build all of Ancient Rome, circa mid-4th century CE!
😎 These insights are EXCLUSIVE to Corinthian patrons, and peel back the curtain months before these designs will be shared publicly. The renderings, on the other hand, are shared with patrons of all tiers.
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon!
Link below ➡️🔗⤵️
www.patreon.com/posts/porticvs-design-116461195
#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusinessOwner #History #ChicagoArtist #SPQR #ImperialRome #AncientRome #Rome #Roma #RomanEmpire #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #Antiquity
️ SPQR - Phase II ️
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 211,000+ (~2,400 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 95in x 108in (240cm x 274cm)
Research, Design + Build Time: 2.5 years and counting
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC