Chicago Tribune Building: A LEGO® creation by Sean Kenney : MOCpages.com

Chicago Tribune Building

Rated 5 out of 5 Change your rating

Add a comment

Zoom in

About this creation

This model of the Tribune Building in Chicago is 4 feet tall and contains 27,000 LEGO pieces.

On display with two other Chicago landmarks
The building was created together with the Trump International Hotel and Tower and Water Tower Place which are together on permanent display at the LEGO store at Water Tower Place Mall in downtown Chicago.

It was an absolute joy to replicate this classic, Gothically-styled building. Every last corner of the building is covered in ornate details, making it a great challenge to replicate it using nothing more than standard, off-the-the-shelf LEGO pieces.

The top of the building is covered in detailed facade work, made doubly complex by the fact that it octagonal shaped and has several different octagonal setbacks. (LEGO bricks like doing squares, but octagons can be a challenge when you know they need to line up with things on all eight sides and eventually close at the top.

Because I'm insane, I always have to make my building's windows with window shades behind them, some open, some closed, some halfway in between. It takes a lot longer to build the building this way, but it really adds a lot of life to the model. It's one of those things that you never realize is there, but if it was missing... you'd notice.

Much along the same lines, I have this bizarre fascination with "roof junk".

Creating the iconic "Chicago Tribune" lettering across the side of the building was fun. I spent an entire eight-hour day building the lettering in many different ways, until I finally had something that not only looked like the Gothic lettering from the newspaper's masthead, but that just as importantly fit in the proper space along the side of the building! (If you look closely, you'll see that the lettering is built completely sideways.)

At the start of the project I spent a full day designing the pattern of the windows. This building was to stand on display alongside five other Chicago landmarks, so it needed to be the same scale as the rest. That meant, however, that the windows would need to be 1.5 studs across, which was a problem since There's no such thing as half-of-a-LEGO-piece, let alone such a thing as a window. So I devised this idea and used tan bars (commonly used as light sabers or magic wands in retail LEGO sets) as a visual divider halfway between the windows. They mimic the real building's thin strips of bricks between sets of windows.

Building it

Can you figure out how these diagonal windows are built? Here's a hint ... There's no glue, no cheating, and lots of voodoo.

Unlike most of my sculptures, the entire model is ~unglued~ and managed to make its way to Chicago from my New York art studio in one piece!

Visit!
You can see this model in person! It's on permanent display at the Chicago LEGO Store.
835 N. Michigan Avenue.
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Monday - Saturday: 10 am - 9 pm
Sunday: 11 am - 6 pm

Comments

Add a comment

I like it

Tyro Cook

April 6, 2012

Amazing! I just saw all of these on display at Watertower place last week and I instantly recognized them.

I like it

GrayFox5 (Online)

March 19, 2012

WOW!!! Lot's of small detail in one huge creation. L.O.V.E. It!!!!!

I like it

Nufalak of Mythada

September 15, 2011

I'm pretty sure this place was in the latest Transformers, wasn't it? Amazing work here!

I like it

Blake Baer

September 7, 2011

Stunning architecture. Very inspiring to all I'm sure!

I like it

Lee Hardwick

September 3, 2011

Beautifully constructed, please send instructions, LOL

I like it

mike doyle

September 3, 2011

WOW. soooo beautiful! Really nice!! I'm definately going to spend some time pouring over this one. Grats on this!

I like it

Rick S.

September 3, 2011

when i saw the second pic, i didn't know that it was so... big! nice creation it looks really realistic. and nice use of parts. i don't know if you like classic american cars but please check this out: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/280379

I like it

Krazy Kastle Krak Guy

September 3, 2011

What a chef d'oeuvre Master Sean! Wonderful! Have a look on my Nikaia Antipolis MOC, I used some of your NYSE MOC technic inside. Congratulations!

I like it

Jim Garrett

September 2, 2011

IMO this is one of your best creations. You really captured the look of this neo-gothic masterpiece! Raymond Hood would be impressed.

I like it

Andrew Rose

September 2, 2011

Unbelievable. What more is there to say? It's perfect.

I like it

Annie Corder

September 2, 2011

WOW! All the detail you put in this is amazing!

I like it

E.K.O .

September 2, 2011

Amazing work! It was bigger than I thought it was.

I like it

E.K.O .

September 2, 2011

Amazing work! It was bigger than I thought it was.

I like it

Ru Corder

September 2, 2011

WAOHA! So huge, yet with so much detail!

I like it

cyberfrank 2010

September 2, 2011

you used hinges for the windows, and it s gorgeously detailed! i have to mention that i love your 'giant monster pics'! not only are they funny, they give a good idea of the scale! it s so exquisitly detailed, it s very impressive and beautiful!!! bravo sean!!!