Usually, the only constraint on building a Lego creation is your imagination. Unless, that is, you build a giant structure that demands its own "Lego Room".
One Lego fan has done just that: say hello to the Garrison of Moriah, and the 50-metre-square room it inhabits. Inspired by the fantastic buildings featured likes of Star Wars and
Lord of the Rings, Garrison-creator Gerry Burrows has built a detailed (and huge) sculpture to scale of the tiny Lego people who have the honour of inhabiting it.
Burrows has wanted to build big ever since his Lego fandom began as a child. However, it was the freedoms of maturity which allowed him to realise his construction dreams. He tells Wired.co.uk: "I entered what Lego fans call 'The Dark Ages' -- where I didn't do anything with Lego -- but when I graduated college and bought my first house I unpacked a box of my old Lego bricks. I started thinking how I now have the money and space to actually build the things I wanted to build; without a little sister to rampage through my Lego creations."
A combination of discovering BrickLink.com, "the Holy Grail of Lego buying", adapting a basement for building purposes ("I told our realtor that I needed a 'Lego room'. He thought I was joking at first.") and a week off of work resulted in the first Lego bricks being laid on what was to become the Garrison of Moriah.
Making preparations for building, however, was just the first step. Amazingly, Burrows' building strategy took little planning, he tells Wired.co.uk: "Nothing ever touched paper or computer. But as I would start to build and focus on individual structures I would spend time thinking of the specific structures' design. As I built I would get inspiration on cool directions to take."
Burrows never suffered any disasters during construction. That's not to say, however, there weren't a few precautions taken in building such a mega-structure: "I learned to not jump or even flinch when stepping on a Lego piece in my bare feet," he says.
Currently, the Garrison of Moriah stands at 8.5 metres long, wrapping around 1/3 of the room, has a depth ranging between 60 and 150 cm and reaches between 2 and 3.6 metres tall -- and that's after shortening two structures to fit in the Lego Room. Burrows estimates he's used between 200,000 to 250,000 Lego bricks.
However, the Garrison is set to expand further: "It's still growing. The bridge isn't complete, nor is the other end of the bridge. And I'm building a fleet of custom ships."
We're holding our breaths. Until then, check out the awesome Garrison of Moriah up close in our gallery below.
Like Lego? Here's some other impressive brick constructions:
Babbage's Difference Engine built entirely in Lego
Futurama's New New York diorama crafted from Lego
Working sniper rifle, minigun and shotgun created in Lego
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
