Introducing myself, and my upcoming book: The LEGO Architect

[tomalphin]

Greetings Toys N Bricks community. I'm Tom Alphin, and I've been a pretty active LEGO builder for about 2 years now, with a focus on LEGO Architecture theme, and the Architecture Studio set in particular. I have been building LEGO all my life, and have been collecting the official LEGO Architecture models since they came out. (They live in my office in a growing collection. It's a great conversation starter!)

It all really started off October 2013, when I purchased the Architecture Studio set. A bit under-impresed with the ideas included in the 200 page book, I challenged myself to a "30-day challenge", where each day I would build a different LEGO Architecture project and chronicle everything on my blog. During the challenge, I explored a variety of topics including Scale, Optical Illusions, a little 3d Printing, and a lot of projects to build a LEGO model in a specific Architectural style. (link: http://tomalphin.com/2013/10/lego-archi ... lenge.html )

My LEGO MOC of Geisel Library in San Diego, California.

Fast forward to now, and I've continued blogging about a variety of LEGO Architecture topics, including a personal favorite project - reverse engineering newly announced LEGO Architecture sets based on just a few, blurry leaked photos. (link: http://tomalphin.com/2015/01/reverse-en ... usion.html )

The LEGO Architect
It is from this background that I am really excited to announce an upcoming book "The LEGO Architect" which is coming out this summer from the amazingly talented team at No Starch Press.

Book Cover for "The LEGO Architect"

The book explores popular architectural styles like Neoclassical, Art Deco, Modernism, and Postmodernism through LEGO. For each style, you will see beautiful photos of real buildings, a short explanation of the style, a selection of amazing LEGO buildings created by artists from around the world, and instructions to build small LEGO models based on the unique design elements of each style.

You can learn more about the book at: http://tomalphin.com/2015/03/the-lego-a ... eview.html

I have also announced a new website at http://thebrickarchitect.com which will complement the book release. It is my goal to be the premiere news source about upcoming LEGO Architecture sets, as well featuring the best new AFOL Architecture creations, Interviews with builders, Techniques, and supplemental materials for people who buy the book. (I've only posted a couple articles so far, so check back soon for more!)

Questions about me? Questions about the book?
Since I'm new here, I'd love to get to know this community by answering questions about me or my book project.