World Financial Center, NYC LEGO Model

[rjb001]

The West St phase is finished. As you can see, it will connect to the rest of the model via technic pins. I will use slopes placed sideways along the West St border for the start of the WFC's sidewalk. Obviously though, the slopes will be somewhat cantilevered over the edge of the West St strip.



I replicated the bottoms of each main building so I can see what I'm working around/connecting to. It's starting to take shape

[rjb001]

One WFC's lower floors and access hallways.





You may notice that the only part of the building that attaches normally to the base's stud grid is the octagonal annex. In real life, it is very close to parallel with Liberty St so I decided to use that to my advantage, allowing for the complicated techniques within the octagonal annex to attach to the stud grid normally and not on an angle. The rest of the lower floors are angled at 17* to match the slopes at the model's edge. The angling is accomplished using a 4x4 round brick on a flat turntable.

I used a little artistic license for the roof between the copper HVAC exhaust cone and the upper floors of 1 WFC by adding a pseudo-setback which covers up the unsightly interface of the building's angled plane with the non-angled. I also used some artistic license on the south end of the building by using Dark Bluish-Gray for the facade's curved section, as that particular curved slope doesn't exist in tan yet.



Here it is with the upper 1 WFC "stump" on top. The modules will attach at the core as both share the same stud dimensions.



Looking straight down shows you exactly where the model is angled.



And here it is attached to the West Street strip. Note that that is not the final design for the West Street pedestrian bridge.

[jsr]

Originally Posted by rjb001

One WFC's lower floors and access hallways.

This is going to be spectacular.

[rjb001]

Originally Posted by rjb001

I also used some artistic license on the south end of the building by using Dark Bluish-Gray for the facade's curved section, as that particular curved slope doesn't exist in tan yet.

Scratch that! Looks like the new Town Hall LEGO set has them on the second floor window sills!

[DecoJim]

Originally Posted by rjb001

Scratch that! Looks like the new Town Hall LEGO set has them on the second floor window sills!

Looks like that Town Hall set is going to be useful to a lot of builders, even if they never actually build the Town Hall!

Nice project by the way. Looks like quite a challenge to keep it structurally sound given all of the small parts.

[rjb001]

One of the reasons I like doing large models: You don't usually use too many bricks for the base since you can just use a few large base bricks, which I have plenty of thanks to all the old Harry Potter sets.

[rjb001]

Finished the lower floors and setbacks that will attach the individual buildings.







2WFC will be angled using a turntable, similar to 1WFC. Thankfully 3WFC is the only building I had to attach an angled setback to.

Now comes the monotonous task of replicating these lower floors again in the plaza file.

[UrbanImpressionist]

Love this thread rjb001. Between having spent so much time painting the WFC in my WTC Construction painting, and years creating complex things in legos into my teen years (like F-14s with swing wings and retractable landing gears) ...I absolutely appreciate this endeavor. Especially tackling all the odd angles that the site's streets and buildings contain.

Cheers,

[rjb001]

NYguy recently posted this on the WTC Memorial & Transit Hub construction thread.

Originally Posted by NYguy

Work on the new pavilion at the opposite side of the connector begins...


http://www.observer.com/2012/02/broo...ancial-center/

Brookfield’s Heart of Glass: Developer Fetes New Glass Pavilion at World Financial Center



By Daniel Edward Rosen
2/14/12

In a cordoned off and seemingly unremarkable construction site situated along the West Side Highway, a collection of high-ranking Brookfield Office Properties executives, construction managers and architects donned hardhats and stood in front of a symbolic pile of dirt that had been lined up neatly atop wooden boards.

Holding a platinum shovel, the sun refracting off its blade that’s been buffed to a flawless shine, Brookfield’s Sabrina Kanner, senior vice president of design and construction, joined eight of her colleagues in digging their shovels into the symbolic dirt while holding big smiles for the press cameras. The occasion was the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new glass pavilion at the World Financial Center, seen as the complex’s new front door on West Street.

The ongoing construction at the World Trade Center site, coupled with the MTA’s new Fulton Street Transit Center, gave Brookfield an opportune window to make improvements to the World Financial Center. This is the second of three phases that Brookfield Office Properties is undertaking for its $250 million renovation. The first phase, which kicked off already, is the development of a new dinning terrace, including a 25,000 square foot marketplace that will boast “epicurean delights,” said Mr. Cheikin. A third phase, which will bring luxury retailer to the Courtyard area of the complex, is slated to begin later this year.

I do like this design better than the previous one on page 2 of this thread, but I am a little trepidatious of translating it into LEGO. I've come this far already though

[rjb001]

After nearly nine months of work, a trip to New York City to take pictures, and many late nights (most within the past four weeks straight), I have officially finished designing my World Financial Center model! The final parts count clocks in at 21,505 pieces. Now begins the process of gathering pieces.

I am also officially announcing my becoming a member of the Kenosha LEGO Users Group (KLUG). I will officially unveil my finished model at the upcoming KLUG display on May 19th and 20th.


Here are the newest and final screenshots:





The Brookfield Heart of Glass which will provide access to the World Trade Center via underground tunnel.




Here it is without the 2, 3, & 4 WFC "stumps."



The Winter Garden atrium obviously will not look that tacky when finished. The over-simplification in the digital model is simply the result of the lack of manipulable flex tubes in the program.

Stay tuned as I gather pieces. Updates will not be as frequent as these past few weeks as it'll take awhile to amass all the parts I need. My construction photos will likely start around mid-May but will not be too revealing (gives you something to look forward to).

[rjb001]

Gathering pieces continues at a steady pace. Good news: I have 49.5% of the pieces I need for this model! Halfway there!



Your eyes do not deceive you; that checklist is over seven pages long!

[DecoJim]

I did see Spencer's WTC complex at Brickbash (March 24, 2012, Ann Arbor, Michigan). I was able to see where your design will fit together with his model to make the complete WFC+WTC diorama. It should look very impressive when displayed together.

21,505 pieces? Meh! (just kidding). It is a lot of parts for a microscale project. As you have may have guessed, I have put together a few projects with part quantities in the five figures (and one into 6 figures).

[cptrex]

I know I'll sound noobish but what program did you guys use to design the models?

[rjb001]

Originally Posted by cptrex

I know I'll sound noobish but what program did you guys use to design the models?

I used LEGO Digital Designer. It's a free program available at lego.com.

[rjb001]

A few shots of the more exclusive elements needed for my model:



1x1 trans-clear brick - recently re-issued by LEGO.



2x4 tan tile



Last but not least, 1x2 trans-dark blue plates! The 1x1's are on their way!

[rjb001]

Originally Posted by hunser

All pics by gesh01:

Wow, look at how much 4 WFC's roof has oxidized in just the past year!

[rjb001]

The finished model will be unveiled one month from today!

[rjb001]

This was actually as of last week, but I haven't had time till now to post it.



My traditional shot of the finished checklist. The model is finally under construction and will likely take two weeks to build. This will be the final update before the model's revealing. Stay tuned

[rjb001]

Here it is everyone; the model you've all been awaiting since July!

The World Financial Center in New York City



(Click on the picture for more shots)

I hope you've all enjoyed this process as much as I have. Thank you for following!

[rjb001]

Be sure to stay tuned for the revealing of "Centers of Lower Manhattan" by Rocco Buttliere and Spencer Rezkalla at Brickworld in June!