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Hagia Sophia

"Solomon, I have outdone thee," declared Byzantine Emperor Justinian I upon first entering his newly completed basilica, Hagia Sophia, in 537 CE.

Hagia Sophia (pronounced "eye-uh so-fee-uh"), Greek for Holy Wisdom, was originally built as a Greek Orthodox Church in the Byzantine capital Constantinople. After the Ottomans conquered the city and renamed it Istanbul in 1453, Hagia Sophia was converted to an Imperial Mosque, and was used as such until 1931 after which it was secularized and reopened as a museum in 1935.

Hagia Sophia is unquestionably unique for its cultural significance at a confluence of faiths (Christianity and Islam) as well as continents (Europe and Asia). But perhaps even more significant than these attributes is the architectural turning point marked by its construction, over a relatively short five-year period. Its watershed innovations, pioneered by geometers Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus, are numerous and will be discussed further throughout the images of this model.

Ever since I first studied this structure in my second year of architecture school back in 2013, I have wanted to one day make a LEGO model at my signature 1:650 scale. The main obstacles I had to overcome when designing this model were not only comprehending the complex, asymmetrical massing of the footprint, but more so the earth-tone color palette and the considerably limited parts selection therein. The completed model is likely my most abundantly colored to-date, with a palette of primarily medium dark flesh, tan, sand blue, sand red, dark orange, pearl gold, white, light bluish-gray and dark bluish-gray. I'm grateful to my friends Markus Rollbühler and Paul Hetherington for their suggestions on the color palette, and especially Markus for all the invaluable creative input at numerous points throughout the design process! The model made its debut at Brickworld Chicago 2018.

Taken on: June 1, 2018

Tags:

LEGO

Architecture

Byzantine

Sets appears in: • Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Groups appears in: • LEGO • Lego Freaks more » • Lego Microscale • Brickworld • Historical LEGO • LEGO Art • Lego!Lego!Lego! • Lego Architecture and Design • LEGO Engineering • LEGO City Skyline • LEGO and God • Brikkelauget • LEGO Sculpture • Orthodox Church Architecture • Brickr • Lego NPU • Toy Photography-Through the Lens • LEGO® Architecture: Towering Ambition • Lego Builders • Byzantine Architecture [only before 1453 please] • Brick Architecture • LEGO FAN • Lego: Anything and Everything • TBB Cover Photos • Lego HUB • Master Builders • LEGO 100+ Faves! • LEGO Trend • Blogged By ArchBrick Daily • Legendary LEGO • FAV = 110 and more • LBC0,3 Femtoscale (ZZ) • Islamic Arts by Blocks « less

Camera: NIKON COOLPIX L820, f/6.0, 1/1500 sec, 4mm, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	NIKON COOLPIX L820
Aperture:	f/6.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1500)
Focal Length:	4mm
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Portrait
Gain Control:	High gain down
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 (Windows)
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