Bricks to Blocks: a Lego New York

New York is famous for the grid pattern of its city blocks. Lego is famous for the interlocking bricks that are the foundation stones of its worldwide toy empire. The two were destined to meet, as they do in the art of J.R. Schmidt. 

In 2012, the 3D artist and motion designer computer-generated this psychedelic interpretation of Manhattan and surrounding boroughs, using Lego-like bricks to give his map the look and feel of a “real” scale model. It helps that Lego, probably Denmark’s most successful single export product, is the real-world equivalent of the pixels that make up a computer graphic.

Schmidt based his work on various maps and satellite images depicting the elevation level in NYC. He translated that data into the height, color, and opacity of his bricks — which therefore don’t correspond with individual buildings, but represent an abstract, statistical average of the city’s topography.

Many thanks to J.R. Schmidt for allowing me to use his work. Grab a wallpaper version of the image here on Dribble. For more exclusive delectation, buy a print here on Curioos.

Strange Maps #734

Found a weird map? Let me know at[email protected].